AudiencScapes

The country’s recent political and economic crises mean that Zimbabwe has
been late to experiment with advances in technology. This is finally changing,
as suggested by the recent introduction of mobile money products. Institutions
are clamoring to launch products to profit from this untapped market.

A drop in the price of mobile handsets and the arrival of the fiber optic network in Zimbabwe caused an enormous expansion in the use of mobile phones. With the launch of mobile braodband services, Zimbabwe is undergoing dramatic changes in how people communicate and do business. Chief K. Masimba Biriwasha reports...

As the country gains another connection to the East Africa undersea cable, new internet providers has begun a scramble for customers. While this bodes well for consumers, obstacles to optimum connectivity persist. Masimba Biriwasha reports.

As mobile operators build infrastructure and upgrade services, a newcomer launches a free SMS service. If subscribers are willing to put up with ads at the end of their messages, that is. As texting has gotten more expensive in the country, this new product could fill a need. Tawanda Karombo reports.

Since last June, the government has been churning out licenses for new print media outlets. Is the right to information and free speech being served? Chief K. Masimba Biriwasha reports.

The potential of social media to connect activists in Zimbabwe is far
from being realized. Numerous obstacles must be overcome before these
tools can be used to express dissent and organize citizens as has
happened recently in North Africa. An analysis by Chief K. Masimba.

A lack of cooperation among major industry players is frustrating
investors and shortchanging citizens. Their reluctance to share
equipment like cell phone towers results in duplication of
infrastructure. Tawanda Karombo reports from Harare.

There’s been a flurry of activity in Zimbabwe’s print media sector. New dailies have begun publishing while several more media received licenses from the government. These do not include a single broadcast outlet. AudienceScapes Fellow Tawanda Karombo reports.....

"21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers" will be the theme of this year's World Press Freedom Day May1-3 with a focus on the opportunities and challenges of the digital landscape. Here AudienceScapes analyst Dave Montez writes about how digital news media in Sub-Saharan Africa can look very different from how we normally think of it. As mobile technologies are playing a larger role in the African information environment, it is crucial that journalists, news outlets, and those that support them find innovative ways to integrate media platforms so that all citizens can access independent news media. This post appeared on the World Press Freedom Day 2011 website's blog.

In this issue of the AudienceScapes Field Blog, our fellows report on two very different approaches to improving government. In Zimbabwe, Tawanda Karombo describes a new campaign using social media to expose and confront corruption, whether committed by public officials or private citizens. Dinfin Mulupi reports on a Web-based platform that encourages Kenyans to post reports about how well the government is functioning. While both projects aim their resources at slightly different targets, the ultimate goal is to put pressure on governments to serve the public.