https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/The Global Media Lab brings together researchers from around the world to conduct collaborative research about media, journalism, and politics. The lab is based at Lafayette College.enhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#climate-news-tanzaniahttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#climate-news-tanzaniaTue, 23 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0000Two short radio news reports raised knowledge that climate change is human-caused and support for low-cost local action, but did not change costly behaviors.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#thesis-tang-trafficking-stigmahttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#thesis-tang-trafficking-stigmaFri, 15 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000Tanzania is a source, transit, and destination country for under-reported trafficking in persons for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Leveraging a vignette embedded in an in-person survey of 1,082 rural villagers in coastal Tanzania, I examine how five features of a trafficked survivor’s experience (age, wealth upon return, type of servitude, family pressure, and the involvement of relatives in trafficking) influence the likelihood of an individual experiencing stigma or receiving support in their return communities. Results reveal that sexual servitude and the possession of wealth trigger the greatest alarm. The survivor’s age, the pressure she experienced, and her relationship with her trafficker are less influential.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#thesis-brown-starvationhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#thesis-brown-starvationWed, 13 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000After a historic decline in instances of famine, mass starvation has resurged, primarily due to the use of starvation as a weapon of war. This study takes the “naming and shaming” approach to human rights enforcement and analyzes its application by states, NGOs, news outlets, and operational organizations in cases of intentional starvation. I find that what I term “faminogenic shaming” is widely deployed but has no effect when military goals are taken into account, and otherwise shows only conditional effectiveness. Faminogenic shaming also produces rhetorical backlash from the perpetrators, and accusations levied against the belligerent are regularly denied or deflected.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#authority-gaphttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#authority-gapThu, 23 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#media-capture-tanzaniahttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#media-capture-tanzaniaSat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000Uses a dataset of Tanzanian media ownership since 1990 and surveys of more than 300 journalists to show how media capture undermines coverage of corruption.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#blame-attributionhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#blame-attributionSat, 07 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000A news report blaming the Member of Parliament for a water failure cut willingness to vote for the MP by 8 percentage points, relative to a report blaming the bureaucracy.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#ipv-radio-drama-reportinghttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#ipv-radio-drama-reportingTue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000A 1.5-minute radio drama made respondents 8.9 percentage points more likely to recommend that survivors report abuse to the police.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#hiv-drama-long-termhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#hiv-drama-long-termFri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000Eighteen months after a single screening, a Swahili HIV drama still affected knowledge, disclosure attitudes, and policy priorities.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#ipv-rwandahttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#ipv-rwandaMon, 10 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000A large-scale study of Twubakane, a radio drama produced by NOVAH, with the University of Rwanda, RWAMREC, and Innovations for Poverty Action.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#solar-uptakehttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#solar-uptakeWed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000Tests whether environment and health news change household demand for solar lanterns in rural Tanzania.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#high-courts-tanzaniahttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#high-courts-tanzaniaSun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000Hearing a radio report about a court ruling against child marriage made respondents 8 percentage points more likely to reject all forms of early marriage.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#family-planning-nigeriahttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#family-planning-nigeriaSun, 01 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000A national-scale randomized evaluation with Family Empowerment Media.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#court-shoppinghttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#court-shoppingSat, 14 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#religious-leaders-traffickinghttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#religious-leaders-traffickingMon, 23 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#afya-yako-service-deliveryhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#afya-yako-service-deliveryTue, 02 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000Part of Afya Yako, a national-scale randomized evaluation run with the Economic and Social Research Foundation. In 2024 the team audited 465 health facilities across Tanzania. Supported by the Social Science Research Council’s Mercury Project.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#local-radio-trust-healthhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#local-radio-trust-healthMon, 01 Jul 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#environment-radio-dramahttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#environment-radio-dramaSat, 01 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000We report the results of an experiment conducted in rural Tanzania in which 1,360 respondents from 34 villages were randomly assigned to attend a screening of one of two radio dramas. The treatment drama depicts a corrupt bargain between a business developer and a public official to sell off the natural resources of a fishing village; the hero of the story rallies villagers to reject the deal in favor of environmental preservation. A placebo drama focused on an unrelated topic. Outcomes were assessed through a survey conducted four weeks later with 98.5% of original participants. Participants who were randomly exposed to the treatment drama became more knowledgeable about climate change, more likely to cite environmental protection as a political priority, and substantially more supportive of pro-environmental policies and candidates. No effects were found on other outcomes, such as respondents’ proclivity to engage in or punish illegal logging.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#journalism-for-developmenthttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#journalism-for-developmentThu, 11 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#supply-watchdog-journalismhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#supply-watchdog-journalismFri, 05 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#religious-radiohttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#religious-radioTue, 02 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#information-or-motivationhttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#information-or-motivationThu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000I evaluate two mechanisms by which journalism influences village government responsiveness: informing government officials about the preferences of their constituents and motivating officials with the threat of public exposure. I first draw on surveys of 4,200 citizens and 340 leaders across 109 Tanzanian villages to document whether leaders understand, share, and respond to the policy preferences of their constituents. I then examine the effect of two overlapping treatments, each designed to capture a mechanism of journalism’s influence. I find mixed evidence for the role of information, strong evidence for the role of motivation, and no evidence for complementarity between the two mechanisms. The effect is concentrated among elected officials rather than bureaucrats, but not in electorally competitive communities.https://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#governments-respond-watchdoghttps://lafayetteglobalmedialab.com/research/#governments-respond-watchdogSun, 01 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000I evaluate the influence of investigative journalism on government responsiveness using a national scale randomized controlled trial in Tanzania. I collaborated with 15 regional radio stations to identify 206 communities experiencing service delivery problems like flooded roads, broken water points, and missing medical supplies. I then randomly assigned half the communities to the treatment group and half the communities to a pure control condition. In treatment communities, journalists investigated the service delivery problem, broadcast their findings on regional radio, and conducted follow up reports several months later. Seven months after the reports were broadcast, independent auditors evaluated the service delivery problem in all 206 communities. I find that treatment communities received higher audit scores on average (coefficient = 0.25 standard deviations, randomization inference p-value = 0.033), amounting to one road or water point repair in every four treated communities. The investigations generated observable responses by un-elected government ministries but not citizens, local government officials, or members of parliament.