Media Assistance & Foreign Influences

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Journalism in Afghanistan: Current and Post-2014 Threats and Journalist Safety Mechanisms

Copenhagen: International Media Support (IMS) (2013), 28 pp.

"This report seeks to provide an immediate overview of the current insecure media environment in which Afghan journalists work and the threat scenario potentially facing them after the 2014 withdrawal of international troops. The aim of the report is to provide input into local and international dis ... more

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Public Diplomacy in Afghanistan beyond the 2014 Transition: Lessons from the United States and the Netherlands

Jorrit Kamminga

The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations 'Clingendael' (2013), 25 pp.

"The end of the security transition process in Afghanistan in 2014 marks the need to rethink foreign public diplomacy efforts in the country. As Afghanistan is entering its ‘transformational decade’, there is a unique opportunity to disconnect public diplomacy from the military–security paradi ... more

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The Media of Afghanistan: The Challenges of Transition
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David Page, Shirazuddin Siddiqi

London: BBC Media Action (2012), 27 pp.

"[...] Afghanistan is a fragile, fractured state and has one of the most fragile and fractured media, where almost anyone with sufficient funds and the opportunity to move quickly has been able to establish a media presence. This environment has enabled the flourishing of television, radio and other ... media established and owned by powerful political and religious leaders, or by those with allegiance to them. Some fear a future of increased ethnic, sectarian and factional strife being played out through the airwaves. Though there are some very successful commercial television channels, there is no independent and widely trusted national media capable of transcending or creating communication across the fracture points in Afghan society. Most media is either localised or seen as serving political, religious or other agendas. The future of the national broadcaster, RTA, still the only broadcaster with a truly national presence, is uncertain. While journalism as a whole has expanded greatly, investigative journalism remains limited. The sustainability of the newly established commercial media is widely questioned. With the total annual advertising market in the country estimated by some at little more than $20 million, there are real concerns that if donor support declines much of the media will wither or fall prey to factional, religious or extreme forces. There is no shortage of such forces. A number of media outlets already play upon ethnic and sectarian tensions. The Taliban, notorious when in power for shutting down media and banning video tape, have embraced the web and run one of the most effective media strategies in the country. In 2012, the mood music is one of compromise with the Taliban. Concern in the country is growing that new found media freedoms may be the price of that compromise. The role of donors in media support in Afghanistan is probably greater than in any other country at any other time. Such support is largely responsible for the development of a substantial media sector, but it faces criticism that it is poorly coordinated, short term and not informed by aid effectiveness principles; that it focuses too heavily on advancing the agendas of the donors; and that in some sectors it is distorting the media market in ways that create dependency and inhibit the development of genuinely sustainable Afghan media ventures." (Executive summary) more

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Performance Evaluation Afghanistan Media Development and Empowerment Project (AMDEP)

Richard Martin, William Canter, Yama Hotak

Washington, DC: Checchi and Company Consulting;USAID (2012), iv, 103 pp.

"The purpose of this evaluation is to identify results and lessons learned from USAID’s Afghanistan Media Development and Empowerment Project (AMDEP). AMDEP was designed as a one-year project (later extended) that began on November 1, 2010. It built on eight years of previous USAID media activitie ... s in Afghanistan and continued USAID’s strategic focus on improving news and development-related radio information for under-served groups such as rural families, women and young people. Through the consistent funding and support to the radio industry in Afghanistan, USAID has underwritten an enhanced forum for news and information programming outside of Kabul. By choosing radio as its primary tool, the initial groundwork was laid for a national messaging forum. Enabling provincial and district broadcasters to receive a consistent and increasingly professional series of programs was a good approach. That many of the programs have to do with national, regional and international news and information is creating the conditions for more and better citizen participation in democratic development. The stage has been set for national advertising supported messaging in the future. AMDEP supports a comprehensive “value chain” approach to strengthening the media sector, dealing with training of journalists; establishing and operating a network of rural radio stations; introducing “new media” to enable amateur voices to communicate about social, economic, and development issues; encouraging advocacy to protect journalistic freedoms; helping citizens understand and value the importance of media information and news; training media lawyers; and supporting new media laws and policies that will support development of a dynamic, independent media industry. Internews is the lead implementer of AMDEP activities and of previous USAID media activities that led to AMDEP. Overall, AMDEP has been remarkably successful. It had to function in a context of administrative delays and funding uncertainties, security threats, an environment of many different media projects and an unpredictable economy. The technical and managerial depth of the Internews team was an important factor in the project’s success, as was its selection of effective Afghan partner organizations. Flexibility and agility on the part of USAID and Internews made it possible to adapt to changing circumstances." (Executive summary, page 1) more

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Afghanistan Media Development & Empowerment Project (AMDEP) Media Law and Policy Program. Participants' Manual

Philadelphia, PA: Annenberg School for Communication, Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS) (2012), iv, 381 pp.

"Through the design, development and delivery of curricula and the training program in Afghanistan on the subject of media law, the hope is to empower Afghan lawyers to serve as a critical resource to journalists, media managers, and local government officials. Through the trainings, participants ch ... more

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Strategic Communications in Afghanistan’s Transition Context

Jamil Seddiqui

Swansea: Swansea University, Thesis (2012), v, 64 pp.

"Following a decade of extensive international involvement and arduous fighting, Afghanistan is currently going through a significant Transition intended to enable Afghans to assume responsibility for their own security, development and governance. In addition to opportunities, this process provides ... significant challenges to the Afghan society and its development partners. This study raises awareness of the role and potential of strategic communications to address some of these challenges and aid Afghanistan’s Transition objectives beyond the timeframe set for 2014. In treatment of this topic, this study provides a theoretical and historical overview of communication for development, Afghanistan’s pre- and post-2001 situation with reference to the use of important channels of modern and traditional communications, and examines pertinent perspectives on the importance of strategic communications, particularly in strengthening Afghanistan’s Transition context. In addition, this study focuses on the contribution of strategic communication in non-security matters, particularly governance and peace promotion, and identifies some major challenges where the potential of strategic communications to contribute has remained underexploited. Drawing on these discussions, the results indicates that, in spite of some measures put to the fore, the Afghan government lacks an overarching strategic communications framework integrating multi-media, multi-outlet and public outreach to help in achieving the Transition goal; a stable Afghan state. Pointing clearly to the need for such an integrated campaign, the dissemination of negative perspectives, such as that suggesting that Afghanistan would collapse after 2004, has given space to insurgents propaganda, a challenge which can be addressed through effective strategic communications. In the conclusions, this study argues on the importance of strategic communications as an strategic tool to aid Afghanistan development agenda particularly in the Transition context and presents some practical recommendations to the Afghan government and its deployment partners for effective use of strategic communications in view of a holistic approach aimed the strengthening development of Afghanistan and particularly the Transition process." (Abstract) more

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An Explosion of News: The State of Media in Afghanistan

Peter Cary

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2012), 56 pp.

"The exponential media growth in Afghanistan over the last decade is due to the enthusiasm of Afghan entrepreneurs and to support from the United States and other nations, states this report. According to the executive summary "support from the United States, the biggest donor, has waxed and waned. ... more

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Media and Peacebuilding in Afghanistan

Sheldon Himelfarb

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace (USIP) (2010), 5 pp.

"Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the Afghan media sector has experienced dramatic growth in all areas: television, radio, print, internet, mobile phones. As such, the sector holds tremendous potential for making significant contributions to peacebuilding in the country. However, the media sec ... more

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Afghanistan Media Assessment: Opportunities and Challenges for Peacebuilding

Eran Fraenkel, Emrys Shoemaker, Sheldon Himelfarb

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace (USIP) (2010), 40 pp.

"[...] International donor support for Afghanistan's media has had two primary goals. The short-term goal has been to counteract the effects of insurgent communications in order to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. The long-term goal has been to create a free and independent media secto ... r that will continue to function after donor support has ended. Although millions of dollars have been invested in the development of the Afghan media sector and the growth of private media since 2001 is considered one of Afghanistan's greatest success stories, neither of these donor goals is being met. Donor support for Afghan media has led to the growth of radio and television outlets that are almost entirely dependent on foreign funding - direct and indirect. Recent strategic communications policies have neither diminished nor adequately countered the presence of extremist voices in Afghanistan. Despite some examples to the contrary, Taliban communications continue to affect the lives of ordinary Afghans, whereas many communications by and from Western sources do not. Neither short- nor mid-term analysis of the Afghan economy - ranked the third poorest in the world by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) - foresees the growth of a market able to sustain Afghanistan's domestic media sector without foreign financing. The limited impact of Western communications endeavors, in conjunction with the predicted continued weakness of the Afghan economy, reveals an urgent need for a dramatic shift in the media strategies and goals pursued by the United States and its allies. First and foremost, donors should invest primarily in the Afghan media's production and dissemination of socially constructive contents rather than in building media institutions or infrastructure that the Afghan economy cannot support. For these contents to be received as authentic and credible, they must reflect the vulnerabilities and priorities that Afghans themselves have identified as vital. Donors should make a multiyear funding commitment to the media in Afghanistan. Support should be allocated to both terrestrial and wireless media through a transparent and competitive process developed jointly by donors and Afghan media experts. Aggressively supporting the dissemination of socially constructive contents through new outlets will permit access to both geographic and demographic segments of the population not adequately served by current media outlets." (Summary, page 3) more

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Media Development in Afghanistan

Massoumeh Torfeh

Media Development, issue 1 (2009), pp. 39-44

"The international community entered Afghanistan in December 2001 to oust the Taliban. It promised reconstruction, development and democratisation. At the time, the trauma of 25 years of war had left civil society in Afghanistan shattered and the media had become mere tools in the hands of the dicta ... more

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Freie Medien für ein liberales Afghanistan: Demokratisierung durch Journalismusförderung zwischen Theorie und Praxis

Maike Albrecht

Stuttgart: VDM Verlag Müller (2008), 106 pp.

"Die Arbeit untersucht, welche Rolle die Medien für die Demokratisierung des von 24 Jahren Krieg zerstörten Landes spielen können. Vor allem internationale Hilfsorganisationen sind gefordert, die aufkeimende afghanische Presse auf dem Weg zu Demokratie und Freiheit zu begleiten. Nach theoretische ... more

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Media and Conflict: Afghanistan as a Relative Success Story

Yll Bajraktari, Christina Parajon

Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace (USIP) (2008), 8 pp.

"The development of media in post-Taliban Afghanistan has been relatively successful (compared with both the Taliban regime and other countries subject to international intervention) in establishing free and responsible expression despite the lack of electricity, harsh terrain, absence of viable med ... more

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Democracy or Polyarchy? US-Funded Media Developments in Afghanistan and Iraq Post 9/11

Michael J. Barker

Media, Culture & Society, volume 30, issue 1 (2008), pp. 109-130

"This paper has demonstrated that the benefits for the general Afghan and Iraqi public derived from the ‘promotion of independent media’ by institutions like the NED are questionable, especially for parties interested in encouraging more deliberative or participatory forms of democracy. Instead, ... more

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Die Projekte der DW-Akademie in Afghanistan: Medien stärken heißt Demokratie fördern

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2007), 39 pp.

"Als Partner des staatlichen Rundfunks Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) leistet der Auslandssender Deutsche Welle (DW) einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Demokratisierungsprozess in Afganistan. Denn freie, unabhängige und verlässliche Medien sind in einer Demokratie unverzichtbar. Sie versorgen die Men ... more

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Development On-Air: Women's Radio Production in Afghanistan

Sarah Kamal

Gender & Development, volume 15, issue 3 (2007), pp. 399-411

"This case study investigates the launch of a women’s radio station in Herat, Afghanistan, in October 2003. It follows four women journalists’ struggles in balancing the demands of a highly conservative culture on the one hand, and the objectives of their Canadian journalism trainers on the othe ... more

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Promoting Independent Media: Strategies for Democracy Assistance
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Krishna Kumar

Boulder, Colo.; London: Rienner (2006), 189 pp.

"This book represents one step in explaining international efforts to promote independent media. It attempts to examine the nature and significance of media assistance, discussing the evolution of the field, the focus of various programming approaches, and the possible impact of such efforts. It pre ... sents case studies of media assistance programs in different countries. The book concludes with a set of recommendations for expanding and deepening media assistance for the international community. This book project grew out of a multi-country study that I directed in 2002–2004 to examine media assistance programs funded by the US Agency for International Development. The overall purpose of the study was to assess the nature and effectiveness of USAID programs and make policy and programmatic recommendations for the future. In writing this book I have mostly drawn from the massive information collected during two years of research and analysis. The book is based primarily on three sources of information. First are reviews of literature covering scholarly writings, project and program documents, and articles in popular magazines and newspapers on media assistance. Such reviews were country specific as well as global in nature. Because the academic literature is extremely limited and media assistance is hardly covered in magazines and newspapers except in high-profile cases such as Bosnia and Serbia, reviews largely relied on program documentation. I had the unique advantage of perusing thousands of documents that are not available to the public. Although mostly descriptive and often self-serving, they identified critical gaps in our knowledge and illuminated the challenges and achievements of international media endeavors. Second, my colleagues and I undertook extensive fieldwork in seven countries/regions—Afghanistan, Bosnia, Central America, Indonesia, Russia, Serbia, and Sierra Leone. In each of these cases, research teams conducted extensive discussions with international donor agencies, officials of host countries, project staff and contractors, and local media experts and journalists. Every possible effort was made to interview all those experts and managers who had intimate knowledge of the ongoing media assistance programs. Teams also examined locally available documents and reports and used translators to translate documents into English when necessary. In the absence of hard quantitative data, they largely relied on available documentation, indepth interviews, and their own knowledge of the media scene for their findings and conclusions. Finally, I organized a series of meetings in Washington, D.C., to discuss the findings of the country studies and explore new directions for media assistance programs. Such meetings helped to identify many problems and challenges facing media assistance programs and helped in formulating a set of recommendation for policymakers." (Chapter 1, page 10-11) more

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Medienpolitik in Post-Konfliktstaaten: Beiträge zum politischen Wiederaufbau am Beispiel von Afghanistan

Mariam Tutakhel

Duisburg: Institut für Entwicklung und Frieden (INEF) (2006), 44 pp.

"Die Annahme, dass eine kontrollierte Presse das Ziel einer Förderung demokratischer Strukturen immer ad absurdum führe, darf vor dem Hintergrund einer politischen Ausnahmesituation nach einem bewaffneten Konflikt durchaus hinterfragt werden. Die in diesem Zusammenhang geführte Diskussion über M ... more

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Building a Community Radio Network in Afghanistan

Krishna Kumar

In: Promoting Democracy in Postconflict Societies

Jeroen de Zeeuw; Krishna Kumar (eds.)

Boulder, Colo.; London: Rienner (2006), pp. 257-272

"The experience of establishing community stations in Afghanistan provides four distinct, but interrelated lessons [...] The project has demonstrated that international organizations can promote community stations in impoverished, war-tron societies that have had no experience of independent or comm ... more

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Towards an Improved Strategy of Support to Public Service Broadcasting: Evaluation of UNESCO's Support to Public Service Broadcasting 2005-2006. Final Report

Mark J. Stiles, Cindy Weeks

Paris: UNESCO;Stiles Association (2006), 50 pp.

"Progress on Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) is more likely to occur when there is collaboration with others; where there are strategic opportunities; when UNESCO uses project funds to reward progressive policy change; where there are staff in the field who are committed to PSB; when there is foll ... more

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Mediating Transition in Afghanistan, 2001-2004

Lisa Anne Hartenberger

Austin: University of Texas at Austin, Doctoral Thesis (2005), x, 294 pp.

"This dissertation examines international aid in support of Afghan media from fall 2001 to fall 2004 as a case study to interrogate the notion of “media transition” and its underlying assumptions. It examines how development organizations such as the United Nations, bilateral aid agencies such a ... more

The Media of Afghanistan: The Challenges of Transition Top Insights

Promoting Independent Media: Strategies for Democracy Assistance Top Insights

The Media of Afghanistan: The Challenges of Transition
Top Insights

Promoting Independent Media: Strategies for Democracy Assistance
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