"This report is intended to be a practical, useful guide for stakeholders in national and local governments, the media, civil society, and business to making freedom of information laws work. The authors’ particular emphasis is on the role public officials and journalists must play in effectively ... breathing life into these laws, giving meaning to their democratic intent and legal guarantees [...] This paper begins with a review of the theory and practice of FOI laws, which are universally recognized as critical components of a modern system of free expression. It follows with discussion of the obstacles to effective implementation, including in an appendix several interviews with stakeholders in six countries in which FOI laws have been introduced recently: Albania, Armenia, Indonesia, Jamaica, South Africa, and Ukraine. The paper then makes several recommendations." (Executive summary) more

"Exporting Press Freedom examines the history and practice of media assistance, and argues that the dilemma of media independence and sustainability is best understood as an economic problem rather than one of poor editorial standards or lack of will. It includes profiles of news and public affairs ... media in developing and democratizing countries, and also of two non-governmental organizations that have pioneered the use of low-interest loans in media assistance. These profiles exemplify strategic and entrepreneurial approaches to developing and supporting public service media. Such approaches may be of use not only in the developing world, but in the consolidated Western democracies as well, where concern has grown about poor journalistic performance and its consequences for democratic governance." (Publisher description) more