Published by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA), this edition of OPENSPACE, The Media: Expression and Freedom (Volume 1, no. 5) offers a range of articles on the issue of media freedom written by media professionals from Southern Africa.

From the OSISA website: "Debates and discourses surrounding the establishment and securing of open societies have increasingly given the media an important place in healthy democracies. As an institution, the media is regarded as the bedrock of open societies: bridging the space between the state and the public. Vibrant and balanced media are therefore preferred and seen as ideal, in playing a watchdog role – especially for democracies to thrive. This is even more so in contexts such as Southern Africa, where the majority of the societies can arguably be considered young and budding democracies.

A number of questions arise from this observation and key among these are to do with how the media have managed that space that they occupy; how they have responded to the dynamics of socio-economic and political change at global, regional and national levels, especially the fast changing political and economic realities..."

The following articles are included in this issue:

• Mapping the media terrain in Southern Africa (by Fernando Lima)
• Media as the bedrock of a real open society (by Sam Phiri)
• Critical media literacy: a design for the future (by Jeanne Prinsloo)
• Media in Southern Africa and the grave of the new world information and communication order (by Eno Akpabio)
• Media ownership and funding patterns (by Wallace Chuma)
• Public service broadcasting: promises and perils of "public interests" (by Nkosi Ndlela and Dumisani Moyo)
• Transformation of state broadcasters: challenges, trends and opportunities (by Gladys Ramadi and Kaitira Kandjii)
• Professionalism and training: challenges and opportunities for Southern Africa (by Guy Berger)
• Law and ethics in reporting: friends or foes? (by Letshwiti Tutwane)
• Media regulation and legal frameworks in Swaziland and Zimbabwe: so different and yet so alike (by Beatrice Mtetwa)
• Media law reforms in Southern Africa (by Charles Manga Fombad)
• Media freedom or freedom of expression: challenges facing freedom of expression organisations in [Southern African Development Community] SADC (by Jane Duncan)
• Media in the line of fire: where is justice? (by Isabella Matambanadzo)
• Watching the watchdogs: monitoring the media in defence of free expression (by Andrew Moyse)
• Surviving in a risky operating environment: the Radio [Voice of Prophecy] VOP story (by John Masuku)
• Media survival strategies: a Southern African experience (by Edem Djokotoe)
• How can the Fourth Estate be sustained in the [Democratic Republic of the Congo] DRC? (by Hubert Tshiswaka Masoka)
• Alternative media: a viable option for Southern Africa (by Fackson Banda)
• Distribution of African film in Southern Africa (by Tambudzai Madzimure)
• The Impact of corruption on the media: the case of Angola and the DRC (by Elias Isaac)
• Gender and the media in Southern Africa (by Emily Brown)
• The Good, the bad and the ugly: a highly personal view of AIDS in the media in Southern Africa (by Mercedes Sayagues)
• Media monitoring: a necessary part of the vibrant media (by William Bird)

To order copies of the digest, please see the contact details below.

English

OSISA website on February 07 2007 and February 22 2009.