"Western-supported media assistance in transition and developing countries has a long history. Building independent media, preferably through the nongovernmental sector, is seen as an important aspect of achieving mondernization and democratization. This article questions the idealized assumptions u ... nderlining such programmes and argues that media assistance donors rarely analyze it critically. The article discusses the political character of Western media assistance and explores the organizational eco-system in which the NGOs flourish. The article concludes by observing NGOs' unexpected power in the process of providing Western media assistance." (Abstract) more

"This paper has shown that media assistance donors to Central Europe misplaced their emphasis on the trainign of journalistic craft skills as a principal means of introducing what they rather uncritically called 'democratic journalism' to post-Communist societies. There are many narrative choices in ... telling stories, even news stories, and there are few convincing reasons to beleive that mainstream western news conventions are the most likely to contribute to democratic political culture." (Conclusion) more