Organizations

There are three major organizations whose primary activity is the development of media capacity in countries around the world.

ICFJ
The International Center for Journalists, a non-profit, professional organization, promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2009, the International Center for Journalists has worked directly with more than 55,000 journalists from 176 countries. Aiming to raise the standards of journalism, ICFJ offers hands-on training, workshops, seminars, fellowships and international exchanges to reporters and media managers around the globe. ICFJ is one of the three largest U.S. implementers of media development programs.

ICFJ also operates the Knight International Journalism Fellowships program, which sends media professionals from around the world to developing nations to improve the media there. Knight Fellows establish new journalism associations, launch journalism schools, create online databases to track corruption, establish news delivery services via cell phone, and create digital platforms to share content.

ICFJ also operates the International Journalists’ Network (IJNet), which serves as an online resource for the media assistance community. It is an online service for journalists, media managers, media assistance professionals, journalism trainers and educators, or anyone else with an interest in news media around the world. 

Internews
Internews Network is an international media development organization whose mission is to empower local media worldwide to give people the news and information they need, the ability to connect, and the means to make their voices heard. Internews is one of the three largest U.S. implementers of media development programs.

Since inception, Internews has worked with 5,500 radio and television stations and print publications in over 70 countries and trained over 80,000 people in media skills. It operates worldwide, primarily in Africa, MENA, and Asia.

IREX
The International Research and Exchanges Board is an international nonprofit organization “providing leadership and innovative programs to improve the quality of education, strengthen independent media, and foster pluralistic civil society development.” Media development is only part of IREX’s activities, but it is one of the three largest U.S. implementers of media development programs.

IREX works with local partners to advance the professionalism and long-term economic sustainability of newspapers, radio, television, and Internet media. Specialized programs and small grants build skills for balanced, investigative reporting, better media management, and advocacy for press freedoms.

IREX also publishes the Media Sustainability Index (MSI), which provides in-depth analyses of the conditions for independent media in 76 countries across Africa, Europe, Eurasia, and the Middle East.

The U.S. government provides about half of American funding of media development abroad.

USAID

The U.S. Agency for International Development is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. It is not only the largest single U.S. assistance agency, but also the largest funder, public or private, of independent media abroad. Of its $9.2 billion budget, it spent at least $52.7 million in 2006 on international media sector development—37 percent of all U.S. funding identified by CIMA’s survey. This amount does not account for all of USAID’s media development activities as media development is often a secondary goal within larger projects.

This spending occurs in a number of areas of USAID. The Office of Democracy and Governance (DCHA/DG) manages roughly $500,000 annually for media-related work. USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), which was created in 1994 to provide a quick response mechanism in times of crisis, including post-war situations, spent $3 million on international media development in 2006. The Europe and Eurasia Bureau (E&E) currently manages $130,000 annually to support publication of the Europe and Eurasia Media Sustainability Index, but this bureau spends more at the mission level to support media development.

U.S. Department of State

The State Department’s largest single funder of independent media development is its Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), which spent $11.8 million on the sector in 2006. The bureau, however, does not have any staff dedicated exclusively to media development work.

U.S. embassies, through ambassadors’ funds and other sources, also provide considerable funding of local media projects. Other State Department bureaus, such as the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, also support international media work.

MEPI (part of State)

The Middle East Partnership Initiative, which was created in 2002 to promote democracy in the Middle East, included approximately $3 million to support independent media in 2006.

BBG

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is responsible for all U.S. government-sponsored, nonmilitary broadcasting for international audiences. This includes the Voice of America, Alhurra, Radio Sawa, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio and TV Martí. BBG’s total budget for fiscal year 2006 was $645 million, of which $1.5 million went to the training of international journalists, according to the CIMA survey.

BBG broadcasters distribute programming in 60 languages to an estimated weekly audience of 175 million people via radio, TV, the Internet and other new media. The BBG works to serve as an example of a free and professional press, reaching a worldwide audience with news, information, and relevant discussions.

MCC

The Millennium Challenge Corporation, founded in 2004, is a U,S, government corporation tasked with assisting some of the world’s poorest countries. Dollar amounts are tied to countries’ progress on several key indicators, including improved press freedom. MCC has incorporated media development in at least five of the countries: Malawi, Moldova, Niger, Tanzania, and Ukraine.

Knight Foundation

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation “promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities where the Knight brothers owned newspapers.” The Knight Foundation is one of the largest funders of media assistance in the U.S. It is also responsible for helping fund and launch some of the most innovative programs in media development, including GFMD and the Knight News Challenge.

Knight also funds the Knight International Journalism Fellowships (along with the Gates Foundation), which is managed by ICFJ. http://knight.icfj.org/

OSI

The Open Society Institute is a network of foundations founded by billionaire George Soros. While it once operated primarily in Eastern Europe, it now has programs worldwide. Though OSI is the largest private funder of media development in the U.S., media is only a part of OSI’s activities, particularly through three programs: Information Program, Media Program, and Open Society Justice Initiative.

NED

The National Endowment for Democracy a private, nonprofit foundation dedicated to the growth and strengthening of democratic institutions around the world. Each year, NED makes more than 1,000 grants to support the projects of non-governmental groups abroad who are working for democratic goals in more than 90 countries. Since its founding, media has played an integral role in NED’s efforts to promote democracy, with around $10 million annually going to support media development.

The National Endowment for Democracy's four core institutes were created at the same time as NED (1984) in order to represent different aspects of American civil society. Each of these institutes is an implementing organization and 55% of NED’s annual budget goes directly to these institutes.

CIPE

The Center for International Private Enterprise represents the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and works toward using private enterprise and market-oriented reforms to improve freedom around the world. Journalists are often included in these efforts, usually by taking part in trainings or other workshops on business reporting or similar topics.

IRI

The International Republican Institute represents the Republican Party, though its programs are apolitical. IRI’s programming is broken up by geographic area/country, but many media development programs occur within that framework.

NDI

The National Democratic Institute represents the Democratic Party, though its international development programs are relatively apolitical and often parallel those of IRI. Media come into many aspects of NDI’s activities, particularly in its Democracy and Technology programs, which deal with utilizing new media in order to strengthen democracies.

Solidarity

The Solidarity Center represents the AFL/CIO and works to improve workers’ rights around the globe. Media comes into its work most often in the form of press unions and similar organizations that work to promote journalists’ rights and freedoms. Solidarity has no programs dealing solely with media development, but these issues often come into play in its work.

There are a number of foundations and other organizations in the U.S. that are responsible for a significant amount of media assistance funding, yet without a program directly engaged in “media development.” These projects are often called “media for development” and are a very common form of media development.

For a more complete discussion of these organizations see the Funding chart on page 21 of CIMA’s Empowering Independent Media.

Freedom House

Freedom House performs two major surveys every year—Freedom in the World, and Freedom of the Press. Along with IREX’s MSI and Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index, Freedom of the Press is one of the essential indexes of press freedom worldwide. Freedom House also does some on-the-ground media development through its Internet Freedom Initiative and other efforts.

USIP

The U.S. Institute of Peace is funded by the U.S. government and managed by a board of directors that is appointed by Congress. USIP’s media programming is part of its larger goal to promote peace worldwide, particularly through its Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding initiative.

Search for Common Ground

Search for Common Ground works “with local partners to find culturally appropriate means to strengthen societies' capacity to deal with conflicts constructively: to understand the differences and act on the commonalities.” The organization does some journalism training as well as producing material for radio and TV stations in various locations around the world. Its media arm is called “Common Ground Productions.”

Reporters Without Borders—RSF monitors press freedom violations and releases an annual Press Freedom Index that ranks countries based on their score, with a higher number indicating more press freedom violations.

Committee to Protect Journalists—CPJ is a nonprofit that “defends the rights of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.” It also keeps track of journalists injured or killed worldwide.

The Dart Center for Journalists & Trauma—a project of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, the Dart Center “is dedicated to informed, innovative and ethical news reporting on violence, conflict and tragedy.” The Center organizes workshops on journalist safety.

Developing Radio Partners—DRP is a nonprofit that develops community radio stations in developing countries. The organization “is committed to building vibrant, participatory communities internationally, through the development of financially and editorially independent media services with a focus on community radio.”

The Poynter Institute—In addition to serving as an online resource for journalists, Poynter trains journalists online and on site at its St. Petersburg, Florida campus.

Investigative Reporters and Editors—IRE, based at the University of Missouri, is the world’s oldest and largest association of investigative journalists and it trains several thousand journalists each year.

The International Women's Media Foundation—IWMF is a global network of women journalists that runs leadership and training seminars in 22 countries.

There are a number of academic programs at universities around the country that work on media development issues.

The University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School of Communication has a Center for Global Communication Studies (CGCS). CGCS provides research opportunities for graduate students; organizes conferences and trainings; and provides consulting and advisory assistance to academic centers, governments, and NGOs. The Center's research and policy work addresses issues of media regulation, media and democracy, measuring and evaluation of media development programs, public service broadcasting, and the media's role in conflict and post-conflict environments. CGCS also hosts the Global Media Law Web Site.

George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) has a number of faculty members that specialize in various media development issues.

American University’s School of International Service has an International Communication field as well as the more general School of Communications.

Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) runs an International Reporting Project that works with U.S. journalists to encourage more international reporting.

Harvard University’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy often publishes reports on relevant topics in media assistance.

Also at Harvard, Journalist's Resource is a Web site for journalism educators, students, and journalists. The site provides access to public policy reports and papers along with a brief overview, teaching notes and links to other relevant material. The program is a part of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education, which also produces reports and has developed News 21, an innovative news reporting project for students that builds on intensive content-based coursework.

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard runs a fellowship program for journalists (both U.S. and international) to come learn at Harvard.

Stanford University runs a similar fellowship program called the John S. Knight Fellowships for Professional Journalists.

UNDP

The United Nations Development Program is the UN's global development network, “an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life.” UNDP is active in 166 countries, working to develop local capacity. The organization has developed a list of Millennium Development Goals, none of which directly mention media, yet media factor into each of the goals.

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a development agency that funds some media development programs. Its Communication and Information “theme” is responsible for a number of media-related programs. In addition, the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC) funds a large number of media development projects each year.

World Bank – CommGAP

The Communications for Governance and Accountability Program (CommGAP), a global program at the World Bank, promotes the use of communication in governance reform programs and supports the building of democratic public spheres. Through its three program areas: Research and Advocacy, Training and Capacity Building, and Support to Development Projects and Programs, CommGAP attempts to demonstrate “the power of communication in promoting good and accountable governance and hence better development results.”

Fondation Hirondelle

Fondation Hirondelle is a Swiss non-governmental organisation made up of journalists committed to creating independent media in war zones and other crisis areas. Founded in 1995, Fondation Hirondelle works in many countries, supplying information where it's missing, countering and correcting rumours and fighting propaganda. A main focus is providing excellent election coverage, including on-air forums where the public can debate issues key to national and local elections.

Free Voice

Free Voice is a media organization in the Netherlands that strives for independent and multiform media and balanced and reliable journalistic press freedom in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe.

International Media Support

International Media Support is a non-profit organisation working to support local media in countries affected by armed conflict, human insecurity and political transition. In more than 30 countries worldwide, IMS helps to strengthen professional journalism and ensure that media can operate in challenging circumstances.

Press Now

Press Now aims to promote the development of open and democratic societies, by supporting independent media in regions of conflict and countries in transition. It supports independent media outlets and institutions that play an important role in the media landscape and political developments of their country or region. Press Now aims to increase their independence, quality, effectiveness, professionalism and self-sustainability.

BBC World Service Trust

The BBC World Service Trust is a British implementer that does media development work. It is active in over 40 countries and on every continent. While all its programs are media development-oriented, they focus on Emergency response, Health, Governance and Human Rights, Education, Environment, and Livelihoods.

The Trust is funded by external grants and voluntary contributions, mainly from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Union, UN agencies, and charitable foundations. It also receives a small amount of core support from the BBC (both in kind and cash).

DFID

The Department for International Development is the primary British provider of international assistance and is a significant funder of media development around the world. Similar to USAID, media development is often a secondary goal within larger projects.

GFMD

Begun in 2005 with a conference in Amman, Jordan, the Global Forum for Media Development is a global organization of media development implementers from around the world. The organization constitutes a network of “some 500 non-governmental media assistance organizations operating in about 100 countries across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Eurasia and the Americas, which support the development of independent media at the community, national and regional level.”

The members of GFMD occasionally meet in regional conferences and every three years, the whole network comes together in a major global conference. GFMD works to encourage greater participation in media development by organizations around the world.

MDLF

The Media Development Loan Fund invests in independent news outlets in developing countries. The fund provides “low-cost capital, solutions and know-how to help journalists in challenging environments build sustainable businesses around professional, responsible, quality journalism.” Overall MDLF has proven to be a very effective model at promoting sustainable media development.

MDLF is actually a family of funds, each maintained separately to minimize overall risk to the other funds. The funds are: General Loan Fund, High-Risk Country Fund, High-Risk Project Fund, Affiliates Fund, Equity Fund, Cash-Flow Fund, New Media Fund, and Green Media Fund.

Salzburg Global Seminar

The Salzburg Global Seminar (formerly the Salzburg Seminar) organizes discussions among high-level experts on various topics. The Seminar’s Strengthening Independent Media Initiative is a series of meetings taking place during 2008 to 2010, which aim to: “bring greater strategic focus and coordination to the field of independent media development around the world; to improve the flow of financial support from private as well as public sources and promising new technologies into the media development sector; and to improve coordination between funders, trainers, and media development implementers.”

World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)

AMARC brings together a network of more than 4,000 community radios, Federations and community media stakeholders in more than 115 countries. The main global impact of AMARC since its creation in 1983, has been to accompany and support the establishment of a world wide community radio sector that has democratized the media sector.

Article 19—Article XIX is “a human rights organization with a specific mandate and focus on the defense and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide.” In addition to advocacy, it produces reports on topics relevant to press freedom. The organization’s name is a reference to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

Catholic Media Council (CAMECO)—is a consultancy specialising in media and communications in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific.CAMECO offers its services to local partners, organisations that are active in delivering media assistance, and to donors - among them many faith-based agencies.

The CAMECO Resource Centre focuses on media landscapes in developing and transitional countries, media development cooperation, development communication and community media. The centre holds more than 8,500 print and online publications, paying special attention to training materials, case studies and evaluation reports. 50% of its holdings are in languages other than English, especially Spanish, German, French and Portuguese. More information and the full database are available here.

Center for Media Literacy—CML is an educational organization that provides leadership, public education, professional development and educational resources nationally.

The Communication Initiative—The CI is a large network of people and organizations interested in communications for development and media development. The site also contains a number of articles and other resources on topics in communications for development.

CyberDissidents.org—Cyberdissidents.org is an organization dedicated to supporting human liberty by promoting the voices of online dissidents. The organization highlights the writings and activities of dissident bloggers in order to strengthen their voice and defend their freedom of expression.

FrontlineSMS—FrontlineSMS is a free, open source software that turns a laptop and a mobile phone into a central communications hub. Once installed, the program enables users to send and receive text messages with groups of people through mobile phones. Since it works anywhere there’s a mobile signal, it doesn’t need the Internet, a major advantage for many grassroots NGOs. Once you have the software running on your computer, you can send messages to wide groups of people, and collect responses to any questions or surveys you might want to run, all via text message.

Global Voices—Global Voices is an international community of bloggers who report on blogs and citizen media from around the world. The site is translated into more than 15 languages by volunteer translators, who have formed the Lingua project. Additionally, Global Voices has an Advocacy website and network to help people speak out online in places where their voices are censored. It also has an outreach project called Rising Voices to help marginalized communities use citizen media to be heard, with an emphasis on the developing world.

Index on Censorship—The Index on Censorship is a British organization that promotes freedom of expression through in-country journalist training, events, and the publication of a magazine. 

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting—IWPR is a training organization. It gives voice to people at the frontlines of conflict, crisis and change. Amid war, dictatorship, and political transition, IWPR builds the level of public information and responsible debate. IWPR forges the skills and capacity of local journalism, strengthens local media institutions and engages with civil society and governments to ensure that information achieves impact.

International Consortium of Investigative Journalists—ICIJ is a network of investigative reporters in 50 countries who collaborate on stories, training, and networking. Founded in 1997, ICIJ was launched as a project of the Center for Public Integrity to extend globally the Center's style of watchdog journalism.

International Federation of Journalists—IFJ is a network of journalist organizations from around the world, based in Belgium.

IFEX—The International Freedom of Expression eXchange is primarily an advocacy organization. IFEX is a great source of news about media, journalists, and freedom of expression in countries around the world through its twice-weekly IFEX Digest.

International News Safety Institute—INSI is a nonprofit dedicated to improving the safety of journalists worldwide. Based in Brussels with an office in New York, its work is similar to the American Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). INSI also provides resources to improve journalist safety and does some training in the field.

International PEN—International PEN has 145 Centers in 104 countries across the globe. These centers work “to engage with, and empower, societies and communities across cultures and languages, through reading and writing."

MediaPolicy.org—MediaPolicy.org is a platform that will document, analyze, discuss and share views on global trends and changes in media policy. It aims to stimulate the exchange of ideas amongst diverse constituencies; to establish and nourish debate from national, regional and global perspectives; and to bring ideas and recommendations to the international arena for setting standards and putting those standards to the test.
 

MobileActive—MobileActive.org's vision is to help organizations make use of the most ubiquitous communications technology in the world with data, tools, and how-to resources; build a network of practitioners and technologists in a supportive community of practice; and highlight and explore the many innovative campaigns and projects—their lessons learned.

The News Literacy Project—The News Literacy Project is an innovative national educational program that is mobilizing seasoned journalists to help middle school and high school students sort fact from fiction in the digital age.The project’s primary aim is to teach students the critical thinking skills they need to be smarter and more frequent consumers and creators of credible information across all media and platforms.

Panos—The Panos Network is a communications for development organization with autonomous “institutes” around the world. Each institute implements its own projects to “promote dialogue, debate, and change.” The Panos Institutes are: Canada, Caribbean, Eastern Africa, London, Paris, South Asia, Southern Africa, and West Africa.

Ushahidi—Ushahidi, which means "testimony" in Swahili, is a website that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Ushahidi's roots are in the collaboration of Kenyan citizen journalists during a time of crisis. Since then, it has expanded to crises and conflicts around the world as a tool for mapping information and sharing it with affected citizens.