mediadev library

Sort by:

Direction:

Independent Evaluation of the Media Freedom Coalition

Aida Al Kaisy, Daniel Skillings, Ivana Jiménez Barrios

Paris: Aleph Strategies; Media Freedom Coalition (2025), 62 pp.

"The evaluation found that the MFC has made notable contributions to media freedom and journalist safety over the past five years. It has played a role in encouraging some Member States to strengthen their media freedom policies and legislation. The MFC has also influenced state actors through diplo ... matic and advocacy efforts, maintaining high-level political attention on media freedom. Direct interventions, legal guidance, and engagement with embassy networks have contributed to journalist protection efforts at the local level. Furthermore, the MFC has strengthened multi-stakeholder coordination, bringing together governments, civil society, and legal experts. However, the evaluation also identified several areas for improvement. While the MFC provides a platform for dialogue and cooperation, its engagement with members on domestic media freedom policies is voluntary and lacks a structured approach for supporting and tracking commitments. Joint advocacy statements have a greater impact locally than internationally and are often perceived as lacking boldness and clear outcomes. While the MFC has addressed high-profile cases, its focus has sometimes overshadowed broader, systemic media freedom challenges. Engagement with Rights-Holders and organisations working on the ground has been limited, impacting the relevance and sustainability of its strategies. Coordination and collaboration within the MFC are foundational, particularly through diplomatic networks and the development of emergency visa schemes. However, decision-making is often reactive, affecting stakeholder trust. The MFC’s membership is perceived as predominantly Northern-led, and there is potential to leverage its diverse membership more effectively. Knowledge management and information-sharing need strengthening to ensure a deeper understanding of media freedom issues among Member States. The high-level legal expertise of the HLP is underutilised. Clarity around decision-making processes among Member States varies, influencing trust-based collaboration. While engagement at the local level through embassies is effective, it requires more structured guidance and support. Coordination between Member States, the CN, and the HLP remains limited in some areas. In terms of sustainability, the current governance model, particularly the annual rotation of Executive Group co-chairs, can present challenges for knowledge retention and continuity. Funding modalities are complex, leading to perceptions of uneven distribution and impacting trust and coordination. While the MFC has developed working relationships with similar coalitions, more formalised collaboration could maximise resource efficiency. The limited engagement with Rights-Holders influences the visibility and perceived effectiveness of the MFC’s work." (Key findings and conclusions, pages 2-3) more

External Link (5)

Long-Term Investments Pay Dividends in Ukraine

Antonina Cherevko, Maksym Dvorovyi

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 27 pp.

"International assistance actors have played an important role in supporting media reforms in Ukraine. Their long-term, continuous efforts planted the seeds for groundbreaking media environment changes during Ukraine’s democratic transition. International donors’ sustained engagement in Ukraine ... more

External Link (11)

Sudan’s Brief, Fragile Reform Window (2019–2021)

Mary Myers, Lina Yassin

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 32 pp.

"We find that there is a will for reform from the civilian part of the government, the international community, independent media professionals, and a handful of Sudanese CSOs. However, pushing for a free media is a low priority for most of the population, who have more urgent survival and security ... more

External Link (5)

Media Reform During Ethiopia’s Political Transition

Henok Semaegzer Fente

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 8 pp.

"For most of its modern history, the news media in Ethiopia have been a tool for government control. But 2018 brought a wave of optimism to Africa’s second most populous nation. Anti-government protests forced the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to undertake majo ... more

Download (0)

Let Free Media Thrive: Selected Stories of 4 Years of Impact of the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (2018-2021)

Paris: UNESCO (2022), 18 pp.

"The stories presented here are some examples of how the Multi-Donor Programme for Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP) works to provide countries and their populations with the necessary tools to nurture a free and independent media. This includes promoting the adoption of policies ... more

External Link (10)

Media Reform in Tunisia: A Volatile Process

Fatima el Issawi

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 25 pp.

"The halting progress of the Tunisian media reform reflects the uncertainty and vulnerability of the political reform. As Professor of Communication and Democracy Katrin Voltmer contends, emerging media systems are unique types that are a blend of inherited structures, the constraints of the transit ... more

External Link (8)

Media Assistance in Burma’s Reform Decade

Jane Madlyn McElhone

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 35 pp.

"Using the coup as a vantage point, interviewees for this report were asked to reflect on three main questions: What have we learned about past media reform efforts? With hindsight, what are the legacies, best practices, and lessons learned? With a view to the future, what does the media’s respons ... more

External Link (12)

Media Reform in Tunisia: A Volatile Process

Fatima el Issawi

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 8 pp.

"President Saied’s moves to undermine constitutional governance and Tunisia’s parliament pose a major challenge for further media reforms. Yet, should the political environment prove enabling, foreign donors, media assistance organizations, and other stakeholders should prioritize working with l ... more

External Link (6)

Media Reform During Ethiopia’s Political Transition

Henok Semaegzer Fente

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2022), 25 pp.

"The media reform process in Ethiopia’s political transition has made significant improvements to the policy, legal, and regulatory frameworks. If institutionalized and implemented with robust stakeholder engagement, the reform could help build a sustainable, vibrant, independent, and viable media ... more

Download (0)

Let Free Media Thrive: Stories of Impact of the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists

Paris: UNESCO (2021), 18 pp.

"The collection of stories presented here aims to highlight the impact of the MDP's (Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists) MDP’s actions over the course of this challenging year. Through testimonies from beneficiaries and partners who aspire to improve freedom o ... more

External Link (8)

United by Challenge: Regional Opportunities to Drive Media Reform in Southeast Europe

Washington, DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) (2021)

"Southeast Europe’s strong tradition of regional cooperation for media reform can be leveraged to address the renewed threats independent media face. Countries in the region have shared cultural and trade ties, common media markets, and face similar threats to a free and independent press. They al ... more

Download (0)

Jordan Media Assessment: Executive Summary and Recommendations

USAID;Management Systems International (MSI) (2020), 15 pp.

"Implemented between January-March 2020, the Jordan Media Assessment (JMA) aims to provide an overview of the media landscape in Jordan, with a specific focus on how digital media impact Jordan’s democratic development. The findings will assist USAID/Jordan to determine the broader needs of the me ... more

Download (0)

USAID’s Access to Information Program (A2I) in Central Asia, Implemented by Internews: Final Report, October 1, 2014 - September 30, 2019

Washington, DC: USAID;Internews (2020), 102 pp.

"The Access to Information Program (A2I) was a five-year Central Asia regional program funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Internews under Cooperative Agreement 176-14-00005 from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2019. During the first phase of ... more

External Link (8)

Let Free Media Thrive: Stories of Impact of the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists

Paris: UNESCO (2020), 19 pp.

"2019 has seen major achievements resulting from needs-based, and specifically-tailored support through the Multi-Donor Programme on Freedom of Expression and Safety of Journalists (MDP). Actions building on ongoing work and others opening new avenues, have initiated substantial changes in favour of ... more

Download (1)

International Development Aid Beyond Money: The Push and Pull of Media Democracy Promotion in Three Mercosur Countries

Sarah Anne Ganter

Journal of Latin American Communication Research, volume 6, issue 1-2 (2018), pp. 116-134

"Media democracy promotion is a hidden form of international development aid (IDA). However, the dynamics underlying democracy promotion and their adaptation in local contexts is hardly considered when evaluating or theorizing international media development aid (IMDA). Multi-lateral organizations ( ... more

Download (0)

Towards Media Sector Reform in the Southern Mediterranean Region: Key Results
Top Insights

MedMedia (2018), 24 pp.

"Part of a €17 million EU-funded programme entitled “Media and Culture for Development in the Southern Mediterranean”, MedMedia was implemented in the Southern Mediterranean from January 2014 until May 2018. The MedMedia programme has given media policy makers, regulators, public service broad ... more

Download (0)

EU Medmedia: Vers une réforme du secteur des médias dans la région du Sud de la Méditerranée. Résultats
Top Insights

MedMedia (2018), 24 pp.

"Développé dans le cadre d’un programme de 17 M d’euros financé par l’Union européenne intitulé « Médias et Culture pour le développement du sud de la Méditerranée », MedMedia a été mis en oeuvre de janvier 2014 à mai 2018. Ce programme a offert aux décideurs politiques, aux org ... more

External Link (8)

Comparative Analysis of Regulatory Media Assistance: Lessons from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo

Vladimir Bratic

Sarajevo: Analitika – Center for Social Research (2013), 43 pp.

"The cases from B&H and Kosovo show that three straightforward regulatory practices can make a significant impact in a relatively short time. What is needed is an independent and legitimate regulator, a set of laws and guidelines against incendiary media, and an accompanying set of laws in protectio ... more

External Link (12)

Google Scholar (8)

WorldCat (9)

Transformations in Egyptian Journalism

Naomi Sakr

London; Oxford: Tauris;Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2013), xviii, 109 pp.

"Egypt’s revolutionary uprising in 2011 raised important questions about the kind of journalism that would be viable in the country’s changing political dynamics. Suddenly the output of bloggers, online radio and social media news operations, which had all formed part of the groundswell of actio ... more

External Link (9)

Media Reforms Through Intervention: International Media Assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Tarik Jusic, Nidžara Ahmetaševic

Sarajevo: Analitika – Center for Social Research (2013), 71 pp.

"The case of BiH demonstrates that media reform is a slow, time-consuming process, which is closely related to the consolidation of democratic institutions that foster free media. The four case studies presented here amply demonstrate a deep tension between externally-driven reform initiatives and t ... more

Towards Media Sector Reform in the Southern Mediterranean Region: Key Results Top Insights

EU Medmedia: Vers une réforme du secteur des médias dans la région du Sud de la Méditerranée. Résultats Top Insights

Towards Media Sector Reform in the Southern Mediterranean Region: Key Results
Top Insights

EU Medmedia: Vers une réforme du secteur des médias dans la région du Sud de la Méditerranée. Résultats
Top Insights