AudiencScapes

Despite the government crackdown on Facebook and Twitter, more Chinese citizens than ever are using the internet. Some are using social media to question or criticize the government. Will the pressure from China’s growing population of netizens usher in a new era of transparency or information control?

by Tawanda KaromboHarare, Zimbabwe- Developments in recent months suggest there may be cracks in Zimbabwe’s tightly controlled media environment. Four new newspapers have been licensed and one of these, NewsDay, has already started publishing. In mid-June, the opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change, launched the country’s first audio-news platform on mobile phones and on its website (www.mdc.co.zw).Although the MDC’s audio service is likely to carry a partisan perspective, its arrival in Zimbabwe is significant because it is the first audio-news service in the country that is not controlled by the government.