UGANDA MARTERS UNVERSTY.

SCHOOL OFARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCE

Coursework questions for communication skills. attempt both questions

1. Currently, madia is diverse it has parformed different functions in the political system both
positvly and negativly
a. Discuss the role of madia in the politics of tuday (10marks)
b. How should the government foster development in our area through madia (10marks)
c. Explain the ways in which politicians missuse the madia . (10marks)
2. From a news paper of your choice select an advertisement to the field of your specialization.
a. Write an application latter( Attach the advertisment ). (10marks)
b. A company the application latter with a curriculum vitae (10 marks)

Discuss the role of media in the politics of today

Introduction
Media is known to be the most powerful means of communication. Mass media are media, which
can be used to communicate and interact with a large number of audiences. Be it the
pictorial messages of the early ages, or the high-technology media that are available today,
one thing that we all agree upon, is that mass media are an inseparable part of our
lives. Before we turned towards actual point i.e. Misuse of Mass Media by
Politicians we have to understand basic concepts relating Mass Media, like what is Mass
Media? What are the types of Mass Media? How it influence on Masses? What is the role of
Mass Media in society? What are the advantages &disadvantages of Mass Media? How
politicians misused it? Why Media acts bias? How to resolve the problems? We have to consider
all these points in detail to find out appropriate solution

Media in Uganda

Uganda today has a vibrant media industry. But this has not always been the case. Because of
Uganda's unstable political past, media had never had a chance to thrive under the political
upheaval and dictatorships of former presidents like Milton Obote and particularly, Idi Amin.
The regime change that came about after Yoweri Museveni took control of the country in 1986
brought with it a lot of promise. Media freedom and progress was among those promises. Over
the last 25 years, there has been significant growth in the media industry of Uganda and a lot of
improvement has been made in terms of media freedom. Today, the media industry of Uganda is
one of the most active and prosperous sectors of the economy.

Therefore media has played bigger roles in politics today to the greater extent has seen below in
detail analysis.

The media acts as an effective check on government power and influence over its citizens. In
the last few decades, there has been an unprecedented growth in mass media accompanied by the
falling costs of radio, TV, satellite and Internet services. This phenomenon has helped bring
political information to a much wider audience. On the other hand, the boom in media services
has also allowed various organizations from all over the political spectrum to quickly and
effectively reach their target audiences.

Reporting the News; Perhaps the most important role of the media in politics is to report the
news. As noted above, the vast majority of people must trust the media to provide them with
information. Democracy requires that citizens be informed because they must be able to make
educated voting choices.

Being the Common Carrier; The media plays a common-carrier role by providing a
line of communication between the government and the people. This
communication goes both ways: The people learn about what the government is
doing, and the government learns from the media what the public is thinking.

Several studies have shown that citizens who use the Internet are more likely to
demand democratic governance, although overall rates of national internet
penetration do not always correlate with more demand for democracy from citizens.

Setting the Agenda; Journalists cannot report on an infinite number of stories, so

they must choose which are the most newsworthy. By choosing which stories to
present to the public, the news media helps determine the most important issues; in
other words, the journalists set the agenda. Agenda-setting is crucial because it
shapes which issues will be debated in public. Sometimes political scientists refer to
agenda-setting as signaling because the media signals which stories are the most
important when they decide what to report.

Reach: Social media helps politicians more effectively reach large numbers of voters in a short
amount of time. In the local scene, you cannot just ignore the impact of social media because
the number of social media users usually surpass[es] the number or the margin of your victory,
said Ouano.

Engagement: Unlike television, radio, and direct mailers, social media allows politicians to
actively engage with their potential voters.

Share Ideas & Goals: Social media allows politicians to share their beliefs, goals, and
accomplishments directly with voters, making them feel more directly involved with the
campaign.

Behind-the-Scenes: Social media allows politicians to give their supporters a behind-the-scenes

view of their campaign.

Turn Digital Followers into Votes: It is one thing to build a large, digital following. It is another
to turn those followers into votes.

Acting as the Public Representative; The media sometimes acts as a public

representative by holding government officials accountable on behalf of the people.
Many people argue that the media is ill equipped to play this role because the
media does not face the same type of accountability that politicians face. Serving as
the representative of the public, moreover, could undermine the medias objectivity
because the act of representing the people might require reporters to take a
position on an issue.

The media influences politics by helping to shape public opinion. For the
example The United States has a democratic government, meaning that the people
vote to elect leaders and change laws based on the majority. When these voters rely
on the mass media to assist them in developing an opinion for determining a vote,
the media influences politics
The media includes several different outlets through which people can receive information on
politics, such as radio, television, advertising and mailings. When campaigning, politicians spend
large quantities of money on media to reach voters, concentrating on voters who are undecided.
Politicians may use television commercials, advertisements or mailings to point out potentially
negative qualities in their opponents while extolling their own virtues.

The media can also influence politics by deciding what news the public needs to hear. Often,
there are more potential news stories available to the media than time or space to devote to them,
so the media chooses the stories that are the most important and the most sensational for the
public to hear. This choice can often be shaped, at least partially, by the stories the public may
find the most interesting and the ones that cause ratings or readership to rise for the media outlet.
The government can use media foster development through the following ways

Responsible media interaction and increased trust must be fostered at all levels of society. A
key focus of media development efforts must be education in media literacy, targeted not only at
journalists but at governments, donors, Development partners and the general public;to foster an
improved and empowered communications environment

Any approach to media development must include systems-wide measures including

development of an enabling regulatory framework and increased access to information

while new technologies offer new and exciting opportunities, we must focus not on a transition
from old media to new media, but on maximizing the potential for expanding networked
journalism across the mediain all its forms.

The media is necessarily political, seeking to foster debate around inherently contentious social,
economic, cultural and political issues. Donors and NGOs must recognize the clear-cut
distinction between using the media to promote specifi c development policies and buildingthe
media as a component of genuinedemocratic debate.

Good governance and account ability are ultimately about effective and dynamic
communications between policymakers, politicians and their constituent populations. Greater
effort is required to convinceAfrican governments, donors and financial institutions of the value
of free and fair media, and of expanded networked journalism.

Developing effective media legislation, including taxation, freedom of information laws,

regulating and licensing arrangements and criminal liable acts;

Establish a protocol to enter into "friendship." It is very important to screen the people who
are "friending" you. Don't accept everyone into your social-media community. Take the time to
investigate who they are and how they made the connection with you. Don't be concerned with
the number of people who are following yoube conscientious of who is following you. Are
they relating to you from your past? Are they relating to you based upon current relationships?
Church? Business? Political? These are all important.
Have an authentic voice on your social-media outlets. As an author, I am appalled at ghost-
written books. As soon as I pick a book up and start reading it, I can tell if it has been ghost-
written. The voice of the author is unauthentic. The reading doesn't have a natural flow to it. The
words are sanitized and shallow. The same is true for social media. I refuse to follow someone
who isn't the actual voice. People want to connect directly with the person whom they're
following. If it can't be your voice, don't bother.

Create a rhythm in your postings. Don't over do it, but be consistent. I like to think of it as a
heartbeat. There are times when my adrenaline for social media kicks in, so I will post often and
with a lot of energy. There are other times that I pull away to catch a breather. However, I
strive to be consistent in the rhythm of my postings.

Don't lose your integrity. If you repost something, use as much caution as if you were the
originator of the post. I've seen people post ridiculous articles, videos and slanderous statements
that made me question the integrity of the person reposting it. Your influence is at stake with
reposts, so be careful to not discredit yourself by association.

Be positive. Don't be a whiner who complains about everything. Let your words be encouraging
and build up people. That's not to say that you shouldn't speak to current matters, but just know
that you can't make a full argument in 140 characters.

Unfriend or unfollow people who annoy you. If there are people within your social-media
community who get under your skin simply unfriend or unfollow them. Don't make a big deal
about it. Don't message them and tell them why. Just disappear from their feed.

Use it properly or lose it immediately. I use social media for very distinct purposes. My
personal social media accounts are for those people who want to connect with me, well,
personally. My voice and sharing on those platforms is of a personal nature. When I or others
post on FivestarMan platforms we are raising the volume of authentic manhood. Our goal is to
influence culture with our authenticity and representation of manhood. We want to
counterbalance the culture.

Keep the main thing the main thing. Social media has the ability to creep into something that
is unhealthy and inappropriate. Stay focused and sober-minded regarding your use of it and how
it represents you. I never want to be shamed by something that I say or how I represent myself on
my platforms. It requires diligence in my words and careful consideration of how a statement
represents me. I am fortunate to have several people who help me and give me feedback on my
posts.

The Declaration and the Programme of Action should call for public awareness campaigns
to focus attention on the challenges of social integration and promote the principle of unity in
diversity. These campaigns should make use of the arts and the full range of media, including
television, video, film, radio, electronic networks, books, magazines, posters, flyers, theater and
music. They should enlist the support of the advertising and entertainment industries, the media
-- both traditional and non-traditional -- the entire UN system, all member states, NGOs, and
popular personalities. They should reach homes, the work place, public areas and schools. The
guidelines recommended above for educational programs would also serve these campaigns for
social integration.

The media have both a powerful influence on people's attitudes and perceptions and a
weighty responsibility to contribute to social integration. Currently, a great deal of media
attention is focussed on the seemingly insurmountable differences that divide peoples and
nations, and little attention is given to evidence that these differences can be overcome. A
serious, global discourse must be undertaken to explore the use of existing and rapidly emerging
media technologies to foster hope and promote social integration and development. The media
have a responsibility to help people understand that diversity, often a source of conflict, can also
be a powerful resource for social development. An important beginning would be to eliminate
stereotyping based on religion, culture, gender, race, class, nationality and ethnicity from media
programming. Then by focussing on constructive, unifying and cooperative undertakings, the
media could demonstrate humanity's capacity to work together to meet the enormous challenges
facing it.

The media should highlight the importance and honor of serving humankind. Through
service, the essential principles of social integration -- including compassion, tolerance, love,
understanding, sacrifice, humility, and commitment to justice -- are manifested in society. Not
only does service provide immediate benefits to the community, but it also creates bonds of
solidarity and common purpose among those involved. According to the Baha'i Writings, peace,
justice and security will only be firmly established in the world when all people "become united
and coordinated in service to the world of humanity."

Unity in diversity, the foundation principle for social integration, could also be promoted --
internationally, nationally and locally -- through the holding of contests and the presentation of
awards by the popular media, schools, civic organizations and governments. The services of the
advertising industry should also be enlisted to promote the fundamental values of social
development.

Conclusion

Each country should be encouraged to earmark resources for promoting social integration
through the foundation principle of unity in diversity. Consideration should also be given to
including the promotion of this principle among the indicators of social development. Countries
could, for example, be encouraged to report efforts to foster tolerance, understanding and
appreciation of other cultures, equality of the sexes, the concept of one human family, and
service to the community, the nation and the world.
c. Explain the ways in which politicians misuse the media

Media abuse

Many campaign managers are feeding the public with false information which can cause chaos in
the country. As a result, we warn such people to stop with immediate effect or risk being
arrested," MrEnanga said while addressing the media at a weekly national security press briefing.

According to preliminary investigations, most of these cases are acts of revenge by jilted lovers,
and some are distributed by fraudsters with the intention of extorting money from the victims.

Loss of Privacy; One basic problem that can come with the use of social networking sites is the
loss of individual privacy. This is because all social networking sites involve placing personal
information on the internet, and it's possible for people in almost all corners of the world to see
that information. There are privacy settings for these sites, but many young people can
be careless about this. In addition, information placed on the internet creates a "digital footprint"
that can't be erased as easily as words simply written on a piece of paper. Many young
people don't make good choices about what to include on their profiles. In fact, in a survey of
Britsh teens, it was found that 39 percent had posted something which they regretted later.
Consequently, such students leave "digital footprints" that may be harmful in the future.
Employers could look at their Facebook profiles and see pictures of illegal actions, for example.

Cyberbullying; A cyberbully is someone who abuses another person through the internet or
other technology. Social networking sites are often breeding grounds for such abuse. This is
because it's so quick and easy to post a mean comment, send an intimidating message, start a
nasty rumor, or upload embarrassing photos. Students don't think twice about their actions
because the time between planning a prank and actually going through with it is greatly
decreased on a social networking site. It's possible to be completely anonymous as well, so there
is less chance of getting caught. In a study of British teenagers, 37 percent had admitted to
using a social networking site to make fun of a peer. In addition to sending abusive comments to
others, it's also very easy to "hack" into another person's profile. In the same study, 1 in 4 teens
said they were able to do this at one point. That means that students can do damage by acting like
someone else while chatting or changing that person's profiile.
Many people, especially from the new 21st century generation make the social media as a place
to show of their richness, their ability to do something, and to become famous instantly. In the
other side there's also people who do just natural just they are but they're famous because of their
talents.

Defamation: The most affected people through social media are politicians and celebrities. They
are the breed which has been punished brutally by social media. People got another medium to
express their anger and to defame them through tweeting or by other social networking sites. The
click of the like button on the Facebook can lead your action as absurd, and this can make you
liable for the crime of social media abuse.

False and unreliable information: Apart from defamation, there is increasing misuse of the
social networking sites. People make fake email accounts of celebrities and spread untrue stories
about them. In fact, people hack the accounts of different users at homes and accessing the
private life of others, leading to the relationship woes and divorce.
Source:www.iiu.org.ug

The major role of a PRO is to act as the Institutes Public Relations Liaison Officer and issue
communication in liaison with Chief Executive Officer and coordinate Public Relations activities
as planned by the Public Relations Committee as well as serves as Secretary to this Committee.

The PRO reports to the Chief Executive Officer

Other Duties

1. Act as a custodian of and manage the Institutesbrand.

2. Develop Communication Strategies and implement approved programs.

3. Develop Corporate Social Responsibility strategies and implement approved programs.

4. Plan and manage the Institutes budget.

5. Plan and prepare for conferences, seminars and workshops undertaken by the Institute.

6. Manage the Institutes media activities and public inquiries and liaise with other
organisationson the Institute.

7. Write and edit magazines, case studies, speeches, articles, hand outs, brochures,
lettersannual reports and other media materials;

8. Liaise and co-ordinate with organizations to which the Institute belongs as well as
participate in dialogue and fora as arranged from time to time.

9. Liaise with the Membership and Training sub committees for the effective delivery of
Institute programs.

10. Manage and update information/content on the Institutes website;

11. Perform any other duties that may be assigned from time to time by the Chief Executive
Officer.

Probation- 3 months

Remuneration; To be provided from IIU

Qualifications

1. Honors degree in Mass Communication, Public Relations or Journalism or a related field

from a recognized University/Institution;
 2. Applicants with a relevant postgraduate qualification will have added advantage;

3. Should have at least three years relevant experience in the Public Relations field from a
reputable organization;

4. Well-developed interpersonal, communication, team building and analytical skills;

5. Fluency in English and at least one local language. Knowledge of Swahili will give the
applicant an added advantage.

6. Should be proficient in MS office/suite applications and internet/ email technologies

How to Apply:

All applications must be hand delivered to our offices on Plot 91, Jinja Road, 2nd Floor - Arrow
House (opposite Club Silk) and clearly addressed to

The Chief Executive Officer

The Insurance Institute of Uganda

P.0.Box 4184, Kampala

To reach NOT later than Friday 5th may by 5:00pm

 Kananga parish
Makindye division, Kampala (u)

1st April 2017

The Chief Executive Officer

The Insurance Institute of Uganda

P.0.Box 4184, Kampala

RE; APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

I am writing to you with reference to the Public Relations Officer job posting within your
organization. I would like to offer my candidacy for this position.

On completing my Undergraduate Degree in Mass Communication from Uganda Martyrs

University, I opted to specialize in Public Relations and successfully attained my post- graduate
degree in Public Relations from Uganda Martyrs University. Thereafter, I worked at Dart
Communications which is dedicated to handling PR activities for various companies.

Apart from assisting with media monitoring and designing press releases for each organization, I
have led my teams to successfully managing entire PR campaigns for several esteemed brands. I
also have other upcoming brands in my portfolio.

My job profile includes planning and executing social media communications, marketing
announcements, liaisoning with the media on behalf of the brands I manage and designing PR
campaigns for products and services. I have assisted on a few Corporate Social Responsibility
campaigns as well. I have learned a lot during my six years in this field and would like to utilize
this valuable experience in newer horizons. Delivering quality work that produces results is my
top priority and my proven track record bears testimony to my success in this regard.

I have enclosed my resume for your perusal and I look forward to having an opportunity to
discuss my candidacy further. Do not hesitate to contact me should you require any additional
information or need a clarification on information listed above or in my resume.

Adupuk Joseph

..

Kindly put your names here and correct the above address
 ADUPUK JOSEPH
Namugongo road
Kampala , uganda Mobile: +2567700 900129
Tel: 0706922961 andrewesob@gmail.com
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Exceptionally skilled Journalist possesses dogged determination to find the storey and deliver it
to the public.Flexible and willling to work long hours when needed.Has authored award-winning
exposes and believes in protecting the confidentiality of anonymous sources even in the face of
tremendous pressure.
CORE QUALIFICATIONS

Strong journalistic integrity

Flexibility with hours

Determined and dedicated

Deep belief in the First Amendment

Fair and objective reporting

Highly ethical with a strong aversion to yellow slanted journalism

Very proficient with all word processing programmes and platforms

Able to meet fast deadlines with ease

Collabourates well with editorial staff

Keeps up-to-date on the citys pulse to find the next storey

 Regular attendance at court proceedings, public meetings,
educational meetings, county commissioner meetings and press
conferences.

Reviews all pending legislation in the publics interest

Has an engaging and outgoing personality with great interpersonal

skills

WORK EXPERIENCE
June 2016to July 2016 Dar communication, as a Journalist

Reported on a wide variety of news topics.

Did research and investigation.

Conducted interviews with people and officials.

Attended court proceedings, press conferences and public meetings.

Conducted research into court files.

Made Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to governmental

agencies.

Wrote award-winning exposes.

Followed the storey even when potentially dangerous.

Protected source confidentiality at all costs, including serving a

thirty-day jail sentence for contempt for refusing to reveal sources.

EDUCATION
2014- 2017 Uganda Martyrs University, Bachelors Degree in Journalism
Project Work :
** Documentary on Stress Management.
**Documentary on Old Age Homes.
** Documentary on India Incredible.
** Presentation on the consumer response toward Pepsi and Thumps up.
** Advertisement creation on the subject Fairness cream.
** Presentation on People Photography.
** Presentation on 98.3 FM

Languages spoken

English

Luganda

Ateso

Kiswahili