"To ensure that Ukrainian media move from mere survival to long-term vitality, we propose a comprehensive strategy encompassing the following five pillars: 1. Innovative funding mechanisms; 2. Prioritisation of local-level media; 3. Constructive enabling environment; 4. Professional development; 5.
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Media literacy. This holistic strategy aims to foster a resilient, independent, and effective media sector integral to Ukraine’s ongoing development and recovery." (Page 1)
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"The academic study of media development as a field of practice and international cooperation has received quite some impetus in the last couple of years. Theory-building in this research field, however, seems to be stagnating. The explanatory power of established theories such as modernization, dep
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endency or participation appears limited in the light of recent empirical findings that point to increasing ‘bureaucratization’ and ‘proceduralization’ in the media development sector. Against this background, this article sets out to find an analytical model that adequately grasps the logics guiding the work of media development’s various actors – from donors to intermediary organizations to local NGOs. Theoretical input from organizational institutionalism seems to offer a promising perspective for characterizing the institutional logics that shape (yet do not determine) media development practice. On this basis, the article proposes an analytical framework that allows to categorize media development actors’ beliefs and practices between the poles of social transformation logics and managerial logics." (Abstract)
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"Media development assistance and media systems research are intricately connected: by describing, assessing, and attempting to change them, media development actors produce knowledge about media systems and directly impact them. This research review explores the intersections of academic media syst
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ems research and practices of describing and assessing media landscapes in the media development sector and suggests how both could learn from each other. In what follows, the most important publications on media systems since the Cold War era will be reviewed, tracing the ongoing process of refining concepts and definitions. Alongside a geographical broadening of the research scope, models as well as methodological approaches have been questioned and reinvented. The review places a special focus on the peculiarities of researching media systems in sub-Saharan Africa. Referring to academic as well as grey literature, it suggests points of departure for meaningfully linking academic knowledge and practitioners’ knowledge about media systems, concluding with recommendations for informed practice." (Abstract)
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"The need for coordination within the media development sector is widely recognised – particularly in the wake of conflict or crisis." (Page 1)
"The COVID-19 pandemic, global economic downturn, anti-press violence and worsening situation of labour precarity for journalists around the world have led to increased stress, trauma and burnout in the profession, which raises questions at the heart of media sustainability and approaches to media d
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evelopment in a global context. Our study builds on the conceptual framework of professional and collective resilience research to analyse the content of media development work on publicly facing websites of a census of implementing organizations represented on the Center for International Media Assistance website (N = 18). Our findings suggest that donors and other sponsors of media development work should consider making resilience a core component of global programmes in support of media democracy and journalism. Though programmatic agendas in global media development are crowded with multiple goals in response to complex problems, we believe that resilience should be prioritized. This work cannot be done without a nuanced analysis of local causes of emotional distress as well as local understandings of emotional labour and repair. Working with journalists’ support organizations and employers in conducting diagnoses, identifying suitable actions and promoting sustainable practices is imperative. Recommendations and actions need to be sensitive to local conditions, demands and opportunities. While immediate remediation actions are important, it is also important to keep attention on long-term structural matters that cause emotional distress." (Abstract)
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"What comes next for media development? Though the contributors to this volume [i.e., the special issue focusing on international media development] provide answers from diverse perspectives, they each touch upon questions of agency and localization. The contributors investigate major issues with a
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bearing on media development literature in a bid to explore some conceptual frameworks and lay down a path for an action-oriented practice." (Page 137)
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"Gender perspectives in media development are common in grey literature produced and promoted by media development actors. Yet, academic research investigating gender dimensions in media development practice and discourse remains scarce. This paper wants to contribute to filling this gap. The empiri
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cal data results from my PhD field research with women journalists in proximity radios in Burkina Faso. Based on the perspective of women journalists, the study gathered transversal data that sheds light on how they experience and perceive media development activities. The data was collected in 2019-2021 through interviews and audio diaries with a total of 10 female journalists. This paper examines media development activities and their effects on women journalists’ lived experiences. The analysis uses an intersectional lens to grasp the interdependences of different power structures. Findings show how media development interventions might have both positive and negative effects on women journalists’ everyday life. As such, media development activities shape the power structures within the media environment, enabling and restricting women journalists’ access, interaction, and participation in content production and decision-making. The data also shows how the security situation in Burkina Faso affects women journalists in a different way and sheds light to blind spots in the efforts of NGOs to incorporate gender dimensions in their approaches. The analysis reveals the complexities in which media development interventions at times challenge and reinforce existing inequalities in the media sector." (Abstract)
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"Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) bring a wide range of skill sets to the problem of digital disinformation. Some organizations focus on digital media literacy and education; others engage in advocacy and policy work. Another segment has developed expertise in fact-checking and verification. Other
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organizations have developed refined technical skills for extracting and analyzing data from social media platforms. This research yielded several clear observations about the state of CSO responses to disinformation and, in turn, suggests several recommendations for paths forward. • Prioritize Skill Diffusion and Knowledge Transfer. Civil society organizations seeking funding for counter-disinformation initiatives should emphasize the importance of skill diffusion and knowledge-transfer initiatives. The siloed nature of disinformation research points to a growing need to blend technical expertise with deep cultural and political knowledge. • CSO researchers lack sufficient access to social media data. Survey respondents identified insufficient access to data as a challenge. Sometimes data are not made available to CSOs; in other instances, data are made available in formats that are not workable for meaningful research purposes. Unequal access to the data that private companies do provide can exacerbate regional inequities, and the nature of data sharing by social media platforms can unduly shape the space for inquiry by civil society and other researchers. Funders, platforms, and other key actors should develop approaches that provide more consistent, inclusive data access to CSOs. • Duplicative programming hampers innovation. CSOs drawing on similar tools, approaches, and techniques to meet similar goals pointed to three main factors preventing more specialized, innovative initiatives: lack of coordination, lack of specific expertise, and lack of flexible funding. Community building and collaboration among relevant organizations deserve more investment, as do initiatives that partner larger, established organizations with smaller or growing ones, or pool efforts, skill sets, and expertise to encourage diverse research by design rather than by coincidence. • Relationships with tech platforms vary across regions. Surveyed CSOs often held simultaneously skeptical and positive opinions about their relationships with social media companies. Some receive preferential access to data and even funding for their work (raising concerns about independence), while others report a lack of responsiveness from company representatives. In the Global South and Eastern Europe, many CSOs expressed concern that platforms failed to meaningfully engage with them on issues of critical concern. • More flexible funding and more diverse research are both necessary. To encourage greater platform accountability across varied geographic contexts, CSOs and their funders should draw on the perspectives of specific, under-analyzed communities." (Executive summary, page 3-4)
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"Staatliche Medienförderung gilt als Instrument der Medienpolitik und bedeutet in der Regel die fortwährende finanzielle Unterstützung von Medieninhabern zur Produktion und dem Vertrieb von Medieninhalten und -projekten. Staatliche Medienförderung kann viele Formen annehmen, meint aber vorwiegen
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d direkte Finanzbeihilfen und Steuervergünstigungen. Bei einer Förderung, die über den klassischen Printmedienbereich (Tages- und Wochenzeitungen) hinausgeht, spricht man im Allgemeinen von Medienförderung (Film, Hörfunk und Fernsehen, aber auch Buch, Spiele, Internet, und Konvergenzmedien). Es wird im vorliegenden Beitrag argumentiert, dass die staatliche Förderung von Medien eine demokratie- und kulturpolitische Pflicht des Staates ist, um Medien- und Meinungsvielfalt zu stärken, die Produktion eines qualitativ anspruchsvollen Angebots anzuregen und dessen Konsum zu unterstützen. Die Debatten zu Medienförderung sind allerdings vielfältig, kontrovers und wertstrittig geführt. Die angebotenen Systeme werden gerne als ineffizient und wenig innovativ wahrgenommen. Demgegenüber stehen Argumente, die positive Effekte von staatlicher Medienförderung wie Erhalt und Erweiterung des Marktangebots und Vielfaltsicherung im Interesse des Konsums hervorheben. Der vorliegende Beitrag gelangt auf Basis von Analysen ausgewählter Förderpraxen in der DACH-Region [Deutschland, Österreich, deutschsprachige Schweiz] zum Ergebnis, dass das Phänomen Medienförderung mit dem wissenschaftlichen Instrumentarium der Medienökonomie plausibel begründbar ist. Die aktuellen Förderpraxen sind in Richtung einer „integralen Medienförderung“ auszubauen." (Zusammenfassung)
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"COVID-19 has taken a heavy toll on freedom of expression, access to information, and media freedom. Amidst an ongoing global decline in democratic freedoms, the pandemic has severely affected the work of media outlets and independent journalists. Functioning media are, however, a precondition for r
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eliable information, government accountability — and for an inclusive recovery from the repercussions of the global health crisis. What are the most pressing challenges the media have faced during the pandemic? And how can these challenges be addressed? What can governments, donors and civil society organizations do? This discussion paper highlights some of the most relevant problems and recommendations on how to tackle them." (Page 1)
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"Development actors tend to pay media to publish content that often is just their PR material in disguise. It’s time to rethink a practice that undermines both independent journalism and the aid sector’s credibility." (Introduction)
"The report presents a plan to guarantee up to 0.1% of GDP a year into journalism to safeguard its social function for the future. The New Deal would be a massive commitment both at the national and the international scale to ensure the social function of journalism. Christophe Deloire, chair of the
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Forum, explains: “The New Deal for Journalism consists of linking together various points that up to now have been separate, i.e. how the market is organised, the technological environment, and the work of journalists, with its working practices and ethics. This amounts to rebuilding journalism, not as the ‘media sector’, but as an essential element of freedom of opinion and expression, predicated on the right to information.” The report is structured around four fields of action: media freedom, the independence of journalism, a favourable economic climate and support for a sustainable digital model. Among the recommendations are: Ensure full transparency of media ownership as part of broader measures on transparency, anti-corruption and financial integrity; Implement initiatives allowing quality journalism to be singled out and given a comparative advantage again, such as the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI), to restore confidence among all stakeholders; Support and adopt international measures for taxing digital platforms, such as the global minimum corporate tax rate proposed by the OECD; Develop hybrid funding for the media, combining philanthropy and public support by establishing private-public blended financial instruments for commercial and non-profit media; Secure from governments a commitment to spending 1% of official development assistance on support for independent media and their enabling environment; Establish support mechanisms allowing citizens to support media organizations of their choice (such as media vouchers, tax relief on subscriptions, or income tax designations); Structure the reflection on the impact of AI on journalism by including journalism and media as strategic sectors in national Artificial Intelligence strategies and roadmaps." (IAMCR email, 2021/6/16)
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"This Code of Practice serves as a statement that GFMD members are committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, governance, financial transparency and accountability while furthering the GFMD’s mission. Adopting and adhering to this Code of Practice serves as an ethical charter for
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the activities and operations of GFMD members, as well as an internal guideline for the application of GFMD values and mission. The GFMD member’s Code of Practice takes inspiration from the Code of Ethics as adopted by the World Association of Non-Governmental Organisations." (Page 1)
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"The purpose of the Media for Democracy Assessment Tool (MAT) is to assist United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in producing media assessments to inform strategy on media and democracy programming, help inform potential media development programming goals, and help provide an i
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nformed understanding of where USAID investment is most feasible and needed and will have the best chances for impact. The MAT provides a standardized methodology to answer the key question: How do media connect to democracy and how can media support democracy promotion and civic space?" (Introduction, page 6)
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"[...] If Afghanistan is to avoid a renewal of civil war, there is no viable alternative to Taliban rule and Taliban dialogue. Engagement with the Taliban in terms of urgently needed humanitarian aid opens avenues for cooperation in the field of cultural foreign policy and civil society support. Her
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e, the Taliban are especially open to support in the educational sector. Education, including for women, is a widespread demand in Afghanistan, even in the rural areas. As a member of civil society stressed, the Taliban are not ready to accept political activities but seem so far result-oriented in what concerns practical improvements for the Afghan population. Under seemingly non-political activities, for example competitions about daily life concerns like waste or water management, independent thinking and the respect of human rights can still be fostered. Generally, activities can be promoted with Afghan and Islamic references acceptable to the Taliban mindset. Fostering women’s rights, for example, can be done by giving the examples of the wives of the prophet Mohammed and of the relative freedoms of women in Saudi Arabia and Iran, who have more rights than those under the previous Taliban regime. As one participant states “the only progressive ideas which can be ingrained in Afghan society need to be somehow referring to internal cultural heritage Afghan and/or Islamic”. In this context, a lot of venues can be explored. Herat, for example was a major cultural centre over centuries. Afghans know also very little of the significance of historically important Islamic cities like Bukhara or Samarkand in neighbouring Uzbekistan, despite the fact that a sizable proportion of the Afghan population are Uzbek. Even more significant is the fact that Afghans who are very attached to their religion know very little of the achievement of the golden age Arabo-Islamic culture in science like mathematics, geography, astronomy, medicine or architecture or literature. There are also some classical art forms through which we can engage with the Taliban, such as poetry, as well as opportunities in contemporary comedy, where a certain criticism can be voiced and tolerated. The interplay of new and traditional media also provides unique opportunities in terms of education and human rights. Here DW-TV, Radio and internet activities can play an important role. Independent initiatives should also be promoted. These can offer considerable opportunities to connect regional civil society actors, which for one of the interviewees is one of the most effective ways of engagement “for example, feminist groups of neighbouring countries which supported feminist groups in Afghanistan”. (Conclusion, page 17)
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"This review has shown that media assistance from donor sources enhanced the development of the African media generally especially after the Second World War, but the inability of outlets to sustain their operations financially usher them into the “operational survival phase” where private inves
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tors take over with sensationalism and profit-oriented objectives that tend to contradict the traditional functions of the media which donors envisaged. Moreover, the application for funding eligibilities, criteria, and prescribed reporting themes become conditions which to some extent strip off media’s ability to determine its own agenda, and ultimately independence. By this, the very models, “philanthro-journalism” and/or “NGO-funded” to protect and establish a resilient media system, are somewhat becoming a threat to media freedom in a masquerading form. Whenever donors are in the driving seat of setting media agenda, (a) local pressing issues are ignored or given less attention and (b) image of recipient countries is dented. These put the African media on the path to becoming controlled because as long as its quest for donor assistance is unceasing, then its susceptibility to demands of donors will abound." (Conclusion)
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"Fieldwork from across Afghanistan allowed Osman to record the voices of Afghan media producers and people from all sectors of society. In this moving work, Afghans offer their own seldom-heard views on the country's cultural progress and belief systems, their understandings of themselves, and the r
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ole of international interventions. Osman looks at the national and transnational impact of media companies like Tolo TV, Radio Television Afghanistan, and foreign media giants and funders like the British Broadcasting Corporation and USAID. By focusing on local cultural contestations, productions, and social movements, Television and the Afghan Culture Wars redirects the global dialogue about Afghanistan to Afghans and thereby challenges top-down narratives of humanitarian development." (Publisher description)
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