Papers presented at a seminar organized by Academy of Third World Studies.

An introduction to the rapidly-changing field of modern communications, drawn from literature available in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Reeves aims to correct popular misconceptions concerning the nature and uniformity of current Third World communications.

Emphasizes the contemporary mass media of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the societies in which they function, explaining their characteristics and practices in terms of the history of the region and the media themselves and relating these traits, wherever applicable, to theories of communication and national development. Illustrated.

Striding boldly where other scholars have feared to tread, Agunga offers a definitive solution strategy for people-centered development, armed with his upbringing in Africa, considerable field work experience, and knowledge of the literature. He argues that development projects and programs fail because planners and policy makers lack training in communications skills, and urges governments and donor agencies to include communications professionals in their programs. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

This completely revised edition builds on the framework provided by the earlier text. It traces the history of development communication, presents and critiques diverse approaches and their proponents, and provides ideas and models for development communication in the new century.

The first book to address two of the foremost issues in international communication: the UNESCO debate over "the New World of Information Order" (NWIO) which attempted to reach a global consensus on the purpose of journalism; and secondly, the place of mass media and telecommunication in the development of third world countries. It traces the growth of these issues from their beginnings in the sixties through the UNESCO declaration on mass media in 1978 into the present decade. Key features of this text are the examination of the role communication plays in countries with differing systems of government and an explanation of the issues that brought UNESCO into the limelight in the eighties and its importance to the future. Originally published in 1988 by Longman.

The study first addresses the political issues and media theories that culminated in the demand for the NWIO, and the ongoing debate among scholars, policymakers, and diplomats concerning reforms in communications. Through a comparative analysis of Western and Third World media practices, Meyer examines the relationship between the understanding of the term news and two conflicting theories of communication and development. The structuralist theoretical alternative is tested in empirical, quantitative studies on the following topics: imbalances in the structure of international information flows; cultural change in less-developed countries produced by media inputs from the West; and Western news and information flows as factors contributing to political instability and violence in the Third World. Based on an examination of economic, social, and cultural indicators in twenty-four less developed countries, the author critically assesses charges relating to neocolonialist features of news and information management, as well as cultural imperialism and political unrest. The final chapter summarizes these empirical tests as they relate to stuctural communications theory. Bridging the gap between general theories of mass media and empirical examination of media relationships, Meyer's book is a major contribution to our understanding of the global ramifications of the Information Revolution.