The Drum Beat 439 - International Media Development Reports

This issue of The Drum Beat highlights a series of working group and research reports published by the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) at the National Endowment for Democracy. CIMA’s research reports were written by independent consultants on specific media assistance topics, and its working group reports are based on discussions held by experts – academics, practitioners, funders – on specific topics. We include here brief descriptions of those reports, with links to more detailed summaries of the reports, and from there - links to the full reports themselves.

The Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), an initiative of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), aims to strengthen the support, raise the visibility, and improve the effectiveness of media assistance programmes throughout the world. CIMA approaches its mission by providing information, building networks, conducting research, and highlighting the role independent media play in the creation and development of sustainable democracies around the world. CIMA convenes working groups, commissions research reports, and holds events. The Center also has compiled a searchable bibliography of international media assistance resources. CIMA's advisory council advises the Center on topics in media development that need further study and how it can assist existing organisations involved in media assistance.

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is a private, non-profit organisation created in 1983 to strengthen democratic institutions around the world through non-governmental efforts. Since its inception, NED has funded media programmes around the world. NED promotes democracy through its roles as a grant-making institution, as a center for international scholars, and as host of the World Movement for Democracy. NED has awarded grants for a wide variety of support activities, including journalism training, legal aid for members of the media, education of media consumers, and aid to local print and broadcast outlets. NED supports the building of a network of media practitioners and experts through the Global Forum for Media Development. NED also supports the International Journalists' Network (IJNet), an online resource published by the International Center for Journalists.

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RESEARCH REPORTS

1.Scaling a Changing Curve: Traditional Media Development and the New Media
by Shanthi Kalathil
This report examines the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in independent media development, analysing the use of new media, including blogs, social networking sites, cell phone messaging, and other relatively new technology applications in communication for development. The report contextualises new media in the rapidly changing global information industry, and offers recommendations on how independent media-development programmes can take advantage of, and keep abreast of, these new global trends.

2.Independent Media's Vital Role in Development
by Peter Graves
To demonstrate the importance of fostering independent media, this report provides examples of how access to information has transformed political, economic, and social systems. It shows what can happen when conditions allow independent media to operate and flourish. The report was written to support an examination of the various ways in which media today have a significant impact on decision making and the improvement of society. The document is organised into the following topics with media-related examples: Media Create Political Change; Media Reduce Corruption; Media and the Economy; Media and Society; Media Improve Education; Media Support Disaster Relief; Media Improve Health Practices; Media Serve Local Communities; and Media Influence Public Policy.

3.University Journalism Education: A Global Challenge
by Ellen Hume
This is a study on the current state of journalism education worldwide. The report suggests that not only is there a surge in student demand for university-based journalism studies worldwide, but it is likely that most entry-level journalists come from university programmes. Concerns about journalists emerging directly from universities into the field include: a lack of practical training in journalism education; the trend of merging journalism with public relations; the lack of educational grounding in the ethics of independent journalism; and the failure of universities to "underscore the journalists’ mission as independent watchdogs holding the powerful accountable."

4.Global Investigative Journalism: Strategies for Support
by David E. Kaplan
This report was commissioned to determine the size and strength of the field of investigative journalism and what types of assistance are needed to help the field expand. The report "explores the rapid growth of investigative journalism overseas and suggests ways to best support and professionalize its practice in developing and democratizing countries." The document emphasises that in-country needs vary widely from short-term workshops and consulting where an economy is growing and a sophisticated press exists, to a "holistic 'package' not only of training, but of protection of individual journalists, incentives, reliable information streams (e.g. internet access), institutional support to the better-quality media outlets, legal backup and support to centres..." It offers the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism as a model. The study finds no clear relationship between the economic health of the press and its investigative tradition, but a correlation by country between lesser degrees of corruption, an investigative reporting tradition, and the country being home to an investigative reporting association. The document maps the international donor and development field, along with investigative reporting implementing organisations, finding that a lack of coordination and consultation is hindering the field.

5.The Role of Media-support Organizations and Public Literacy in Strengthening Independent Media Worldwide
by Ann C. Olson
This report covers two communication issues: media literacy - educating the public about the function and responsibilities of the media and how to discern reliable from unreliable or biased news sources - and supporting organisations for media, including journalists' professional associations. The purpose of the study is to explore the potential for support of these journalism organisations and the role of media literacy in sustaining or strengthening independent media around the world.

6.U.S. Public and Private Funding of Independent Media Development Abroad
by Peter Graves and edited by Angela Stephens
This report, based on results of a survey of public and private media sector funders and implementers, interviews, and a review of literature, surveys the major donors, the types of programmes they fund (direct assistance to media outlets, journalism training, public information campaigns, improving the legal environment for media, and media management), and what opportunities exist to educate potential donors about the importance of developing independent media. Independent media sector development includes direct assistance to media outlets, journalism training, creating a legal enabling environment for independent media, media/business management training to ensure financial sustainability, and developing non-governmental professional associations supportive of independent media. As stated in the report, United States official development assistance and private sector philanthropy are at their highest levels ever, and represent an opportunity to increase funding for the independent media sector worldwide through outreach and advocacy to donors about the importance of building and strengthening independent media around the world.

WORKING GROUP REPORTS

7.Community Radio: Its Impact and Challenges to Its Development
This working group report describes results of a meeting on the impact of community radio, as well as the role and challenges of community radio development within the larger context of media development. The group included community radio developers and activists, representatives from donor and implementing organisations, as well as scholars and policymakers, who met to form recommendations on whether and how to address community radio development within larger assistance initiatives. The group discussed creating an enabling environment for community radio development, issues related to the sustainability of community radio stations, and appropriate assistance strategies that donors and implementers should consider, against a background of first-hand accounts of where and why community radio has been effective.

8.Media Assistance: Challenges and Opportunities for the Professional Development of Journalists
This report focuses on both a need for professional development for working journalists in developing countries and those countries with emerging opportunities for independent media and a need for training in independent journalistic practices. The report represents input from practitioners who have observed, studied, planned, and implemented media education programmes of the United States and other Western governments, as well as those of private funders. The document reviews discussion by the group on the topics of universities, journalism centres, and "best practices" for training.

9.Media Law Assistance: Establishing an Enabling Environment for Free and Independent Media to Flourish
This media law working group report describes the role of international media assistance in fostering a legal enabling environment for free and independent media. The working group consisted of participants from media institutions and government, non-governmental, and international organisations, as well as lawyers, academics, and donors. Its goal was to form recommendations for policy makers on how to improve United States foreign assistance with respect to media law in countries where it inhibits free media. According to the working group findings, a "legal enabling environment" requires not only laws on freedom of expression, but journalistic access to information without intimidation, the right to protect sources, a transparent and apolitical licensing system, and the right of citizens to own and operate media without censorship and control and with legal business status. Further, civil society, as stated here, must be educated and prepared to support and oversee its media independence through organisations working to ensure fair implementation of existing laws. The document concludes with recommendations rooted in the recognition of media development as its own distinct development sector.

10.Toward Economic Sustainability of the Media in Developing Countries
This report details the results of a working group convened on the topic of economic sustainability of the media in developing and less-developed countries. The working group’s ultimate goal was to form recommendations for policymakers on how to improve United States foreign assistance with respect to economic sustainability of media. Strategies for sustainability were found to be similar in developed and developing countries, but differed between emerging democracies and closed regimes where news is subject to varying degrees of government control. The document's conclusions seek to summarise how to promote media development as a sector and how to engage foundations and international organisations for media assistance.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

11.CIMA has compiled a bibliography containing books, reports, articles, working papers, and manuals relevant to the field of international media assistance. This database is intended for use by all interested parties. CIMA hopes to update and expand the bibliography through user participation. The Center seeks additions to the contents as well as suggestions to improve this database.
Click here for more information and access to this bibliography.

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For more information on CIMA, please contact:
Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA)
National Endowment for Democracy (NED)
1025 F St. NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20004
United States
Tel: 202 378 9700
cima@ned.org

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