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The Media Map Project: The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Case Study on Donor Support to Independent Media, 1990-2010
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Marie-Soleil Frère

Washington, DC: Internews;World Bank Institute (2012), 98 pp.

"Today, the DRC tops the African charts in the number of registered media outlets, be they print media, radio or television. In 2008, 638 publications were registered country-wide; there were 341 radio stations and 82 television stations, although TV is still an essentially urban phenomenon, given t ... he lack of access to electricity. Despite this hugely diverse media landscape, citizens in the provinces are often deprived of access to information, as the media are most concentrated in the capital city, Kinshasa. Congolese media outlets are characterized by poor content, a severe shortage of material and technical capacity, and significant sustainability problems. Journalists work in an unsafe environment, lack regular salaries and protection, and regularly struggle with threats to press freedom. The legal and regulatory framework does not provide sufficient guarantees and basic regulations to ensure that media outlets abandon their “informal” practices. The advertising market is still undeveloped and disorganized, providing little financial backing to media companies. The supposedly “public” broadcaster is the mouthpiece of the government, and the only “public service broadcaster” is Radio Okapi, a UN-based station. In such an unfavorable context, the involvement of donors has become increasingly important over the last 20 years. The reasons why donors have intervened and continue to support the media sector are tied to the country’s political situation. The media have thus been supported for a variety of reasons: from 1990 to 1997: to encourage new democratic media freedoms; from 2000 to 2004: to promote a return to peace and reconstruction during negotiations to solve the conflict; from 2004 to 2007: to enable the media to play their part during the electoral process, as the first democratic elections during the last 40 years took place in 2006; from 2007 to 2011: to establish a solid and responsible press likely to take part in the consolidation of democracy. Reaching $80 million over the past ten years, media support by donors and operators has varied, essentially covering five types of activities: the creation of “neutral” and “apolitical” media and content (a recurring strategy in post-conflict countries); direct support (funds or equipment) for a number of outlets; media staff training; strengthening of the sector’s professional organizations and associations; consolidation of public institutions to organize the sector (including regulation and legal reform). Each of these types of interventions has generated both positive impacts and negative effects on individual journalists, newsrooms, media outlets and local organizations in the media sector. Beneficiaries, donors, and INGOs have all advanced their own critiques regarding the ways in which media support initiatives have been designed, implemented and assessed so far. They also make suggestions about how to improve media support in the future, to make it more consistent with the needs of the local Congolese media." (Executive summary, page 6-7 more

The Media Map Project: The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Case Study on Donor Support to Independent Media, 1990-2010 Top Insights

The Media Map Project: The Democratic Republic of the Congo. Case Study on Donor Support to Independent Media, 1990-2010
Top Insights