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Mind the Gap! 18th fome Symposium 2024. A critical review of common practices and strategies in International Media Assistance
Deep Insights

Michel Leroy, Anja Wollenberg, Sofie Jannusch (eds.)

Forum Medien und Entwicklung (fome) (2025), 35 pp.

"Critically examining the sectorʼs performance is a routine practice of the Forum Media and Development (fome), a network of 32 German and Swiss organisations, all active in the field of International Media Assistance (IMA). A fome working group identified four areas in which the gap between aspira ... tion and reality of media development co-operation appeared to be greatest: • Dominance of Western values: IMA has been criticised for lacking awareness of its Western bias. The criticism is that Western concepts, while applied in the Global South, are unsuccessful in non-Western contexts. • Local Ownership: Local ownership and participation are guiding principles in IMA; however, funders often dictate topics and objectives. This paternalistic approach has caused local partners to adopt a more constrained and less autonomous stance. • International Coordination: Poor coordination of activities and strategies between IMA organisations active in the same country or context is a notorious source of inefficiency and subsequent problems in IMA. • Measuring Impact: Due to a lack of resources or methodological challenges, the effects and longterm impact of projects often remain unknown; effects are claimed, but claims are not supported by evidence. To broaden our understanding of these issues and find ways to improve practices and strategies within the IMA community, these topics were the subject of discussion at the 18th fome Symposium in Dortmund from Sep 30 – Oct 1, 2024. In advance, a survey was developed and shared across the network to test some common assumptions. The fome Symposium was hosted by the Erich-Brost Institute (EBI) at the University of Dortmund, with nine other fome members responsible for organising various sessions. To kickstart the event, Dani Madrid-Morales from the University of Sheffield presented a broad perspective, comparing the principles, beneficiaries, and approaches of China and Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries in a keynote speech. Morales put forward several recommendations for reforming media assistance by DAC countries to contribute to the information sovereignty of the partners. The four articles in this publication introduce the abovementioned subjects and summarise the speakersʼ contributions at the Symposium. The survey results for each topic are tabulated, and the recommendations of all symposium participants on how the weaknesses discussed could be improved in the future are also listed. These are some key take aways from the summary: Participation and locally driven development, as stipulated in the OECD Principles for Relevant and Effective Support to Media and the Information Environment adopted in 2024, appeared to be an overarching requirement for successful media development. Participation is one of the prerequisites for developing ownership and setting priorities that meet the local needs and interests of both the media and the public. This is key to successful communication, as it avoids imposing values and priorities on partners and compromising their independence. International coordination has also proven particularly effective when local partners take the lead from the very beginning of activities, including conceptualisation. Repeated requests were made for more research. Before setting intervention targets, greater investment in media and audience research and impact studies is needed to determine the effects of media-supported involvement. Some of the analyses and recommendations may resemble a déjà-vu of previous events. Whether the sector has sufficient evidence of its impact, for example, has already been questioned at the fome symposia Measuring Change I and II in 2007 and 2009. Seventeen years later, some of the recommendations sound familiar. However, it must be acknowledged that in recent years there has at least been an increased awareness of the sectorʼs weaknesses, both in practice and in terms of academic knowledge. This is reflected, for example, in a greater recognition of the local partnersʼ funding priorities or improved international coordination in crisis situations where a rapid response is required. Under real-world conditions, it will probably be impossible to achieve any desired ideal. This does not mean, however, that ideals should not be pursued and that a critical review of practices is pointless; on the contrary, given an increasingly uncertain funding environment, we should uphold ideals even more resolutely, including the ideal of a controversial, critical and open debate." (Editorial, page 3) more

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The Sustainability Imperative in Media Development: A Critical Analysis of a Self-Serving Myth

Michel Leroy

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2025), xxiv, 396 pp.

"This book critically examines how the media assistance and broader "development" sectors have appropriated the catch-all concept of sustainability, originally rooted in economic and environmental fields, to suit their agendas. Analysing 289 project evaluations conducted globally between 1999 and 20 ... more

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The Social Construct of Sustainability in Media Development

Michel Leroy

In: The Mediation of Sustainability: Development Goals, Social Movements, and Public Dissent

Ben Harbisher (ed.)

Rowman & Littlefield (2023), pp. 11-30

"After having considered the mediation of sustainability (or, to sum it up, how sustainability narratives are disseminated), this chapter focuses on the sustainability of mediation and to what extent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are supportive in the process of sustaining this public discour ... more

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Évaluation de la couverture médiatique des enjeux économiques et sociaux en Tunisie

Michel Leroy, Sofien Ammar (eds.)

CFI (2023), 82 pp.

"L'information economique et sociale occupe la 3eme position des rubriques favorites, derriere le sport et la sante (la 5e pour les femmes). 65% des sondes declarent la suivre mais seulement 5% des 18-24 ans la suivent « regulierement ». 34 % des 18-24 ans n'ont recours a aucun des medias traditio ... more

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Sustainability: Going Beyond the Buzzword
Deep Insights

Michel Leroy

Forum Medien und Entwicklung (fome); MEDAS21 (2021), 31 pp.

"This paper aims to trace the social construct of sustainability in the context of media development and define what is to be sustained, at the level of the intervention (the process of change) or its outcome (the impact on the medium itself). It is intended for all those who are concerned, closely ... more

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Sustainability Goals in the Field of Media Development: The Case of Fondation Hirondelle

Michel Leroy

Jönköping University, School of Education and Communication (2020), 15 pp.

"The aim of this study is to analyse one of the leading development aid projects in the field of the media, Lausanne-based Fondation Hirondelle (FH), from a communication perspective: It will first be conceptualized in a broader socio-cultural and political sense, in relation to the paradigm of sust ... more

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Un futur durable: Étude de capitalisation sur les activités de pérennisation de la Fondation Hirondelle

Michel Leroy

Dortmund: Institut Erich-Brost, TU Dortmund (2020), 17 pp.

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Recherche - étude sur l’avenir de la presse écrite en Tunisie

Michel Leroy, Chokri Ben Nessir, Mohamed Torgeman

Media Up Programme d’Appui aux Médias Tunisiens (2018), 136 pp.

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Recherche-étude sur la formation au journalisme en Tunisie

Michel Leroy

Media Up Programme d’Appui aux Médias Tunisiens; Centre Africain de Perfectionnement des Journalistes et Communicateurs (CAPJC) (2018), 62 pp.

"1. A la lumière de l’attrait du Mastère professionnel (MP) « cross-media » pour les étudiants comme pour les employeurs et d’autres expériences de concours sélectifs, l’ Institut de presse et des sciences de l’information (Ipsi) gagnerait à créer un MP majoritairement ouvert aux au ... more

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Le paysage médiatique guinéen: état des lieux, enjeux et défis

Corinne Matras, Daniel Fra, Michel Leroy, Mohamed Camara, Monique Curtis

Chasseur d’Etoiles; Expertise France (2015), 191 pp.

"La libéralisation des médias en Guinée n’a eu lieu que récemment et s’est déroulée dans un contexte politique très instable et souvent violent. Dans cet environnement, qui a impacté la situation économique du pays, le secteur médiatique tente de se développer et de rattraper son reta ... more

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Results-Oriented Evaluations: Their Uses, Their Limits and How They Are Driving Implementers‘ Coping Strategies

Michel Leroy

Global Media Journal - German Edition, volume 4, issue 2 (2014), 19 pp.

"A results-oriented culture of performance and service has been enforced since the 1990s in the EU. Evaluation systems have been a powerful catalyst in driving the transition from media support to media development and in making the latter more independent from broadcasters and donors. In recent yea ... more

Mind the Gap! 18th fome Symposium 2024. A critical review of common practices and strategies in International Media Assistance Deep Insights

Sustainability: Going Beyond the Buzzword Deep Insights

Mind the Gap! 18th fome Symposium 2024. A critical review of common practices and strategies in International Media Assistance
Deep Insights

Sustainability: Going Beyond the Buzzword
Deep Insights