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Exploring the role of citizen journalism in slum improvement: the case of ‘Voice of Kibera’

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Abstract

This paper explores the role of citizen journalism in the improvement of slums through the Voice of Kibera (VoK) case study. To meet the research objectives, both qualitative and quantitative methods are applied. The study used content analysis, a survey and interview techniques. It concluded that citizen journalism in the VoK uses a participatory, bottom-up approach, with the residents taking a lead role in the production and consumption of news, and that it plays its part in improving the lives of people in Kibera, contributing to governance and processes of democracy. The core development values of participation and empowerment are central to this study, which examines how these values are being impacted on by information technology interventions in the communications area. The research also concludes that citizen journalism may be sustainable if it is financed, promoted, resourced with professional journalists, equipped with new technologies and citizens continue to participate. Lack of cooperation from the audience, finance both for the running of the project, salary and technical problems were cited as the major challenges of citizen journalism.

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Notes

  1. Voice of Kibera is a citizen reporting project based in Kibera, Nairobi. The project is an initiative of Map Kibera and uses the Ushahidi platform to aggregate and map reports.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Business and Development, Centre for Co-operative Studies, UCC, Cork, IE

    Tedla Desta, Mike Fitzgibbon & Noreen Byrne

Authors
  1. Tedla Desta
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  2. Mike Fitzgibbon
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  3. Noreen Byrne
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Correspondence to Tedla Desta.

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Desta, T., Fitzgibbon, M. & Byrne, N. Exploring the role of citizen journalism in slum improvement: the case of ‘Voice of Kibera’. AI & Soc 29, 215–220 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-013-0482-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-013-0482-y

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