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Media for Development: Communicating Impact

Reading list

Every reading this course assigns, module by module, with the best free copy we could find.

81 readings30 free to read11 on request40 books

A free copy is the published text, or the author's own manuscript held by a university repository, which has the same content without the journal's layout. A subscription reading opens at the publisher, where your library may give you access. If it does not, request a copy and we will reply by email. Books link to their publisher.

Module 1. Module 1: The Cause-Impact Gap

  1. Newman, N., Fletcher, R., Robertson, C. T., Ross Arguedas, A. and Nielsen, R. K. (2024). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2024. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford.Read it free
  2. Seu, I. B. (2010). 'Doing denial': Audience reaction to human rights appeals. Discourse & Society, 21(4), 438-457.Publisher pageSubscription
  3. Cottle, S. and Nolan, D. (2007). Global Humanitarianism and the Changing Aid-Media Field. Journalism Studies, 8(6), 862-878.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. ASER Centre (2024). Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2024. ASER Centre.Read it free
  5. Herman, E. S. and Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon.Publisher pageBook
  6. Rajagopal, A. (2001). Politics after Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 2. Module 2: Post-Humanitarianism: Beyond Pity

  1. Darnton, A. and Kirk, M. (2011). Finding Frames: New Ways to Engage the UK Public in Global Poverty. Bond.Read it free
  2. Chouliaraki, L. (2013). The Ironic Spectator: Solidarity in the Age of Post-Humanitarianism. Polity Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Moeller, S. D. (1999). Compassion Fatigue: How the Media Sell Disease, Famine, War and Death. Routledge.Publisher pageBook
  4. Dogra, N. (2012). Representations of Global Poverty: Aid, Development and International NGOs. I.B. Tauris.Publisher pageBook
  5. McChesney, R. W. (2004). The Problem of the Media: U.S. Communication Politics in the Twenty-First Century. Monthly Review Press.Publisher pageBook
  6. Ninan, T. N. (2015). Turn of the Tortoise: The Challenge and Promise of India's Future. Allen Lane.Publisher pageBook

Module 3. Module 3: Who Tells the Story?

  1. Adichie, C. N. (2009). The Danger of a Single Story. TED talk (transcript).Read it free
  2. Spivak, G. C. (1988). Can the Subaltern Speak? In Nelson, C. and Grossberg, L. (eds.), Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, 271-313. University of Illinois Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Wang, C. and Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, Methodology, and Use for Participatory Needs Assessment. Health Education & Behavior, 24(3), 369-387.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. Couldry, N. (2010). Why Voice Matters: Culture and Politics After Neoliberalism. SAGE.Publisher pageBook
  5. Tuchman, G. (1978). Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality. Free Press.Publisher pageBook
  6. Jeffrey, R. (2000). India's Newspaper Revolution: Capitalism, Politics and the Indian-Language Press, 1977-99. C. Hurst & Co.Publisher pageBook

Module 4. Module 4: Exploitative Imagery and the Question of Dignity

  1. Dóchas (2007). Code of Conduct on Images and Messages. Dóchas, the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations.Read it free
  2. Nathanson, J. (2013). The Pornography of Poverty: Reframing the Discourse of International Aid's Representations of Starving Children. Canadian Journal of Communication, 38(1), 103-120.Read it free
  3. Manzo, K. (2008). Imaging Humanitarianism: NGO Identity and the Iconography of Childhood. Antipode, 40(4), 632-657.Publisher pageSubscription
  4. Boczkowski, P. J. (2004). Digitizing the News: Innovation in Online Newspapers. MIT Press.Publisher pageBook
  5. Mehta, N. (2015). Behind a Billion Screens: What Television Tells Us About Modern India. HarperCollins India.Publisher pageBook

Module 5. Module 5: Consent, Power, and Ethical Storytelling

  1. Dóchas (2007). Code of Conduct on Images and Messages. Dóchas, the Irish Association of Non-Governmental Development Organisations.Read it free
  2. Clark, D. J. (2009). Representing the Majority World: Famine, Photojournalism and the Changing Visual Economy. PhD thesis, Durham University.Read it free
  3. Bond (2019). Putting the People in the Pictures First: Ethical Guidelines for the Collection and Use of Content (Images and Stories). Bond.Read it free
  4. Tufte, T. and Mefalopulos, P. (2009). Participatory Communication: A Practical Guide. World Bank Working Paper No. 170. World Bank.Read it free
  5. White, S. A. (ed.) (2003). Participatory Video: Images that Transform and Empower. SAGE Publications.Publisher pageBook
  6. Napoli, P. M. (2001). Foundations of Communications Policy: Principles and Process in the Regulation of Electronic Media. Hampton Press.Publisher pageBook
  7. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (2014). Recommendations on Issues Relating to Media Ownership. TRAI.Read it free

Module 6. Module 6: Communicating Failure: When Things Don't Work

  1. Deby, D. (2011). How Engineers Without Borders learned to embrace failure (and learn from it, too). This Magazine, 1 December 2011.Read it free
  2. Gugerty, M. K. and Karlan, D. (2018). The Goldilocks Challenge: Right-Fit Evidence for the Social Sector. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Engineers Without Borders Canada (2018). Failure Report 2017. Engineers Without Borders Canada.Read it free
  4. Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley.Publisher pageBook
  5. Jowett, G. S. and O'Donnell, V. (2019). Propaganda and Persuasion, 7th edition. SAGE.Publisher pageBook
  6. Vaidhyanathan, S. (2018). Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 7. Module 7: PARI and the Reinvention of Rural Journalism

  1. People's Archive of Rural India (2014-present). PARI. ruralindiaonline.org.Read it free
  2. Sainath, P. (1996). Everybody Loves a Good Drought: Stories from India's Poorest Districts. Penguin India.Publisher pageBook
  3. Rao, U. (2010). News as Culture: Journalistic Practices and the Remaking of Indian Leadership Traditions. Berghahn Books.Publisher pageBook
  4. Aker, J. C. and Mbiti, I. M. (2010). Mobile Phones and Economic Development in Africa. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(3), 207-232.Read it free
  5. Gray, J., Bounegru, L. and Chambers, L. (eds.) (2012). The Data Journalism Handbook. O'Reilly Media.Read it free
  6. Toyama, K. (2015). Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change from the Cult of Technology. PublicAffairs.Publisher pageBook
  7. Tuchman, G., Daniels, A. K. and Benét, J. (eds.) (1978). Hearth and Home: Images of Women in the Mass Media. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  8. Butcher, M. (2003). Transnational Television, Cultural Identity and Change: When STAR Came to India. SAGE India.Publisher pageBook

Module 8. Module 8: Khabar Lahariya: Dalit Women Redefining News

  1. United Nations Democracy Fund. How UNDEF-funded award-winning local newspaper empowers rural women in India. UNDEF.Read it free
  2. Jeffrey, R. (2000). India's Newspaper Revolution: Capitalism, Politics and the Indian-Language Press, 1977-99. C. Hurst & Co.Publisher pageBook
  3. Narayan, B. (2006). Women Heroes and Dalit Assertion in North India: Culture, Identity and Politics. SAGE.Publisher pageBook
  4. Rao, S. (2018). Making of Selfie Nationalism: Narendra Modi, the Paradigm Shift to Social Media Governance, and Crisis of Democracy. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 42(2), 166-183.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 9. Module 9: Video Volunteers and the Community Media Movement

  1. Video Volunteers. About Video Volunteers. Video Volunteers.Read it free
  2. Notley, T. (2013). Video Volunteers and Measuring Impact. Video4Change Network.Read it free
  3. Miao, F. and Holmes, W. (2023). Guidance for Generative AI in Education and Research. UNESCO.Read it free
  4. Brennen, J. S., Simon, F. M., Howard, P. N. and Nielsen, R. K. (2020). Types, Sources, and Claims of COVID-19 Misinformation. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford.Read it free
  5. Rodríguez, C. (2001). Fissures in the Mediascape: An International Study of Citizens' Media. Hampton Press.Publisher pageBook

Module 10. Module 10: Data Journalism for Development

  1. Gray, J., Bounegru, L. and Chambers, L. (eds.) (2012). The Data Journalism Handbook. O'Reilly Media.Read it free
  2. Lennie, J. and Tacchi, J. (2013). Evaluating Communication for Development: A Framework for Social Change. Routledge.Publisher pageBook
  3. Gugerty, M. K. and Karlan, D. (2018). The Goldilocks Challenge: Right-Fit Evidence for the Social Sector. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  4. Hobbs, R. (2010). Digital and Media Literacy: A Plan of Action. The Aspen Institute.Read it free
  5. Mihailidis, P. (2014). Media Literacy and the Emerging Citizen: Youth, Engagement and Participation in Digital Culture. Peter Lang.Publisher pageBook

Module 11. Module 11: AI, Deepfakes, and New Media Ethics

  1. UNESCO (2021). Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence. UNESCO.Read it free
  2. WITNESS (2023). Generative AI microsite: synthetic media threats and responses. WITNESS.Read it free
  3. Brennen, J. S., Simon, F. M., Howard, P. N. and Nielsen, R. K. (2020). Types, Sources, and Claims of COVID-19 Misinformation. Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford.Read it free
  4. International Committee of the Red Cross (2020). Artificial intelligence and machine learning in armed conflict: A human-centred approach. International Review of the Red Cross, 102(913), 463-479.Read it free
  5. Waisbord, S. (2008). The institutional challenges of participatory communication in international aid. Social Identities, 14(4), 505-522.Publisher pageSubscription
  6. Servaes, J. (ed.) (2020). Handbook of Communication for Development and Social Change. Springer.Publisher pageSubscription
  7. Tufekci, Z. (2017). Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest. Yale University Press.Publisher pageBook
  8. Pal, J. (2015). Banalities Turned Viral: Narendra Modi and the Political Tweet. Television & New Media, 16(4), 378-387.Publisher pageSubscription

Module 12. Module 12: Capstone: Your Communication Strategy

  1. Ireton, C. and Posetti, J. (eds.) (2018). Journalism, 'Fake News' and Disinformation: Handbook for Journalism Education and Training. UNESCO.Read it free
  2. Chouliaraki, L. (2013). The Ironic Spectator: Solidarity in the Age of Post-Humanitarianism. Polity Press.Publisher pageBook
  3. Moeller, S. D. (1999). Compassion Fatigue: How the Media Sell Disease, Famine, War and Death. Routledge.Publisher pageBook
  4. Sainath, P. (1996). Everybody Loves a Good Drought: Stories from India's Poorest Districts. Penguin India.Publisher pageBook
  5. Dogra, N. (2012). Representations of Global Poverty: Aid, Development and International NGOs. I.B. Tauris.Publisher pageBook
  6. Seu, I. B. (2010). 'Doing denial': Audience reaction to human rights appeals. Discourse & Society, 21(4), 438-457.Publisher pageSubscription
  7. Nathanson, J. (2013). The Pornography of Poverty: Reframing the Discourse of International Aid's Representations of Starving Children. Canadian Journal of Communication, 38(1), 103-120.Read it free
  8. Cottle, S. and Nolan, D. (2007). Global Humanitarianism and the Changing Aid-Media Field. Journalism Studies, 8(6), 862-878.Publisher pageSubscription
  9. Tufte, T. and Mefalopulos, P. (2009). Participatory Communication: A Practical Guide. World Bank Working Paper No. 170. World Bank.Read it free
  10. White, S. A. (ed.) (2003). Participatory Video: Images that Transform and Empower. SAGE Publications.Publisher pageBook
  11. Waisbord, S. (2008). The institutional challenges of participatory communication in international aid. Social Identities, 14(4), 505-522.Publisher pageSubscription
  12. Lennie, J. and Tacchi, J. (2013). Evaluating Communication for Development: A Framework for Social Change. Routledge.Publisher pageBook
  13. Gugerty, M. K. and Karlan, D. (2018). The Goldilocks Challenge: Right-Fit Evidence for the Social Sector. Oxford University Press.Publisher pageBook
  14. Herman, E. S. and Chomsky, N. (1988). Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media. Pantheon.Publisher pageBook
  15. Rajagopal, A. (2001). Politics after Television: Hindu Nationalism and the Reshaping of the Public in India. Cambridge University Press.Publisher pageBook

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