"In its political support the Commission will encourage enlargement countries to make legislation more supportive of the media. It will also promote the involvement of media and civil society in the pre-accession process, including in the formulati
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on, implementation and monitoring of sector strategies for EU financial assistance which will be strengthened under IPA II. The Commission's financial assistance will use an appropriate mix of funding instruments to respond to different types of needs and country contexts in a flexible, transparent, cost-effective and results focused manner which also considers the administration burden for the Commission. This will include: aiming for longer term contracts, recognising that capacity building and advocacy work requires time and resources; moving away from project based support to a more flexible approach that fosters partnership and coalition building. It must also be understood that accession-related EU funding is limited in volume and time. Although having been a major donor to Media and Civil Society, the EU cannot and should not aim to fill the funding gap left as other donors exit from the region. As the enlargement countries move towards accession, the Commission will support media organisations become less dependent on international donor funding, including funding from the EU [...] "These guidelines are formulated in the form of a draft results framework. The framework contains goals and results to be achieved by developing and deploying multi-beneficiary and bilateral assistance programmes. Special attention is paid to the aspect of verification: measurable indicators (and benchmarks) are grouped according to particular results to be achieved and possible means of verification (MoV) are identified for each group of indicators. The selection of indicators and MoVs also take into consideration the cost-effectiveness and actual availability of data. Monitoring the guidelines will be supervised by DG ELARG in collaboration with the EU Delegations in the region, international organisations and networks of CSOs already active in media freedom and integrity. The collection of data will include both qualitative and quantitative assessments and will be conducted by means of surveys, peer reviews, independent assessment, etc." (Pages 4-5)
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"This training module is a compilation of material initially gathered to help partners prepare and develop their pilot projects. As such it can be of use for anyone who wants to use storytelling or storytelling methods as tool to build cooperation and/or to support learning. After a theoretical intr
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oduction to storytelling and its benefits, these guidelines focus on the potentials and applications of storytelling for networking as well as on the practical implementation. In the second part a number of exercises for different target groups and contexts are presented, followed by some practical tips. Finally these guidelines provide some suggestions for further reading and online resources. In the project StoryRegions we have agreed that the most important “storytelling methodology” to support and improve social inclusion and community building is bringing people together – people from organisations, associations, education, libraries etc – and then, when a network with stakeholders and target groups has been created, to implement storytelling as a tool within this network. At this stage a wide range of storytelling approaches and techniques can be used." (Introduction)
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"1. Incorporate media assistance into a larger framework of development aid.
2. Incorporate media indicators and audits into governance diagnostics and needs analysis.
3. Co-operate with media development CSOs and determine media objectives and outcomes, not methodologies.
4. Focus on building publi
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c demand for inclusive policy dialogue.
5. Support independent, sustainable, and capable local media in developing countries.
6. Foster ownership as a central component of support.
7. Promote citizen access to the media and mobile technologies as well as citizens’ media literacy.
8. Encourage links between media institutions and the rest of civil society.
9. Support systematic research on the effects of media and information access on domestic accountability.
10. Learn about and harness new technologies." (Strategic principles for media assistance, pages 104-106)
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"The first component of this report focuses on the improvement of the performance of public sector broadcasters. Based on evidence that the team gathered during field research, and the preparatory survey of the existing body of knowledge, 23 main problems were identified in this component [...] The
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second component deals with media self-regulation. Although the push to strengthen selfregulation is high on the agenda of the media communities in the region, such institutions have either not been established or the existing ones need to be overhauled and strengthened [...] Component three concentrates on judicial practices in freedom of expression cases and capacity building of the judiciary in this regard [...] Component four assesses the options for the introduction of an EU award for investigative journalism in the Southeast Europe IPA region." (Executive summary, page 9)
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"State capture is slowly but surely enveloping Hungarian media, principally through the “soft censorship” of financial incentives and influence that affect media otlets’ editorial content and economic viability. Allocation of state advertising spending is opaque and unfair; it is based on the
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political leanings of particular media outlets, and this distorts market competition significantly. Biased advertising spending influences editorial policies in an indirect way, creating a newsroom atmosphere in which editors accept and journalists practice self-censorship. Market competition among media agencies is clearly distorted by the biased award of state contracts. Legal regulations and financial practices of Hungary’s current public-media financing permit improper state influence over public media and fail to comply with European Commission requirements regarding state support for public-service media." (Key findings, page 6)
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"Generally, data about media development support are not complete and reliable due to insufficient classification categories in the DAC system, so the EC and most other international institutions and organisations share the problem of not having solid knowledge about the scope and size of support in
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this field. This is also the case in the CRIS data base, which does not distinguish for example between public diplomacy and media support [...] As a consequence, the amounts and other figures in this report should not be taken as exact values. But the mapping does show some clear trends and tendencies despite the weakness ofthe basic data, and the main findings are: According to the information available in the CRIS data base and the definition of projects applied for this support, the total amount spent on media development and freedom of expression in the period 2000-2010 has been 148,4 Million Euro. More than half of the total amount has been spent in the neighbour countries East and South of the EU. More than 40 % has been spent in the Western Balkans, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Russia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Turkey, while 12,5 % has been spent in the Middle East and North Africa. 24,3 % of the total funds have been spent in Sub-Saharan Africa. The EC support for media development and freedomof expression has been limited compared with the bilateral support from EU. Member States and other bilateral donors. For comparison the Swedish budget for media support from SIDA in 2012 is 26 Million Euro and DfiD supports the BBC Media Action with more than 20 Million Euro per year. The funding comes from a variety of thematic and geographic Instruments with the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, EIDHR, as the single biggest source, which accounts for 41 % of the total support. Other significant Instruments are IPA, CARDS, ENPI and MED. The main focus has been on training of journalists and editors in journalistic skills and professional standards. Other initiatives have been support to reform of media related legislation and direct support to endangered journalists and writers. The projects supportedby the EC have not been different from projects funded by bilateral donors. Very few projects have benefitted from the potential comparative advantages of the EC/EU as a multinational entity. Very few projects have been designed and implemented in cooperation with member states or other donor agencies, and the projects do not reflect on-going internal medla developments in the EU. There seems to be more focus on EU visibility than on EU additionallity. The top ten contract holders have implemented 36 % of the total project value with BBC Media Action as the single biggest partner, which has implemented almost ten percent of the total project value in the period 2000-2010. lnternews (with lnternews Europe as the biggest entity) comes second with 4,6 % of the total project value followed by the International Federation of Journalists with 3,4 % of the project value. The EC is seen as a “difficult“ or “bureaucratic“ donor agency, which is difficult to approach for smaller organisations because the possible funding does not correspond with the paper work needed to apply for support." (Executive summary
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"The European Commission has begun to integrate a political economy approach throughout the project cycle. This guide tailors the political economy approach to the media development sector specifi
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cally. Using a political economy media matrix (PEMM) as its basis, it explains how to integrate the PE approach throughout the programme cycle." (Background, page 4)
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"Key recommendations: Explore ways of integrating EU diplomatic power alongside its development programmes in order to support freedom of expression and independent media and communicaitons; Enhance coordination between the different operational arms of the EU; Utilise EU’s convening power to brin
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g together member states to co-ordinate the application of media development programmes; Base the EU’s approach to media development on principles of freedom of expression as a foundation human right; Use political economy analysis - of both online and offl ine media - when considering what to fund. This will involve identifying those who are allies for and obstacles to change, as well as the incentives for change; Any media programme should take into consideration digital freedoms and the interrelationship between mobile phones and the internet and offl ine media; There should be more focus on increasing digital skills, capacities and awareness; Fostering an enabling environment is important if media and to thrive as businesses and be financially viable; There is potential to collaborate with European companies to create new CSR strategies, funding mechanisms, soft loans and guarantee instruments; Rethink criteria for measuring impact and outcomes so that they are specific to the media development and communications field." (Page 25)
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"An in-depth account of EU policies in the area of public service broadcasting, focusing mainly on the application of the European State aid rules. The book discusses when, how and with what impact the E
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uropean Commission deals with public service broadcasting." (Publisher description)
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"On 26 January 2011, UNESCO hosted the second International Symposium on Freedom of Expression at its Paris headquarters. The Swedish National Commission for UNESCO sponsored the conference. The symposium brought together individuals and organisati
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ons linked to the field of journalism and sparked not only debate and discussion on the future of freedom of expression, but also fostered dialogue between civil society and governments – an exchange that UNESCO will continue to support. The symposium consisted of three main sessions devoted to The Status of Press Freedom Worldwide, Freedom of Expression on the Internet, and Press Freedom and the Safety of Journalists. The conference was opened by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, and the Swedish Minister for European Affairs, Birgitta Ohlsson, spoke on the role of free speech and government accountability. The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, gave the keynote address, calling attention to the impact of new technologies on the field of journalism and the importance of promoting freedom of access alongside freedom of speech. The symposium was moderated by Helge Rønning, Professor of Media Studies at the University of Oslo. He made the opening remarks at each of the sessions." (Page 111)
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"This collective report examines the principal dimensions of media policy in 14 European countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the UK), probing into the histor
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ical forces, national traditions and distinct political and socio-economic contexts in which media policies have emerged and developed. The analysis explores the main instruments for media regulation in the countries under study, and assesses the implications of the established media policy strategies for democratic politics. The country chapters follow a similar structure. Following a brief introduction, the analysis focuses on the media landscape of the countries under review, offering an overview of the national media market (the press, broadcast media, online media and news agencies), as well as a discussion of the status of the journalistic profession and media literacy. The third section presents the major actors involved in media policymaking and proceeds with a succinct presentation and explanation of the national regulatory framework for the media, focusing mainly on structural and content regulation. The final section provides a critical assessment of the principal issues and trends that characterise the media policies of the countries under study, together with an assessment of the degree to which they enable the media to feed the democratic process. The report also contains a chapter discussing the media-related initiatives of the European Union and the Council of Europe, focusing on the interventions that are of relevance and importance to the protection and promotion of media freedom and independence." (Introductory note, page 10)
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"As a follow up on the Media and Development Forum, which took place in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) on 11-13 September 2008, the European Commission initiated this study to map out the projects and
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programmes which European donors have in place to support media development in Africa [...] Some 240 contacts were identified and sent the questionnaire. 148 responses have been collected. 200 projects/programmes have been identified and analysed. These projects/programmes amounts to a support worth more than 100m €. The projects/programmes involve 46 out of the 57 African countries. Training is the dominant activity area. More than 1/3 of the projects have training as the main content. Additionally, in many cases the training activities support other activity areas, like production of programmes, setting up of radio stations etc. Only one small project address education of future journalists. 152 projects (76%) address only one country. These projects include 36 countries (63% of the countries in Africa and 78% of the countries which have received support). The projects targeting only one country amount to 60.739.635 €, which is 60% of the funding recorded in the survey. Very few countries receive the majority of the funding. The three countries receiving support for more than 5 mil € receive 32,8% of the total support. The data indicates that the major part of the support goes to countries in conflict/post-conflict or democracy crisis situations. ¾ of the projects are implemented by non-African organisations/institutions. Regarding New Media, the analysis shows that mobile phones and the Internet are gaining importance in the continent because of the numbers of subscribers and access possibilities are increasing. Initiatives are taken in many countries to make these tools real means of communication as well as sources of information and evidence and channels of dissemination of information in several areas of development. Despite of this development, only very few projects address new media." (Executive summary, page 5-7)
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"There are, surprisingly enough, reasons to be cheerful about our media in Europe. Some of them are to be found in the pages of this publication, which reveals that the struggle for diversity and respect for equality is not lost. Far from it, the examples of innovation, originality and commitment sh
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own in some of the initiatives outlined here are inspirational and a tribute to the fact that within media and civil society there have been changes that are beginning to make a difference to the way media report and reflect the increasingly diverse European landscape." (Foreword)
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"This publication describes the main media assistance funders outside the USA in an alphabetical fashion from 'Arab States' to 'United Kingdom', complemented by data on the European Commission (EC
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), UNESCO and UNDP. The EC is likely to be the biggest single funder of media development projects besides the United States. An approximate and conservative guess was a current yearly commitment by the EC of about $82 million worth of media-related projects. For comparison, Sweden and Norway provided $30 million and $19 million on media support, respectively, in 2008, and the Netherlands and Switzerland were estimated to fund about $37 million and $29 million per year, respectively. In forming part of the "governance" agenda of many donors the rationale for media support is being much more precisely articulated than in the past, and it is no longer as confused with either communications as public relations or with communications as a tool for social or behavioural change. Nevertheless, often there is no long-term strategy or commitment for media development and, as a result, more complex media reform programmes (for instance legislation, reform of state broadcasters, or establishment of national training structures) are not tackled accordingly." (CAMECO Update 1-2010)
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"A paper presented to an international colloquium "Culture and Creativity as Vectors of Development" held in Brussels, April 2-3, 2009. The author provides an overview of the current state of book publishing in the ACP countries of francophone Africa, and their impact as an integral part of the cult
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ural industries in these countries. She examines a number of successful collaborative initiatives such as co-publication projects and training programmes, as well as collaborative ventures that unfortunately have failed for a number of reasons, such as the book marketing collective Afrilivres that aimed to provide a showcase for African books and serve as a distribution outlet both within Africa and in the countries of the North. The author offers a number of suggestions how the book sector might be revitalized and strengthened by support from ACP and EU States and the European Commission." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 2541)
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