Tag Archives: Media Development Funding
#mediamonday: Can Media Development Make Aid More Effective?
CIMA and Internews held an event titled “Can Media Development Make Aid More Effective?” today, featuring Daniel Kaufmann of the Brookings Institution, Mark Nelson of the World Bank, and Tara Susman-Peña of Internews. It was moderated by Sina Odugbemi of the World Bank.
Susman-Peña talked about the Internews and World Bank Institute project Media Map, found at http://www.MediaMapResource.org. The Media Map project brings together comparable data on how media, technology, and communication intersect with traditional development statistics. She said that one of the findings of the project is that the cultural concept of what media is for varies by country and can be a strong barrier to media development.
Nelson, addressing media development’s place in the aid effectiveness debate, said that one of the major problems with aid is a lack of country leadership and ownership. Media development should be included more in discussions about development in general. Improving the skills of journalists won’t reduce the number of those arrested or killed; changing the media environment requires a change in the political environment.
Kaufmann looked at media aid and press freedom and found that there is less press freedom in the world than there was 15 years ago. Media aid hasn’t improved the environment in countries with low levels of press freedom. However, he said that if done in a smart way, media development can help. But what is media development, he wondered, as there are many definitions for it. The focus should be on media freedom, and while media freedom alone may not be sufficient, it is necessary for successful media development.
Discussion on Twitter was lively. Here is a sampling of tweets about the event:
@Internews Kaufmann: Democracy has expanded around the world; #media freedom has not.
@Theginnie: Kaufmann: Does media development matter? Yes, when done smartly.
@NDITech: RT @_anna_shaw: Kaufmann: Often governments are less informed than the people because of the social media revolution.
@_anna_shaw: Kaufmann: ICTs – even cheap internet – has enormous leveraging potential for media development and governance.
@boomshahkolaka: Kaufmann: media aid recipients are largely countries that have no press freedom
@ijnet: MT @jendorroh: Media aid to countries w/ low press freedom doesn’t improve much- Daniel Kauffman of @BrookingsInst
@NEDemocracy: Kaufmann: If most media assistance goes to “not free” countries, are those countries improving? Generally no
@CIMA_Media: Kaufmann: Not free countries in 1994: 35% Now? 39% #pressfreedom
@Theginnie: Kaufmann: what journalists are not lacking is training, they can train us
@Internews: Kaufmann of Brookings Institution: many definitions of media development; argues media freedom should be the goal. http://bit.ly/yGSywh
@CIMA_Media: Kaufmann: media development should place freedom as center stage.
@Theginnie: Literacy rates in Mali are at 26% media development should pair with education
@info_innovation: Cultural understandings of what media is for can act as barriers to changing it. Recognizing this is crucial for development.
@Theginnie: Nelson: organization like the world bank that have an effect on polices reform need to be in conversations of media development
@Theginnie: Susman-Pena: Kenya mobile phones and radio for governance emerging but needs more study
@Theginnie: Nelson Mandela made a huge impact by saying you need a free media for development
@CIMA_Media: Tara Susman-Pena of @Internews giving an overview of Media Map project. http://mediamapresource.org
@karenattiah: Need to get a to a computer to tune on to the @CIMA_Media live stream on media development and aid!
@doldm: happily stumbled upon @CIMA_Media livestream on media development and aid event happening now in DC
@jonathanmarks: Question for Tara. does your mapping include looking at the overlap between social media, mobile and traditional radio and TV?
@DLA_FA: Insufficient selectivity in dev aid may be tied to lack of valid, reliable, and timely governance data.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter! @CIMA_Media
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
