Abstract

Media matters. From encouraging charitable donations and delivering public health messages to promoting democratic participation and state accountability, the media can play a crucial role in development. Yet the influence of the media is not always welcome. It can also be used as a mechanism of surveillance and control or to disseminate hate speech and propaganda. How then should we respond to the growing importance of the media - including journalism, radio, television, community media and social media - for poverty and inequality? The first step is to acquire an informed and critical understanding of the multiple roles that the media can have in development. To help achieve this, this book provides concise and original introductions to the study and practice of communication for development (C4D), media development and media representations of development. In doing so it highlights the increasing importance of the media, whilst at the same time emphasising the varieties, complexities and contingencies of its role in social change. The broad and interdisciplinary focus of this book will make it attractive to anyone with an interest in media, communication, development, politics and social change.
Martin Scott is a lecturer in media and international development at the University of East Anglia. His research is primarily concerned with media coverage of development and the global South. He has also written about entertainment education, media literacy and the role of popular culture in engaging young people in politics.
'Martin Scott has written an excellent book which will go straight to the top of student reading lists. It is lucid, readable and clear, parsing complex debates and voluminous literatures with an easy mastery. It is also thoroughly thought-provoking. You could not ask for a better introduction to this topic.' Daniel Brockington, University of Manchester 'This book is innovative, relevant and very useful for students wishing to understand the complex relations between media and development. Martin Scott delivers accessible narratives, interesting insights and nuanced arguments. But not least, he writes well. A good communicator offering an important contribution to the field!' Thomas Tufte, Roskilde University 'Martin Scott offers a compelling and original constructive critique of media development, artfully integrating critical attention to communication for development with concerns with communication about development. This work offers a valuable contribution to communication, humanitarian, and development work.' Karin Wilkins, University of Texas at Austin 'Insightful and eloquent, Martin Scott's book comes a long way in addressing the notoriously slippery question of how exactly media matter in development. By clearing conceptual ground, synthesising debates and formulating new challenges, the book also powerfully demonstrates just how valuable interdisciplinary scholarship can be.' Lilie Chouliaraki, London School of Economics and Social Science