Christina Meetoo

On Media, Society and Mauritius

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Local media on the web

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There have been a few developments lately in the local mediascape related to the web (at last!) that are worthy of attention. Starting with the Défi Media Group which has launched its website for the first time at the following address: http://www.defimedia.info
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This was long overdue as oddly enough, none of the print media titles it owns (Le Défi Plus, L’Hebdo, News on Sunday, etc.) had a website up to now. However, I really appreciate that the group has decided to frogleap directly into the web 2.0 world as its website does not merely display articles which have appeared in the print version. It is a platform that allows for rating of articles, comments from readers, social bookmarking as well as user-generated content in a blog section, RSS and even Radio Plus podcasts (which I haven’t yet tested though). So one can say that the Défi Media Group is the first major local media player to exploit Internet 2.0!

Another media player which has also decided to spend some effort on its website is Radio One at http://www.r1.mu
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Though the website is richer in information compared with the previous one, I personally think it is still unsatisfactory. It still looks very much like a first generation website with no user comments, no RSS, no user-generated content, etc. And I can’t seem to be able to listen to the podcasts (Microsoft plug-ins?). And the readability is not fantastic as the design is not very neat and clear (compared with that of the Défi website for instance).

Ironically, whereas Le Défi does not seem to have widely publicised its own initiative (which would deserve much more public attention), Radio One has been actively promoting its website through print and radio ads.

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Incidentally, I want to put a special mention for an overseas initiative by Anne Robert, a Mauritian expat in Canada who was head of the Radio One station for some time. Her website Global Mauritian provides an interesting platform for incisive opinion articles with reader comments enabled.

Note about my blog:
Since I felt a bit bored by the look of my blog lately, I’ve decided to change its theme as you may have noticed. Not too happy about this one either, but well, we’ll see when I have more time to tinker with it…

The Cyber Island project

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In my last post, I invited my readers to fill in a survey about ICT, Society and Poverty in Mauritius for a paper I had to present at a conference on Poverty and Development which took place on the 1st and 2nd October at Bell Village. I am here posting the slides I used for my presentation as well as some results of the online survey which attracted some 40 respondents (thanks to all). Though the results cannot be deemed to be statistically representative, they are nonetheless interesting as they provide some preliminary insights into the preceptions vis-à-vis what I call ‘The Cyber Island project’.

  • So here are the slides: ICT, Society and Poverty. The Vision of Mauritius as a Cyber Island from a Development Perspective

  • And key findings from the survey:

        – All expressed conviction that ICT are important to society & cannot be ignored
        – Most (84%) felt ICT can help Mauritius achieve social progress with some specifically referring to the potential of such technologies for reducing economic disparities and alleviating poverty by generating jobs and wealth, and others evoking the facilitation of communication and also the easier connection with knowledge centres and other nations.
        – 59% firmly believed such technologies can effectively help alleviate poverty (by contributing to education which helps people out of poverty, by creating employment, by increasing productivity and generating wealth which may be subject to taxes to be used for poverty reduction or even used by businesses for CSR programmes targeting poverty.
        – Above 60% (67%) of respondents expressed moderate to serious doubts about the ‘cyber island’ project. Most felt that the local conditions for ICT deployment and use are inadequate and insufficient to bring social progress in Mauritius.
        – Regarding progress achieved towards realising the project, 54% felt not much has been achieved so far. While some felt that the cyber towers are a step forward, that many youngsters are working in the ICT sector and that computers have entered most spheres of our life, others felt that this is not enough. The latter complained that many of our public services are not properly computerised, that the standards of ICT education are much lower than those of developed countries and even felt that employment in the sector is insignificant.

    In essence, it seems that current Internet users agree that ICT are an important feature of modern societies and, as such, the use thereof should be promoted in order to impact positively on social inclusion and development. Yet, they also feel that the grand ‘cyber island’ rhetoric is overstretched as there is a gap between the discourse and the practice.


    In other words, that Dissemination is too slow.

    • Small survey on ICT, Society and Poverty

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    I am currently conducting a small survey on ICT, Society and Poverty in Mauritius and would appreciate if Mauritian readers could take just a few minutes to fill in the online survey (it won’t take you more than 5 minutes).

    The data will be made available here as soon as it is completed. And, if there are enough responses, it will be presented at a conference on poverty in Mauritius, which is to take place beginning of October (I will post details).

    Thanks a lot for your help. You can also ask your friends to fill in. The more the better.

    Click Here to take survey

    News from me

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    It’s been a while since I last wrote a post. My apologies to regular visitors. It has indeed been a busy month, in a weird kind of way in some respects. Just to recap:

    – We’ve had the oddest start of academic year ever with a string of decisions taken by management without any consultation whatsoever with us academics. One thing they need to learn up there is that reforms cannot be properly implemented without planning, consultation, explanation and, more importantly, you need to obtain the collaboration of most actors/stakeholders. In fact, change management encompasses internal marketing. Sell the damn thing to your internal audience, seduce them, persuade them it’s the right way to go! And also, obtain their feedback to make adjustments that will enhance the chance of success because at the end of the day, they are the agents who will implement everything. I wonder if they have at least realised that up there…

    – As for me, I have been able to submit my paper on newspapers in Mauritius to the conference on the Future of Journalism which was organised on Wednesday and Thursday at the University of Cardiff. I was not able to attend but my paper was nonetheless accepted and presented in absentia. And that’s not all, I have to write up another paper for a conference and my deadline for submission is fast approaching (only 10 days left Oh My God!). So, I might again disappear for the next two weeks…

    – As far as lecturing is concerned, I have also been revamping/upgrading a lot of my modules (Introduction to Media and Communication, Aspects of Film Theory and New Forms of Media). So. it has been a frenzy of reading, synthesising and preparation of material for lectures…

    – On a personal note, those of you who also read Avi’s blog know that we’ve had a string of things to celebrate and events to organise, starting with my birthday (I’m getting old, snif!), going on with Anya’s and Kyan’s birthdays, then lastly our 13th anniversary as a couple. Next will be Avi’s birthday in 11 days. 25th August to 25th September is a birthdays-packed period for the Meetoos 😉

    That’s it for the roundup. Ah no, I also forget that I was affected by a very bad throat infection (‘infection des voies aériennes’, said our doctor who gave us an interesting and lengthy lecture about viruses and pandemics) two weeks ago and still suffer from its after-effects. Which did not prevent me from getting embarked on a mountain-climbing expedition on the Black River Peak with Avi and his colleagues (Picture above was taken on top of the mountain;-))

    They put the blame on us

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    The University of Mauritius is going through difficult times. This is not new, you will say…

    The blame is being subtly shifted to lecturers who are bearing the consequences of drastic changes in policy. In fact, most people are thinking that lecturers have asked for an extra week of holiday because they are utterly lazy. It has even been said on the radio that lecturers were absent yesterday and that students were sent back home for the first day of lectures. Very convenient, isn’t it?

    But let me tell you that this is not true. We were present yesterday and we are present everyday at work. People do not realise how much work goes on behind the scene. Unlike primary and secondary school teachers, we do not get any holidays when there are no classes unless we apply for official leave.

    The truth is that we were asked by top management to delay start of semester by one week for most courses. If the information did not get to the students, is it our fault?

    And by the way, the reasons cited in the media for the delay are completely ‘à côté de la plaque’. More crucial issues are being omitted. And our Union is quite unsuccessful at getting the message across. But for God’s sake, stop putting the blame on us…

    L’express vs Le Mauricien

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    Picture courtesy of http://bibliobsession.free.fr/share/fight.gif


    Les ‘grands noms’ de la presse écrite locale se tirent encore une fois dans les pattes.

    Azmaal Hydoo de l’Express a d’abord rédigé une interview fictive de Thierry Henry le mardi 26 juin sous le titre ‘EXCLUSIVE AVEC THIERRY HENRY. Mieux vaut en rire…’, où il fait dire au joueur que seul L’express était sur la bonne voie en ce qui concerne l’éventuel transfert de Henry vers le FC Barcelone. C’est une interview franchement ridicule; était-ce l’intention de l’auteur, je n’en sais rien?

    Ce qui me désole c’est que cela donne lieu à une petite guéguerre d’éditorialistes.
    Gilbert Ahnee n’a pas manqué de tirer une nouvelle salve en direction de son ‘confrère’ dans son édito du samedi 30 juin de son journal Le Mauricien en fustigeant la monstruosité, l’infamie, la vilenie de Lexpress, qu’il accuse d’être dirigé par un directeur général qui occupe ‘des fonctions, quasi-ministérielles, à la tête du Empowerment Programme’.

    Double riposte
    Et rebelote! Aujourd’hui, les éditorialistes de L’express ne pouvaient laisser passer l’insulte. Ils ont tiré à deux cette fois. Ariane Cavalot-De-L’Estrac signe ‘A propos de ‘Gag” et Azmaal Hydoo signe ‘TRANSVERSALE. Thierry en rit encore’

    L’une évoque les résultats des sondages pour défendre la crédibilité de L’express et défend également son DG qui fait, selon elle, honneur à la profession en ayant accepté de présider un organisme non pas étatique mais un ‘comité paritaire secteur privé / gouvernement’. Le gouvernement a recherché, dit-elle ‘pour président un membre du secteur privé “libre et indépendant”‘ (Pour combien de temps encore sera-ce un secteur libre et indépendant si l’on se fie aux déclarations intempestives de notre cher Navin?).

    Quant au second journaliste auteur de l’interview fictive, il se défend en évoquant les méchancetés anciennes des journalistes du Mauricien vis-à-vis de ceux de L’express, le fait que L’express aurait vu juste à propos de Thierry Henry et revendique une filiation aux ‘vraies-fausses’ interviews de Karl Zero.

    A mon avis, ça ressemble à une querelle de chiffonniers, de petits gamins de cour de récré… Et en attendant, je vois sur la dernière page de L’express une annonce pour la prochaine rencontre de l’Association des Editeurs de Presse signé du secrétaire Gibert Ahnee! Croyez-vous que ceux de L’express s’y rendront? J’aimerais beaucoup être une petite souris ce jour-là…

    Pendant ce temps…
    Ah ouais, en passant, vous avez entendu l’annonce de Paul Bérenger concernant le premier ministrable de son parti (c-à-d Alan Ganoo). Ça m’a fait rigoler… c’était pas lui qui s’énervait quand la rumeur avait été répandue sur Alan Ganoo il y a quelque temps?