"A comprehensive, practical guide to the on-the-ground tasks of evaluating and monitoring democracy assistance programs, from planning and implementation to preparing and presenting evaluation reports." (Publisher description)
"The essential thesis of this paper is that the requirements and problems of the media sector differ substantially from country to country according to its political, social and economic conditions: in authoritarian states the scope and intensity of media assistance is quite limited, whereas democra
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tizing countries are open for foreign assistance on developing an independent media sector; in war-torn societies the first objective should be to provide increased access to accurate news, and post-conflict societies offer good opportunities for the promotion of independent media. For each of these four categories the paper proposes different media assistance intervention strategies." (commbox)
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"The experience of establishing community stations in Afghanistan provides four distinct, but interrelated lessons [...] The project has demonstrated that international organizations can promote community stations in impoverished, war-tron societies that have had no experience of independent or comm
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ercial media. Second, community radio can provide not only news but also a stimulus for grassroots democracy and social networks [...] Third, the Afghanistan example also suggests that community radio stations can raise modest resources locally [...] Fourth, in a politically and economically fragile environment, most community stations may require long-term financial support." (Lessons and recommendations, page 270-271)
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"This book represents one step in explaining international efforts to promote independent media. It attempts to examine the nature and significance of media assistance, discussing the evolution of the field, the focus of various programming approaches, and the possible impact of such efforts. It pre
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sents case studies of media assistance programs in different countries.The book concludes with a set of recommendations for expanding and deepening media assistance for the international community. This book project grew out of a multi-country study that I directed in 2002–2004 to examine media assistance programs funded by the US Agency for International Development. The overall purpose of the study was to assess the nature and effectiveness of USAID programs and make policy and programmatic recommendations for the future. In writing this book I have mostly drawn from the massive information collected during two years of research and analysis. The book is based primarily on three sources of information. First are reviews of literature covering scholarly writings, project and program documents, and articles in popular magazines and newspapers on media assistance. Such reviews were country specific as well as global in nature. Because the academic literature is extremely limited and media assistance is hardly covered in magazines and newspapers except in high-profile cases such as Bosnia and Serbia, reviews largely relied on program documentation. I had the unique advantage of perusing thousands of documents that are not available to the public. Although mostly descriptive and often self-serving, they identified critical gaps in our knowledge and illuminated the challenges and achievements of international media endeavors. Second, my colleagues and I undertook extensive fieldwork in seven countries/regions—Afghanistan, Bosnia, Central America, Indonesia, Russia, Serbia, and Sierra Leone. In each of these cases, research teams conducted extensive discussions with international donor agencies, officials of host countries, project staff and contractors, and local media experts and journalists. Every possible effort was made to interview all those experts and managers who had intimate knowledge of the ongoing media assistance programs. Teams also examined locally available documents and reports and used translators to translate documents into English when necessary. In the absence of hard quantitative data, they largely relied on available documentation, indepth interviews, and their own knowledge of the media scene for their findings and conclusions. Finally, I organized a series of meetings in Washington, D.C., to discuss the findings of the country studies and explore new directions for media assistance programs. Such meetings helped to identify many problems and challenges facing media assistance programs and helped in formulating a set of recommendation for policymakers." (Chapter 1, page 10-11)
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"This article focuses on an important but neglected area of democracy assistance: international aid to build and strengthen independent media in transition and post-Conflict societies. The purpose of such assistance is to promote democratization by facilitating the free flow of information, transpar
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ency, accountability in the government, and economic growth. The article describes the origin of media assistance, examines the focus of media programmes, and presents some of the most important policy and programmatic lessons derived from fieldwork in seven locations: Afghanistan, Bosnia, Central America, Indonesia, Russia, Sierra Leone, and Serbia. The article ends with a plea for further research by the academic community on the subject." (Abstract)
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"This study critically evaluates international democratization assistance in postconflict societies to discern what has worked, what has not, and how aid programs can be designed to have a more positive impact. The authors offer a unique recipient perspective as they explore three dimensions of demo
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cracy promotion: elections, free media, and human rights. Drawing on the experiences of Afghanistan, Cambodia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, they suggest concrete ways in which the international community can better foster democratization in the wake of conflict." (Publisher description)
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"[...] aid for the media in El Salvador played a role in shaping a more open, tolerant tone for political debate and a more dynamic news media. Although the assistance was relatively modest, it came at a pivotal moment after the signing of the peace accords. To realize the full potential of media as
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sistance in any society, conducive political conditions are crucial. Donors could have better exploited the opportunity in El Salvador with a more generous, coordinated, farsighted strategy." (Lessons and recommendations, page 252-253)
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"The democratic transition in Indonesia after the fall of the Suharto regime brought about important liberalization of the media sector. Focusing on radio as an effective medium for increasing citizen engagement with the political process and improving government accountability, USAID selected Inter
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news to provide journalism training; management, sales, and marketing training; public affairs programming; institutional support, including provision of digital recording and editing equipment, internet access, and technical help; and building media law expertise and capacity. USAID’s 2004 assessment of the nature and focus of the Internews program, its achievements and limitations, and its Summaryoverall contribution to the independent radio subsector concluded that USAID media assistance made a tangible difference to the Indonesian radio subsector. The assessment team found that the program improved and expanded news coverage and upgraded professional skills in the radio subsector. The USAID-funded Internews program also pioneered development of media law capacity and expertise. Morover, by helping citizens engage the political process through interactive radio and emphasizing local news for local communities, the program contributed to consolidating Indonesia’s democratic gains and helped subvert the top-down information flow model that characterized the Suharto era. Despite these positive developments, challenges lie ahead. Radio station owners can exert pressure on journalists to slant coverage—as can large conglomerates, the military, and other vested interests—and journalists’ low wages continue to make bribery an inescapable reality for many. Smaller stations still have limited access to newer equipment. And while physical violence against journalists has diminished, subtler forms of press control remain, including litigation and self-censorship. Overlooking such lingering and emerging issues could endanger the significant gains of the past six years." (Executive summary)
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"1. USAID media assistance was effective in promoting and strengthening independent media [...] 2. Comprehensive training programs had multiplier effects on upgrading the professional skills of journalists and instilling the norms of free press. But they suffered from implementation problems [...] 3
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. The economic sustainability of the independent media outlets remained a major problem [...] 4. Progress promoting legal and regulatory reforms was slow and halting [...] 5. Donor coordination of media assistance was limited except in crisis situations [...] 6. USAID has not focused on community radio stations, which can promote both democracy and development in poor countries [...] 7. Built-in safeguards to ensure the independence and integrity of media programs from political manipulation and interference worked well [...] 8. Independent media building has served U.S. national interests." (Executive summary)
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"USAID media-related assistance to Russia totaled over $44 million during the June 1992-September 2002 period. Television-focused funding absorbed $22.4 million; projects focused mainly on the print media accounted for just over $7 million; and funding for the media sector as a whole was over $14.5
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million. In addition to direct institutionbuilding activities, USAID provided assistance for using media for special purposes, such as holding elections and preventing domestic violence. While these two projects may have increased local media skills and capabilities, it was not their primary intention. USAID Russia's major partner in the broadcast media was Internews, which received $18.1 million. Although undertaking various activities to promote independent media in Russia, Internews's primary focus was to assist emerging, independent regional television stations. With dynamic leadership and innovative program strategies, Internews has become one of the most prominent media NGOs in the Russian Federation." (Executive summary)
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"USAID’s Latin American Journalism Project (LAJP), which focused on journalistic standards and practices in Central America from 1988 to 1997, was the Agency’s first major media initiative. The project stemmed from an assessment and conference, and a proposal by Florida International University
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(FIU), that concluded that educational and training programs carried out over the long term would have a positive impact on journalism throughout the region. As designed and implemented by FIU, the project provided training to nearly 7,000 participants on different aspects of journalism. When funding lapsed in 1997, the Agency passed the torch to the Center for Latin American Journalism (CELAP), a private, self-supporting institution that continues to provide journalism training in Latin America. As a part of its global assessment of media assistance, USAID’s Center for Development Information and Evaluation (CDIE)1 evaluated the achievements, impacts, and limitations of the LAJP and CELAP programs in October 2002." (Executive summary)
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"Determining that the time had come to derive lessons from past efforts, think afresh about media assistance, and perhaps add some new models - including approaches for Africa and Asia, where the cultural preconditions and economic prospects are quite different from those of Europe - USAID’s Burea
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u for Policy and Program Coordination (PPC) undertook a year-long evaluation and review of USAID’s media assistance programs. The goal of the review was to develop a set of learning tools and promote a more aggressive media development agenda. The media assistance review was launched in July 2002 by PPC’s Dr. Krishna Kumar, who convened about 30 USAID and public diplomacy officials, congressional aides, journalists, and NGO media development practitioners to assess what has worked, what has not, and what might be done differently. Much of the discussion focused on the need to create professional, independent media that can give voice to different sectors of society, provide useful information, and hold powerful institutions and individuals accountable. The candid discussion also revealed areas of tension. Media development practitioners cited tensions arising from the possibility that the goals of public diplomacy were sometimes incompatible with the goals underlying the promotion of the development of independent, indigenous media. Another tension related to the competing priorities and methods of media work in conflict zones versus those of long-term media development in more stable developing democracies." (Introduction, page 7)
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"This book looks at the political economy of communication and information, media in development and social change, media theory and practice, international communication technology and communication values and ethics." (Publisher description)