Abstract
This article aims to fill a gap in the academic literature on how employees at a media
development intermediary construct meaning of their work. Based on in-depth interviews
with 18 employees of Internews, this research shows that employees believe the
organization has “evolved” from the past to include the entire “information ecosystem”
today. Themes that emerged include a focus on information as a solution, an emphasis on
local communities, the desire to give voice to marginalized communities, and a practice
of listening. Interviewees strictly adhered to official narratives of their work and to
contemporary development orthodoxy, perhaps because of group think and participant
bias. Despite these narratives, we have to consider the ulterior motives of media
development as a neocolonial project. Although some of the results may seem obvious,
there is merit in documenting these findings to demystify media development work today.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Journal | International Journal of Communication |
| Volume | 13 |
| State | Published - 2019 |
Keywords
- Internews
- information ecosystems
- international development professionals
- interviews
- media development
Disciplines
- Communication
- Communication Technology and New Media
- International and Intercultural Communication