CIMA is pleased to release a new report, Broadcasting in UN Blue: The Unexamined Past and Uncertain Future of Peacekeeping Radio by Bill Orme, who served for the past seven years at the United Nations Development Program as a senior advisor on media development and strategic communications.  Orme is a former executive director of the [...]

CIMA is pleased to release a new report, Libel Tourism: Silencing the Press through Transnational Legal Threats, which describes the legal risks that independent media worldwide face from libel and defamation suits.  This report by Drew Sullivan, a journalist, editor, and media development specialist, explains how lawsuits can force media organizations to censor themselves or [...]

Under Attack: Practicing Journalism in a Dangerous World examines the key issues surrounding threats to the physical safety of journalists, particularly in countries with hostile media environments. The report by Bill Ristow, a journalist and international journalism trainer based in Seattle, provides a clear look at the problem of violence against journalists and offers some [...]

This report examines trends in non-U.S. donor financing of the media development and media for development sector. The report by Mary Myers, an expert on international media development with many years of experience in this field, surveys European and other governments and donors spending on international media development. It examines where the money is going, [...]

Throwing the Switch: Challenges in the Conversion to Digital Broadcasting explores the consequences for democracy of the worldwide conversion from analog television broadcasting to digital. The report by John Burgess, a former Washington Post editor, technology writer and foreign correspondent, looks at whether the creation of multiple broadcast channels will provide more openness and diversity [...]

In this report, Anne Nelson, a former journalist now teaching at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, examines recent trends in private U.S. funding of media development projects around the world. While U.S. foundations have long funded both “media development” and “media for development” programs, recent political and economic trends have shifted the [...]

Throughout history, war has affected media, with conflict often creating an information void. In the 21st century, media has begun to affect war more than ever before. Digital media technologies – particularly participatory, networked tools – have increased communication and information dissemination in conflict settings, affecting all sides and involving new producers of news coverage. [...]

A media-literate public is essential to building and sustaining a democracy of active citizens.  Effective free and independent media depend not only on skilled journalists but also on the knowledge of their readers. Media literacy training is a tool that the development sector can use to educate citizens to better understand the value of accurate [...]

Citizen journalists are quickly becoming a potent force for creating, supporting, and building open and democratic societies. In countries where repressive governments limit the operations of professional journalists, citizen journalists are filling the gaps. Yet they often have no formal training or understanding of the essential roles independent media play in ensuring accountable and transparent [...]

At all levels of education, initiatives in media literacy are premised on teaching youth and young adults to consume media critically—from how media shape political messages to the increasing pervasiveness of advertising.  But the challenges to such initiatives are daunting. Schools need the necessary resources and educators the requisite expertise and training to teach media [...]

In this report, Andrew Green, principal of DG Metrics, a consultancy focusing on applied research in U.S. foreign assistance, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, assesses the U.S. government’s ability to support media development around the world. Green finds that while media play a pivotal role in U.S. foreign policy, there are significant resource [...]

This report examines how the communications landscape has changed over the past decade, and discusses new opportunities and restrictions for both print and broadcast media outlets and journalists.  Written by Karin Deutsch Karlekar, the managing editor of Freedom of the Press, an annual index that tracks trends in media freedom worldwide, this report recommends the [...]

This report examines the methodology for measuring the effectiveness of media development programs among media development organizations. Written by Andy Mosher, a media consultant with 28 years of experience as a journalist and editor, this report traces the increasing use of monitoring and evaluation among practitioners in the media assistance community.
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The Center for International Media Assistance is pleased to publish One Size Does Not Fit All: Objectives and Priority Areas for Media Assistance in Different Societies, a thought-provoking paper that we hope will stimulate a lively and sustained discussion among media assistance practitioners.
One Size Does Not Fit All was written by Dr. Krishna Kumar, a [...]

This report examines the ways in which media around the world have attempted to regulate themselves. Written by Bill Ristow, a veteran journalist and international journalism trainer, Sword and Shield: Self-Regulation and International Media discusses the use of press councils and ombudsmen around the world. While nearly all such efforts officially espouse the same generalized [...]

This report examines the use of money by governments to influence news coverage. Written by Don Podesta, a veteran journalist with more than 30 years’ experience at the Washington Post and other newspapers, this report explains that as formerly authoritarian regimes have moved toward more democratic societies, this insidious form of censorship has emerged on [...]

CIMA’s 2008 Inaugural Report provides an in-depth assessment of U.S. international media development efforts, both public and private, and calls on future efforts to be more long-term, comprehensive, and need-driven. The U.S., through government and private sector initiatives, spends at least $142 million annually on media development efforts in countries around the world.
Recommending a more [...]

Shanthi Kalathil, a media and development consultant, authored this report on new media. The report examines the implications of new information and communication technologies for the media-assistance field, and how these innovations can be incorporated into traditional media-development models.
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Ellen Hume, Director of the Center on Media and Society at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, drafted a report based on her extensive research and interviews as well as the first World Journalism Education Congress held in Singapore June 25-28, 2007.
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David E. Kaplan, an investigative journalist and media consultant, drafted this report based on a survey Kaplan conducted for CIMA, as well as interviews and research he carried out.  A related event was held on January 16, 2008 addressing the growth of investigative journalism centers worldwide.
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Written by Peter Graves, international media consultant, this report examines the cross-sector impact of media on political, social, and economic systems worldwide. The report provides examples of the benefits provided by independent media in a variety of settings.
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Authored by Peter Graves, international media consultant, and edited by Angela Stephens, CIMA senior coordinator, this report provides a snapshot of U.S. public and private funding of media development assistance across the globe.
Drawing upon the results of a 2007 survey designed by Graves and interviews and research, the report estimates that U.S. public and private [...]

This report by veteran media trainer and development consultant Ann Olson discusses two important topics in the media assistance field:

media literacy—educating the public about the function and responsibilities of the media and how to discern reliable from unreliable or biased news sources
supporting organizations for media, including journalists’ professional associations

The purpose of the study is to [...]