1992 Volume 6 Number 1 Development by Rules Traditional U)re in Population Communicauon Film and Development Domestic Miscoinmunication African Countries in Nigerian Press Copyright ©1992 by the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), Nairobi, Kenya, ISSN 0258-4913 Africa Media Review provides a forum for the study of communication theory, practice and policy in African countries. It is published three times a year by the ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P.O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Telephone: 227043/334244 Ext. 2068. Telex: 25148 ACCE KE Correspondence and Advertising Authors should send contributions to the Managing Editor, ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P.O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Books for review, book review articles and all other matters regarding AMR should be sent to the same address. Subscription Rates Africa Outside Africa One Year Two Years Three Years US$ 39.00 US$69.00 US$99.00 These rates include packing and postage. $48 $90 $132 Single copies are US$13.00 within Africa and US$16 outside Africa. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to African Council for Communication Education and sent to the above address. Special arrangements will be entered into where applicable for subscribers in Africa through their nearest ACCE national co- ordinator. ACCE institutional and individual members receive AMR as part of membership privileges. Managing Editor Circulation S.T. Kwame Boafo, African Council for Communication Education, Kenya. Rahab Gatura, African Council for Communication Education, Kenya. ACCE President Tom Adaba, NTA, Lagos, Nigeria. (0 Comments on the Contents of this Issue This issue ushers in 1992 with a reminder of the efficacy of communication in addressing development problems on the continent. With a repetoire of six papers, each focussing on an element of communication, this edition attempts to mirror contemporary concerns regarding Africa's socio-economic crisis. There is a thread of hope in all the papers with some optimism being attributed to the potential of the African indigenous media in alleviating the crisis and the role of the African woman in development, the argument being that communication can help liberate the African woman and unleash her energies towards development. Robert Agunga's article attributes the failure of development projects in Africa to the lack of development support communication as a vital component of project management. This component would assist in the dissemination of management information including basic rules of management which the African operators seem to lack. With less and less food to feed her ever increasing population, Kwesi Yankah, in his contribution, recommends that Africa should utilise its own folk-lore to spread the message of family planning. The paper presents a case study of the Akan, an ethnic community in Ghana. The film industry could be used in empowering the African through increased awareness. This is the message in Matthew E. Sauer's paper as he studies the role of cinema in Nigeria and India. He notes the monopoly of Western movies on the continent and suggests further research in the promotion of the film industry for Africa's development purposes. There are two papers on gender issues. One is by Noma Owens-Ibie in which the issue of wife-beating is addressed. The paper argues that wife-beating, as a manifestation of domestic violence, hinders communication of development messages to grassroot women in Africa. Living under fear, the African woman sits on the fence when called upon to participate in development. On the other hand, Chinyere Stella Okunna's paper argues that women should join mass communication training institutions, if the media are to change their bias against women. Graduating through their tutelage, a new crop Of female journalists would emerge, changing the image of the woman in development, the paper concludes. Finally, Umaru A. Pate's paper looks at the volume of news about Africa in the Nigerian press. His findings are that the print media are heavily influenced by the official government foreign policy. There is a big volume of African news in the papers in line with the official policy that seems to encourage African contacts. (ii) Table of Contents 1 15 25 35 47 59 Development by Rules: An Ethical Reflection on the High Failure Rate of Development Projects and Implications for Communication by Robert Agunga Traditional Lore in Population Communication: The Case of the Akan in Ghana by Kwesi Yankah Nigeria and India: The Use of Film for Development - Whispers in a Crowd by Matthew E. Sauer Domestic Miscommunication as a Development Constraint: A Study of Wife-Beating Among Selected Junior Workers by Noma Owens-Ibie Female Faculty in Journalism Education in Nigeria: Implications for the Status of Women in Society by Chinyere Stella Okunna Reporting African Countries in the Nigerian Press: Perspectives in International News by Umaru A. Pate (iii)