"The question of when and how the media can bring about social and political change is a perennial one. We know more about what does not work than what does. Even so, donors increasingly ask for proof of media impact and they often hope that data will provide the answer. New tools can provide information about engagement and consumption patterns. Software that analyzes language can help demonstrate changes in the way subjects are framed and that can serve as a proxy for how societies look at different subjects. But data cannot address the intangibles that can not be quantified and so may not tell us much about the role that media can play over the long term in creating open societies. Donors should not expect simple, short-term answers to what are complex political economy questions." (Executive summary)