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How to Fund Investigative Journalism: Insights from the Field and its Key Donors
Deep Insights

Sameer Padania

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2019), 40 pp.

"Our findings show that there is a viable future for investigative journalism (IJ) at all levels, local to international, if systematic, predictable, stable funding for networks, centers, journalists, technologies and collaborations can be found. Funders acknowledge that most manifestations of IJ ar ... more

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Journalism Education in Bangladesh: From Aspiring Journalists to Career Professionals

Jude William Genilo, Fahmidul Haq, Shameem Mahmud

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2019), 66 pp.

"This study aimed to identify the factors that facilitate or inhibit new and aspiring journalists in Bangladesh to prepare for and join the profession. It also sought to determine the factors that would enable or restrict them from acquiring the necessary skill sets (particularly in educational inst ... more

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Zooming in on Media and Information Literacy: A Survey-Based Typology of Young Media Users
Deep Insights

Dennis Reineck, Roland Schürhoff, Jan Lublinski

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2019), 19 pp.

"While global youth is often referred to as a fairly homogeneous generation of digital natives, data drawn from a survey in Jordan, Moldova, and Uganda suggests that this is not the case. Based on an instrument for measuring digital and news literacy, this paper presents a typology of five personae: ... more

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Tips for Running Public Awareness Campaigns in Africa: Insights from Eight Case Studies
Key Guides

Martin Vogl

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2018), 24 pp.

"Effective campaigns require careful planning and execution. And drawing on the experiences and knowledge of others can help overcome some common stumbling blocks and improve the chances of success. To this end, this booklet profiles eight public awareness campaigns conducted in African countries. I ... more

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Women Into Politics! Greater Female Participation in Cambodia: A Best-Practice Handbook 2016–2018

Kyle James

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2018), 35 pp.

"Women are a great untapped potential in Cambodia. That is the driving idea behind the EU-funded project “Women into Politics! Greater female participation in Cambodia”. This three-year project reached women from different regions in Cambodia and gave them the communications skills they needed t ... more

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Audience Research in Media Development: Overview, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned
Deep Insights

Dennis Reineck, Laura Schneider, Christoph Spurk

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2017), 49 pp.

"This publication takes a look at current developments in the field of audience research in media development and presents three case studies testing innovative methods that can be of use for research, monitoring, and evaluation. They are meant as an orientation and inspirational source for future p ... more

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Guidebook Internet Governance: Media Freedom in a Connected World

Barbara Gruber, Lorena Jaume-Palasí, Steffen Leidel, Matthias Spielkamp (eds.)

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie; iRights.Lab (2016), 39 pp.

"To many in the media, Internet governance seems to be an issue far removed from their daily life and work. This misconception can have substantial consequences. The Internet is fast becoming the infrastructure for all communications between media and citizens. If journalists and media freedom activ ... more

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Media Development in Regions of Conflict, Transitional Countries, and Closed Societies

Nadine Jurrat

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2016), 16 pp.

"This paper explores the role professional independent media and journalists can play in circumstances where people’s very survival may rely upon trustworthy information about conflicting factions, violence, or rescue efforts. It also looks at the approaches that have been tried and tested in ligh ... more

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Information – Education – Participation: Media Use Among Youth in Uganda

Anke Fiedler, Michael Meyen

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2016), 55 pp.

"The present report summarizes the results of a media use study that was conducted in autumn 2014 in the Ugandan districts of Kampala, Mbale, Lira, Pader and Gulu. The study consists of a quantitative survey of more than 650 survey respondents, as well as six qualitative focus groups with a total of ... more

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Panorama de los medios en Ecuador: Sistema informativo y actores implicados

Mirjam Gehrke, Nelsy Lizarazo, Patricia Noboa, David Olmos, Oliver Pieper

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2016), 62 pp.

"En Ecuador escasean tanto los análisis de los medios de comunicación privados, públicos o comunitarios, como del consumo mediático o de la formación periodística. Los pocos datos disponibles han impedido que se puedan realizar estudios complejos y exhaustivos. El presente informe se centra en ... more

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The Governance and Sustainable Livelihoods Strands in Media Development

Linje Manyozo

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2016), 14 pp.

"This paper exams the theory and practice of media development by differentiating two major models: The good governance and the sustainable livelihoods strand. Based on this the author questions how governments, organizations, and civil society today collaboratively rethink and organize media system ... more

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Media Freedom Indices in the Media Development Context: How the Different Information Tools Can be Used

Laura Schneider

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2016), 10 pp.

"The existing international media freedom indices provide a variety of different information tools that contain important knowledge for media development practitioners. As shown, the different tools are of varying significance for the relevant purposes within the media development context: while som ... more

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Media Freedom Indices: What They Tell Us - and What They Don't. A Practical Guidebook

Laura Schneider

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2014), 67 pp.

"This guidebook aims to give the reader an overview of the existing international media freedom measures and how they can be used. By introducing the methodology and pointing out the strengths and weaknesses, it allows the readers to better understand, judge and thus critically reflect the indices� ... more

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In the Service of the Public: Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries
Deep Insights

Jan Lublinski, Petra Berner, Merjam Wakili (eds.)

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2014), 300 pp.

"This study constitutes the attempt to draw some initial conclusions from the work conducted by DW Akademie and other media development organizations in the past. It aims at a better understanding of which public service functions former state broadcasters can provide at all and which approaches of ... media development actors have proved to be successful. Reforming of state mouthpieces into public service media can indeed be achieved. This is one of the most important findings of this study. DW Akademie researchers here present examples of media outlets that fulfill their public service remit of creating a public sphere and supporting integration to a substantial degree. Even among the success stories, not all the media outlets studied here have adopted a public service ethos to its full extent. Their work, however, improved considerably. In assisting reform, media development actors were thus able to enhance the public’s freedom of expression as well as its access to information – two basic human rights we see as important prerequisites for peace and democracy. On the other hand, this study shows how difficult and complex transformation is. State media are often highly politicized. Successful transformation, therefore, requires support of a lot of different actors: the political elite, civil society, the management of the broadcaster, its staff, and last but certainly not least, the public as a whole. It is vital that media development actors identify windows of opportunity and profit from them in order to propel change forward. At the same time, this study demonstrates that media development organizations have to think beyond their traditional fields of expertise: capacity development and newsroom consultancy. A much broader approach is needed if substantial and sustainable development is to be achieved. DW Akademie is currently implementing a new, more complex strategy for successful media development cooperation that takes this into account. Political and legal frameworks have become a strategic area of activity. Other equally important areas comprise qualifications, professionalism, and economic sustainability of the media sector, participation in society, and digital change. With regard to public broadcasting, political and legal frameworks are especially important in order to ensure editorial independence of former state broadcasters. Furthermore, media development actors have to engage more in organizational development. Therefore, at the end of this study, we dedicate a whole chapter to this question. This study of selected media outlets from twelve countries does not attempt to provide a final answer to the question of successful public service transformation. It aims at giving an overview of what has been achieved in practical work in this field in the course of the past years. More research is needed to understand which steps of reform are needed for a genuine transformation that is sustainable in the long term. The media are undergoing crucial developments. Digital change, convergence, and social media have increased pluralism of opinion substantially in many parts of the world. At the same time, the media face new challenges with respect to their economic sustainability. The notion of public service media that offer a model for providing journalistic quality without financial dependence deserves further thought." (Preface) more

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Media and Information Literacy: A Practical Guidebook for Trainers
Key Guides

Sylvia Braesel, Thorsten Karg

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie, 3rd ed. (2021), 237 pp.

"The authors have updated, expanded and partly completely rewritten the texts. They attached particular importance to presenting the contents in a way that is as easy to understand as possible. For this purpose, they were able to draw on their experiences and observations in many Media and Informati ... more

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How Close Should We Get? Media and Conflict

Antje Bauer (ed.)

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2021), 101 pp.

"Those working in media face plenty of challenges when it comes to handling issues around conflict more sensitively. In some countries, these difficulties could include forced or unsolicited loyalty, a lack of information, or physical and psychological threats. In others, challenges could arise from ... more

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Media Viability in Lebanon: Applying DW Akademie’s Media Viability Indicators (MVIs)

Ann Hollifield

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2021), 46 pp.

"The biggest detriments to news media viability in Lebanon include: The political partisanship of the media; A lack of sustainable business models for the media; An oversaturated and hypercompetitive media market resulting in lowered quality of content; Too little competition in the advertisement ma ... more

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Media and Information Literacy Index. Country Report Côte D’Ivoire

Luise Krumm, Dennis Reineck

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2020), 27 pp.

"Young Ivorians are adept at using digital media. They are creative when it comes to using digital media and many have developed strategies to cope with media malpractices such as cyberbullying or hate speech. These are two significant, indicative findings from the present MIL INDEX country study. B ... oth seem very impressive considering the challenges of high illiteracy rates and the strongly politicized national media landscape in Côte d’Ivoire. The results of the study are drawn from eight focus groups conducted in the beginning of 2019 in Abidjan and Bouaké and interviews with eight local experts. They confirm that young people are very good at using and creating content on social media but urgently need better critical, analytical, and reflective skills. This MIL INDEX study is aimed at obtaining a concise picture of media- and information-related skills amongst youths under the age of 35 in Côte d’Ivoire. It addresses five dimensions of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) according to DW Akademie’s MIL model: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action. In terms of access the focus groups conducted for this study reveal that young urban and semi-urban Ivorians use a variety of different media for purposes such as consuming information, communication, entertainment, education, or business information. Digital media, particularly social media platforms and instant messengers, are the most used and most popular among this age group and are generally preferred over traditional media. Nonetheless, radio and television are still valued for their auditory and visual input which are significant characteristics considering the high illiteracy rates of about 40,4 % present in Côte d’Ivoire (UIS, 2018). A divide between more urban and more rural regions is visible in the case of radio programs, which are more popular in more rural settings. The focus groups suggest this is due to the fact that local radio stations are often the only media which provide news relevant to more remote areas. Most other media show a tendency to focus only on news from the capital. Printed media are widely regarded as too costly and outdated by Ivorian youths. The results of the analysis dimension indicate that most focus group participants possess a good digital and media knowledge while at the same time many lack awareness of their rights to freedom of expression and access to information. Striking was that youths generally consider content provided by traditional media to be more trustworthy, but mainly consume social media content. This and often very loose definitions of what media quality means showed that there is still room for improvement when it comes to the young people’s analytical skills. Overall, urbanites seem to question the trustworthiness of media content slightly more than youths from more rural regions. Results from the reflection dimension confirm that Ivorian youths are constantly exposed to malevolent forms of communication and media malpractices such as cyberbullying, hate speech, sexual harassment, and disinformation. Most young people show strong abilities when it comes to recognizing media problems and using prevention or coping strategies to handle them. Exceptions are politically motivated disinformation and biased reporting which are taken as normal in the Ivorian context. Due to this tendency towards normalization only very few young people reflect critically upon this media malpractice. Reflection on a deeper level such as on the impact of media messages or motivations of news outlets is often missing among young people." (Executive summary) more

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Media and Information Literacy Index. Country Report Namibia

Dennis Reineck

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2020), 25 pp.

"Young Namibians are embracing the digital transformation, according to indicative findings from the present MIL INDEX country study. Interestingly, the youths that took part in eight focus groups conducted at the end of 2018 in Windhoek and Rundu are immersed in digital communication but are aware ... of the ambivalent nature of the news and information sources they find on social media and related Internet services. The importance of a critical mindset when navigating the World Wide Web was stressed by the eight experts interviewed as part of the study. This MIL INDEX study addresses five dimensions of Media and Information Literacy (MIL) according to DW Akademie’s MIL model: access, analysis, reflection, creation, and action. The focus groups conducted for this study reveal that there is a rural/urban divide in terms of access and use of media. The more rural (and older) groups use radio and television on a regular basis, while the more urban (and younger) groups tend to regard traditional media as yesterday’s media. This shift is in line with the rise of social media. Information uptake is coincidental and journalistic content is intermingled with all sorts of trivia when consumed in social networks. Smartphones are regarded by many as a substitute for newspapers, radio, and television. Amongst those who continue using traditional media, radio is turned to more often for information while TV is regarded more as an entertainment medium. Considering analytical skills, there is a certain disenchantment of the Namibian youths with journalistic media, the reporting being considered not close enough to the interests and issues of the youth. But it was interesting to find that the focus group participants’ appraisal of media in terms of trustworthiness is the exact opposite of their consumption patterns. While the discussions documented frequent use of social media these are evaluated as least trustworthy, whereas newspapers are rated highly on the trustworthiness scale but were hardly ever read. There is an awareness of the ambivalent quality of news and information on social media, but the youths cannot always name sources they consider produce high-quality information. The results in the reflection dimension are ambivalent. The youths can recount numerous cases of cyberbullying and disinformation (“fake news”). But the accompanying survey shows that while they reject hate speech and disinformation, there is a certain willingness to accept cyberbullying as given. This is echoed in the focus groups where participants’ advice is often to ignore hateful messages, rather than do something about them. However, the groups do discuss many other strategies in coming to terms with and combatting cyberbullying and disinformation. Rarely do they reflect the motivations that lie behind such behavior. It was also interesting to note that disinformation is mainly discussed with regards to online rather than traditional media." (Executive summary) more

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From Start to Success: A Handbook for Digital Media Entrepreneurs
Key Guides

Bonn: Deutsche Welle DW Akademie (2020), 83 pp.

"This media viability handbook is unique in that it has been written by media startups themselves and presents the learnings of 21 digital pioneers including the Philippines' Rappler, Egypt's Mada Masr and Animal Politico in Mexico. The pages are filled with tips and information these media startups ... more

How to Fund Investigative Journalism: Insights from the Field and its Key Donors Deep Insights

Zooming in on Media and Information Literacy: A Survey-Based Typology of Young Media Users Deep Insights

Tips for Running Public Awareness Campaigns in Africa: Insights from Eight Case Studies Key Guides

Audience Research in Media Development: Overview, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned Deep Insights

In the Service of the Public: Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries Deep Insights

Media and Information Literacy: A Practical Guidebook for Trainers Key Guides

From Start to Success: A Handbook for Digital Media Entrepreneurs Key Guides

How to Fund Investigative Journalism: Insights from the Field and its Key Donors
Deep Insights

Zooming in on Media and Information Literacy: A Survey-Based Typology of Young Media Users
Deep Insights

Tips for Running Public Awareness Campaigns in Africa: Insights from Eight Case Studies
Key Guides

Audience Research in Media Development: Overview, Case Studies, and Lessons Learned
Deep Insights

In the Service of the Public: Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries
Deep Insights

Media and Information Literacy: A Practical Guidebook for Trainers
Key Guides

From Start to Success: A Handbook for Digital Media Entrepreneurs
Key Guides