Tag Archives: CIMA Reports
CIMA Media Blog Monthly Funding Update
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the CIMA Media Blog’s Monthly Funding Update, which will provide information about the funding of international media development programs from both public and private sources and follow trends in funding.
Some say foreign assistance is in a crisis. The global economy seems unable to recover, and governments are slashing foreign aid as part of greater budget cuts. Private foundations and philanthropies were also hit hard, with many seeing their portfolios reduced by 20-30%.
In the media development field, assistance was further reduced by digital technologies, as media companies that were previously large supporters of media development are struggling to find new business models that can sustain them. While digital technologies have reduced support from traditional media companies, an increase in attention to the role social media plays in political unrest could help mitigate some cuts in funding.
With the development of these new technologies has come the emergence of new philanthropies established by tech companies like Google and Gates Foundation. These organizations often focus on innovative media projects that use new technology to combat old world problems like poverty and crisis management rather than focusing on traditional media development. Citizen journalism, the buzzword of 2011, is on the tongues of donors and implementers alike. But the need for quality journalists never disappears, and in an age when a rumor can be mistaken for truth by millions at the click of a mouse, training for professional journalists is imperative.
So how can the international media development community maximize the limited resources available?
Better coordination and cooperation can help alleviate duplication of efforts, improve the quality of programs through common monitoring and evaluation standards, and help donors and implementers discover new partners with innovative approaches to media development. Above all, quality content matters. The world needs journalists who are well-versed in ethics, fact check their work, develop networks of trustworthy sources, and understand the role the media plays in a democratic society.
In CIMA’s report Continental Shift: New Trends in Private U.S. Funding for Media Development, international media consultant Anne Nelson takes a look at funding given by the major foundations: Google, Gates, Knight, Omidyar, Open Society, Ford, McArthur, McCormick, Skoll, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. She analyzes trends in funding and makes a series of recommendations for how international donor organizations can move forward with media development programs.
The full report is here:
Check out CIMA’s other publications on funding media development:
Funding Free Expression: Perceptions and Reality in a Changing Landscape
U.S. Government Funding for Media Development
