"Media democracy promotion is a hidden form of international development aid (IDA). However, the dynamics underlying democracy promotion and their adaptation in local contexts is hardly considered when evaluating or theorizing international media development aid (IMDA). Multi-lateral organizations (
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MLOs) are important carriers of democratic ideals and different interpretations. In this paper, I unravel the dynamics between multi-lateral organizations and local actors during the media reform debates in three MERCOSUR countries; Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay." (Abstract)
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"This study examines the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in shaping health reporting in Tanzania. Drawing on in-depth interviews with representatives from NGOs cited in HIV/AIDS-related stories published in the Tanzanian newspapers, the Daily News and The Guardian, the analysis focuses
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on financial incentives and resources committed by NGOs to foster collaborative relationships with journalists. Findings reveal that media training opportunities, seminars and “sitting fees” are used to gain and keep journalists’ attention on health issues, increasing promotional and advocacy-based reporting. Incentive-based reporting raises ethical and normative questions about editorial freedom for both news sources and journalists." (Abstract)
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"Media subsidies have proved useful and appropriate as means to attain both economic and value-related objectives. Media companies often prefer indirect (and less transparent) ‘fuel’, while States favour direct subsidies. However, there is little scientific research on the actual impact of media
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subsidies. Any causality is difficult to establish since external factors abound and subsidies are not critical to economic success, at least in the for-profit media business. Non-commercial, local and citizen-based media as well as certain books and films only exist because some kind of subsidy has been available to them. In times of severe/structural crisis in the media world (Trappel et al. 2015) subsidies should be considered by both companies and governments as one revenue-generating factor among others – possibly the smallest one, possibly one to be called upon only temporarily and possibly despite the risk for the beneficiaries’ independence. Experience has shown over many decades that this latter concern cannot be substantiated and that subsidies are unlikely to compromise journalistic work as long as their providers respect democratic rules and procedures. In other words media policy should not discard the subsidies tool altogether, but develop modalities and designs that make for appropriate and democratic support of the media. Good practices can be found all over Europe." (Page 89)
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"Ashoka is an organization that supports social entrepreneurs around the world and has the longest track record of doing so. It has identified and supported over 3,500 “Ashoka Fellows,” many of whom are in the media sector. Therefore, Ashoka sits on a treasure trove of data on transformative med
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ia innovations. We analyzed this data to understand how social entrepreneurs around the world are trying to improve the media landscape, assessed the most successful approaches, and identified gaps that social entrepreneurship has not yet filled. To do so, we selected a subset of Ashoka Fellows whose primary aim is to improve the media landscape and who are demonstrably making a substantial impact. We call them “Core Media Fellows” and selected them from an initial pool of 231 Fellows, after gathering extensive data and applying rigorous selection criteria to identify the final cohort. Each of these fifty social entrepreneurs seeks to harness the tectonic shifts under way in the global media landscape to more constructively serve societal interests. Among the group, we found stunning diversity. For example, Core Media Fellows hailed from twenty-two countries. But we also discerned broad similarities. Indeed, each of the fifty Fellows pursued one of five overarching goals: Improving the infrastructure and environment within which the media operates; Improving standards of reporting to strengthen the quality of journalism; Ensuring the media is a vehicle for civic engagement; Making the media a self-sustaining business; Increasing media literacy by providing the public with diverse and representative content. Our study of social entrepreneurs reveals important lessons—spanning strategies to represent marginalized voices to partnership models within and beyond the media industry—for how to transform the media. But it also uncovers areas of need, such as business model innovations, where too few social entrepreneurs have found the support to pilot approaches that ultimately could reverse the media’s declining fortunes." (Pages 1-2)
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"This document presents an update on the activities undertaken with respect to IPDC Special Initiatives on 1) the Safety of Journalists and Issue of Impunity, 2) media-related indicators, 3) Global Initiative for Excellence in Journalism Education and 4) knowledge-driven media development: follow-up
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to SDGs. The document also reports on IPDC responses to emerging issues, namely on 1) media and migration and 2) fighting violent extremism." (Page 1)
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"While this guide shows only a small sampling of how funders and publishers are working together to financially sustain the fourth estate, we hope that it nonetheless serves as a starting point for your own work by providing solid examples of groundbreaking funding efforts—ones that are both pione
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ering and effective. If you’re a grantee, you may also want to use this document to think about how your work might appeal to potential funders." (Page 6)
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"This report was commissioned to examine the nature and quality of media stories produced by journalists supported by the Voices of African Migrants pilot programme (see http://migrantvoices.org), managed by International Media Support (IMS), in four migration ‘Hubs’ in Africa, and explored how
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local audiences interpreted and responded to those stories. It used content analysis, interviews and focus group discussions. The research findings show that most stories used human interest frames and foregrounded migrant experiences. The migrants’ main contributions to the stories were to provide a human face to hardships and suffering. Meanwhile, NGOs were included to provide facts, statements of general causes of migrations, statistics, and a sense of scale. Government statements were used to provide a comment on policies and solutions. Most articles were supportive in their sentiments to the plight of migrants. Participants in the focus groups (especially migrants themselves) recognised that migrant voices were missing from mainstream media reporting on migration, that reporting on migration tends to be negative, and that there are pressing issues relating to migration that need to be discussed in the public sphere. Focus group participants generally responded with empathy and understanding in response to stories about the hardships migrants face. Some stories provoked a distancing or disruption to understanding, especially when an aspect of the story did not match their prior tacit or cultural knowledge about migration. A small number of stories deeply moved focus group participants." (Executive summary)
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"Section 1 summarises the background to and rationale for philanthropic funding of the media, including from a social justice and human rights perspective. This should help Ariadne grantmakers who are not sure if and why they should support media directly to make an informed decision, or to help mak
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e the case to colleagues. Section 2 is framed around the key advice offered by experienced media grantmakers about making grants to or investments in the media. This should help grantmakers entering the field to ask themselves, colleagues and partners the right questions about how they do so. Section 3 looks specifically at five areas of opportunity and threat in the journalism, media and information fields to which philanthropic funding does or might respond. This should help orient grantmakers in respect of plausible potential areas of intervention, and provide them with a range of jumping-off points from which to explore in more depth." (Page 5)
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"¿Cuál ha sido el papel de la cooperación internacional en la configuración de las prácticas, investigación, educación y políticas de comunicación en América Latina desde los años 70? Argumento que la ayuda extranjera a la comunicación en América Latina fue crucial para: (1) desarrollar
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las principales instituciones del campo de la comunicación regional; (2) promover intelectuales, activistas y políticos tanto en el campo de la comunicación como en el político; y (3) potenciar organizaciones que tuvieron impacto en las reformas de las políticas de comunicación durante los últimos 15 años. La asistencia internacional ha ayudado a promover actores asociados a modelos participativos, al tiempo que promueve políticas modernizadoras." (Resumen)
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"A pesar de una larga tradición de práctica y reflexión de la cooperación internacional en apoyo a la libertad de prensa y el pluralismo mediático, no queda claro que constituya un área o campo definido de especialización, con un objeto común de estudio y acción o preguntas comunes. Esto se
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complejizó aún más después del fin de la Guerra Fría: frente al libertarismo ortodoxo, ganan terreno visiones más atentas a los contextos específicos y basadas en el paradigma de los derechos humanos. Además, mientras los antiguos problemas de la comunicación pública persisten, surgen otros nuevos. Estas condiciones agudizan problemas crónicos que esta área enfrenta para definirse como tal." (Resumen)
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"Back in 2011, the Spanish government decided to fund the creation of the newspaper Voces in El Salvador within the wider context of public diplomacy and a favorable political atmosphere. This article examines the implications of this aid in the frame of news media plurality in that nation. We sugge
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st that thanks to it the Salvadorian public was offered a news agenda that reflected alternative worldview. However, we also argue, the intervention itself possess a series of ethical issues and challenges that merit further study in order to inform present and future discussions around foreign aid, media and journalism." (Abstract)
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"Esta reflexão diz respeito à ajuda internacional recebida pelo Brasil e América Latina no campo da Comunicação e do Jornalismo digital nos últimos 30 anos. Trata-se das primeiras impressões sobre o apoio internacional e nacional (do Brasil a outros países) oferecido para desenvolver prátic
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as, pesquisas e estudos voltados para a comunicação digital, redes sociais digitais e internet. Em tempos digitais, esse tipo de apoio cruzou a fronteira dos Estudos de Comunicação, mesclando os campos da Comunicação e das telecomunicações. Entre as instituições que oferecem ajuda internacional ao Brasil e América Latina estão, por exemplo, a União Internacional de Telecomunicações (UIT), Fundação Ford e Open Society." (Resumo)
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"Cuando se habla de programas de asistencia y cooperación internacional dirigidos al desarrollo de los medios se suele pensar, por lo general, en dos áreas distintas. Por un lado, se hace referencia a las intervenciones de las grandes potencias con programas dirigidos a socavar gobiernos legítima
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mente constituidos en América Latina. En ese sentido, se piensa en los programas de la Agencia Central de Información (CIA, por sus siglas en inglés) de los Estados Unidos para controlar, sobornar o asesinar periodistas. Por otro lado, se alude a aspectos más sutiles de la cooperación, comúnmente asociados a programas de desarrollo urbano y rural, transferencia de conocimiento y fortalecimiento de las instituciones democráticas -entre las que se cuenta el periodismo como institución social (Chaparro Escudero, 2009; Beltrán, 2006). Estas voces han sido vitales en cambiar la forma en que entendemos la relación entre programas de desarrollo y los medios en América Latina." (Resumen)
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"Part of a €17 million EU-funded programme entitled “Media and Culture for Development in the Southern Mediterranean”, MedMedia was implemented in the Southern Mediterranean from January 2014 until May 2018. The MedMedia programme has given media policy makers, regulators, public service broad
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casters, journalists’ unions, media schools and human rights campaigners in the Southern Mediterranean a unique opportunity to act as catalysts for media sector reform in their region. MedMedia supported local stakeholders’ efforts to push forward media reform processes, sparked by the Arab Spring with a view to creating a regulatory environment supportive of media freedom and public trust in mainstream media outlets. It has offered access to expertise and know-how from both sides of the Mediterranean and has facilitated a mutual learning process between media institutions from the Southern Mediterranean. MedMedia’s activities were divided into three complementary components: capacity development for media professionals and institutions based on a bottom-up approach; networking activities involving decision makers and media practitioners; an overview of the media sector for decision-makers and practitioners across the region." (Page 4)
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"The authors briefly survey the contemporary and complex relationship between aid and journalism and the role of foreign aid/development assistance in shaping African media systems. A call is made for greater research into the aid and journalism relationship and the impact these processes have on fo
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stering independent national media sectors in Africa." (Abstract)
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"There are three main reasons for the limited amount of foundation support for international journalism: a) It rarely aligns directly with the strategic priorities of a foundation (and so has to compete either with all other forms of journalism, or with numerous other ways of achieving the specific
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objectives of a foundation). b) Many foundations and journalists are unwilling to accept or negotiate the risks and challenges involved in reaching a compromise on the nature of the beat being funded. c) There are inherent difficulties associated with isolating and measuring the impact of international news. Foundations rarely advertise ‘open calls’ for funding. Instead, support emerges from an informal process of relationship building and ongoing dialogue between foundations and non-profit news organisations/intermediaries." (Key findings)
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"This paper provides research-based evidence and analysis to assist donors and other stakeholders in taking decisions and setting priorities on the types of interventions and funding modalities to strengthen independent media in the countries of the Eastern Partnership, in particular Russian-languag
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e media. The final goal is to provide citizens of these countries with unbiased news and information, and a greater plurality of voices, free from commercial and political influence. This brief paper is developed based on the updated GA produced by BCME in FebruaryMarch 2018 (see the Executive Summary of GA findings), and discussion between donors and independent media from the EaP that was held by BCME in Riga in June 14-15, 2018." (Page 1)
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