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African Media Development Initiative: Zimbabwe. Research Findings and Conclusions

Rashweat Mukundu

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 82 pp.

"There are a number of media players in Zimbabwe, in the private and state media, NGOs and training institutions, who have a keen interest in the development of the media in Zimbabwe. The majority of interviewees see the enactment of Zimbabwe’s media laws as the key change that has taken place ove ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: South Africa. Research Findings and Conclusions

Claire Milne, Anne Taylor

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 116 pp.

"Overall, South Africa has a relatively vibrant and developing media environment. The 15 interviewees were involved in 37 media development initiatives between them. These development initiatives comprise the following: 12 training initiatives; nine advocacy initiatives; five research initiatives; t ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: Democratic Republic of Congo. Research Findings and Conclusions

Dominique Mweze

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 84 pp.

"On the whole, interviewees report both a positive quantitative and qualitative change in terms of the number and content of media messages. Liberalisation and more stable political climate has facilitated the opening up of the telecommunications sector, and has led to a diversification of the media ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: Angola. Research Findings and Conclusions

Cândido Mendes, Barnaby Smith

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 55 pp.

"Relevant changes in Angolan media were noticed in the press. Newspapers grew the most radios grew some, but TV did not grow at all. There are few new media development initiatives known in Angola. The greatest initiative, though still not in effect, is the new Media Law. The growth of the Sindicato ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: Research Summary Report
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Gerry Power (dir.)

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 137 pp.

"This research initiative assessed the key media changes and developments in seventeen African countries over the past five years and aimed at recommending intervention strategies for strengthening an independent, professional media sector. The summary report presents the main findings regarding med ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: Nigeria. Research Findings and Conclusions

Akeem M. Adeyanju, Jenkeri Zakari Okwori

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 77 pp.

"Nine of the 15 interviewees said the most important change in the media sector in the last five years has been the mix of deregulation/liberalisation/privatisation. Four interviewees said the newly democratic environment has been the key change. All interviewees agreed that media development in the ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: Zambia. Research Findings and Conclusions

Fackson Banda

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 77 pp.

"The past five years have seen a mushrooming of media development organisations and media outlets. The period has also seen greater and better-coordinated civic activism in support of media development. There has generally been a diversity of media content, reflecting the plurality of media outlets. ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: Tanzania. Research Findings and Conclusions

Nandera Mhando, John Muthee Jones

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 63 pp.

"There has been significant growth in media outlets. In the new regime, the relationship between the media and the government has improved greatly. For the media in Tanzania to develop, resource allocation should be considered as a priority. There is a need to look at how much the government and don ... more

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African Media Development Initiative: Ghana. Research Findings and Conclusions

Samuel Kafewo

London: BBC World Service Trust (2006), 66 pp.

"The media sector in Ghana has witnessed some dramatic, positive changes over the past few years, made possible by the promulgation of the 1992 democratic Constitution and the election in 2000 of President Kufuor’s government. All interviewees agreed that democratisation and the repeal of the Crim ... more

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International Conference on Media Support Strategies for Zimbabwe: Johannesburg, November 28-30, 2005. Background Document

International Media Support (IMS); Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NIZA); Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA); Open Society Institute (2005), 71 pp.

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Foreign Aid to the Media in Ukraine and its Impact on the Democratization Process in the Country

Yevgeniya Anatolievna Mussuri

Athens, Ga.: University of Georgia, Master Thesis (2005), 72 pp.

"This study examines the impact of the international media assistance on the democratization of the press in Ukraine. Ukrainian government has been notorious for years for the suppression of the press and for censoring the content of the nation's media. Vital issues of the country, such as corruptio ... more

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Media Development in Iraq: An Overview of International Support 2003-2005

Copenhagen: International Media Support (IMS) (2005), 15 pp.

"This is a brief overview of international assistance to media development in Iraq from the time of the invasion in 2003 to the formation of the Iraqi government and first weeks of the constitutional process in April-May 2005. This paper does not claim to give an exhaustive picture. It is meant as a ... more

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Mediating Transition in Afghanistan, 2001-2004

Lisa Anne Hartenberger

Austin: University of Texas at Austin, Doctoral Thesis (2005), x, 294 pp.

"This dissertation examines international aid in support of Afghan media from fall 2001 to fall 2004 as a case study to interrogate the notion of “media transition” and its underlying assumptions. It examines how development organizations such as the United Nations, bilateral aid agencies such a ... more

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Supporting the Media in Liberia: A Review of the Media Landscape for the Post-Conflict Transition Period

Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa (2004), 76 pp. + annexes

"This report outlines the findings and conclusions derived from the assessment mission undertaken by the ‘Partnership for Media and Conflict Prevention in West Africa’ to Liberia in December 2003. This mission brought together the expertise of a number of the national, regional and international ... more

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Kosovo Media Assessment: Final Report

ARD Inc.

Washington, DC: USAID (2004), v, 31 pp.

"USAID’s assistance to the media sector, implemented through the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX), directly contributed to the creation and continued functioning of two Kosovo-wide independent television stations, the terrestrial transmission network, and the news agency KosovaLiv ... more

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U.S. Media Assistance Programs in Serbia: July 1997 - June 2002

Rich McClear, Suzi McClear, Peter Graves

Washington, DC: USAID, Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination (2003), xiii, 33 pp.

"Serbian media assistance programs reflect two approaches to media development. Though they occasionally created friction, the differing approaches produced positive results. The goal of USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI) was to fund programs and media outlets that could dissemin ... more

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Mission Report: The Media Situation in Angola. Obstacles and Possibilities

Lorraine Mkabela, Per Oesterlund, Anacleta Pereira

AMARC World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters; International Media Support (IMS); Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) (2003), 17 pp.

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Assessment of USAID Media Assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1996-2002

Daniel De Luce

Washington, DC: USAID (2003), 29 pp.

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Media in South Eastern Europe: Legislation, Professionalism and Associations

Yasha Lange et al.

Amsterdam: Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe, Media Task Force (2003), 56 pp.

"This document contains reports written by Media Working groups in nine countries in November 2003. The reports describe the media landscape and provide information on media legislation, journalistic professionalism, media associations and donor activities. The sections on the media landscape provid ... e a quick picture of the media in South Eastern Europe today: a high number of media outlets but far fewer sustainable and genuinely independent ones, virtually no direct governmental control but remaining influence in several key areas and a generally difficult transformation process of former state broadcasters. The information on media legislation reveals both progress and remaining difficulties. Defamation laws are strict, usually not in line with European standards and regularly abused, leading to many pending court cases and high fines. Access to Information laws are adopted in five countries, but implementation is problematic. Broadcast legislation is frequently debated and revised, regulatory bodies are insufficiently independent and public broadcasters require additional safeguarding against political influence. Professionalism is a concern. By no means only due to a lack of training, of which there has been a lot in the past years, but particularly due to structural problems. Journalists often work without proper contracts, affecting their position. They are generally low-paid and skilled people leave the profession. Young and cheap employees, sometimes preferred by owners, do not feel in a position to oppose influence on editorial policy. Lack of resources impact on quality, as there is little or no money for investigative reporting or domestic production of quality television programs. And in several cases, links between media owners and political parties affect the editorial independence. Media associations and watchdog organizations have proven tremendously important in defending press freedom and promoting quality. Several countries have seen the growth of professional and respected institutions, while in others the associations are divided, small and have limited credibility among journalists. Effective unions are generally lacking, training institutions have improved with outside support and press freedom organizations have increased strength and influence but are seeking sustainability. Finally, brief information is provided on donor assistance – much more is available in the Overview on support to the media in SEE, also prepared by the Media Task Force. Overall, outside assistance has made a great and positive difference in improving the diversity, quality and sustainability of the media. Suggestions for future support include the further strengthening of associations, in-house training rather than seminars, work on drafting and implementing media legislation (e.g. revising defamation clauses) and support to investigative journalism and domestic television production." (Overview, page 2) more

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Media Assistance Post the Taliban Regime and the Implications for Transforming the Afghan Social System

Noah W. Miller

London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), Master Thesis (2003), iii, 45 pp.

"In the case of media assistance in Afghanistan, financial and organizational resources originate almost exclusively from Western donors and INGOs, which largely bypass the Afghan Government. Organizations within the funding chain thus hold a functional form of power arising from the deployment of a ... llocative resources and it enables them to attempt an instigation of social change in Afghanistan. According to the notion of power associated with Talcott Parson, a functional form of power requires coordination and collaboration in order to achieve collective goals within a political process. However, conflicts may arise in Afghanistan if collective goals diverge among the various foreign and domestic participants involved in altering the media space. This could occur if the various participants do not envision the outcome of media assistance objectives as a zero-sum game. Additionally, Giddens asserts that Parson underestimates the contestation of the norms necessary to pursue collective goals in the first place. Even though the Afghan Government and international donors purportedly agree on the installation of a democracy with a free and independent media, they still need to overcome resistance from existing power holders or entrenched structural properties impeding such a development. In the context of Afghanistan, it is very conceivable that media assistance could prompt intentional or even unintentional consequences caused by social actors discontent with the normative values and goals promulgated by media assistance. Such unintentional conditions may render the desired outcomes of media assistance providers impossible and undermine the desired social transformation. It is erroneous, though, to apply a positivist view that judges the success or failure of media assistance according to the outcome of the flux between structure and interaction alluded to in chapter four. In fact, such a view would be contrary to the propositions of structuration theory that imply a lack of definable boundaries in which structure and interaction intermingles. Equally wrong is to evaluate the media assistance effort by funding amounts contributed by donors, even though financial resources are a pre-requisite for rebuilding the media infrastructure. Instead, media assistance can be conceived as a form of empowerment that imbues a target society with a collective consciousness concerning its ability to alter structural properties, which represent forms of power and domination according to Giddens. The success of media assistance therefore is to produce a collective awareness that individuals can influence the structural properties of a social system, regardless of the direction of change emanating from the mediation of structure and action. The process of change requires not only the acquisition of functional power through allocative resources, but also the acquisition of transformative power by means of controlling authoritative resources, which are involved in the coordination of a social system. Afghans need to control the actors or institutions that selectively filter information in order to reflexively “regulate the overall conditions of system reproduction either to keep things as they are or to change them” (Giddens, 1984, page 27). Yet, it remains unresolved to what extent media assistance has provided Afghans with transformative power and whether or not it allows them to influence the underlying forces that mediate the structural properties in society." (Conclusions, page 39-40) more

African Media Development Initiative: Research Summary Report Top Insights

African Media Development Initiative: Research Summary Report
Top Insights