Five ways to improve media aid
The Media Map Project is a research project on the media sector.
In many countries, media development and media aid groups train journalists, launch reporting projects and help build media institutions.
Donors globally spend more than US$400 million per year on this work. What is its impact--and how could it be more effective?
A team from the World Bank and Internews, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has spent the past two years trying to answer these questions and many more. Their Media Map Project examines the relationships between the media sector and economic development and governance, looks at donors’ roles and offers evidence to guide future decisions about media support.
They presented their findings and sparked a lively discussion at a recent event hosted by the Center for International Media Assistance in Washington, D.C. You can view the video of the event here.
Here are five ways panelists and attendees said donors and media development groups could make aid more effective:
1) Check out the research. A strong body of evidence shows that “if you have a healthy media sector, you have better development and you have better governance,” said Tara Susman-Peña, Media Map Project research director. Unfortunately, she says, there is not a good bridge between the research and policies, practice, donor strategy or country policy. “That’s a big link that still has to be made,” she says.
2) Stop working in silos. Too often, said Mark Nelson of the World Bank Institute, there is a disconnect between work on public sector reform, rule of law, and other areas and media development. Work toward these goals should be integrated, he said.
3) Seek out and develop local leadership. “One of the major problems in aid is that it’s often not led by the countries that are receiving the aid," Nelson said. Without ownership and leadership at the country level, it's difficult to see results and too few leaders argue the case for media development. “In the developing world, those voices are very weak and not really heard very often," he said.
4) Be selective about where you work. In countries lacking press freedom or good governance, media aid will be much less effective, says Brookings' Daniel Kaufmann, senior adviser to the Media Map Project. There, "it doesn’t make sense to be involved...unless it’s helping just certain groups with the technology to get around the major media censorship.”
5) Improve security training. “The international community spends hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on media development aid, but only a fraction of that goes toward security training for journalists,” said Committee to Protect Journalists adviser Frank Smyth, who was in the audience. “So essentially by providing aid, you’re encouraging journalists to become better journalists, which may make them become targets.”
How do you think media aid could be improved?
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Cooperation among Gov. & non-Gov. institutions and organizations
I have noticed in for example Afghanistan that many foreign organizations (embassies, cultural institutions, development organizations) set up projects to develop and support local media, but entirely independent from each other. This might be policy inclined (to show off with their own project and results), but the overall effect is fragmentation of activities and non fundamental i.e. short term and superficial trainings. Any long term and fundamental training, followed by long term monitoring and supervising is lacking. Not to mention long term financial support. Mostly young Afghans receive "trainings" varying from just a few days to a few months (part time) and are then under the impression that they are professional journalists, photojournalists, tv-makers and so on and so forth. In other words: cooperation and long term projects should become a focus, instead of short term and isolated projects with only quick benefit for the financing foreign institution/organization.
Food for thought !
With regards,
Belem
Ways to improve media aid: support online coaching
Hello, I think using new media and especially Skype is a very efficient and low cost way to provide journalists in developing countries with effective training. Online coaching will allow local journalists to get real-time guidance in news coverage and feature writing. A one or two hour of coaching per week, will give a journalist the chance to ask questions and get feedback on their report/feature. In one online coaching I participate in, journalists were able to submit up to nine drafts until their copies were ready to be published. Their feedback was very positive. Editors rarely have enough time in real setting to answer their questions and guide them in their work. They are often left alone to learn and are never sure they are learning the right way. Another method is to coach journalists during an event or a conference. Here they are under higher pressure; they will work hard to submit their work before the end of the event.
In both cases they will learn while practicing, and from my experience, this is a very effective to share knowledge and expertise with young journalists. Best regards, Safaa
Tie funding to development
After working in media development now for several years, I've learned that some media institutions "say" the right things but don't often "walk the talk". The "talk" is often "give me the money and we'll do what we're supposed to do or do what we say we'll do". But, the walk is off in another direction. So, I'd say... "tie funding to development" and if organizations don't enact what they say they will... cut them off aid money. Pouring money down the drain does nothing to empower the media environment.
Set realistic goals based on needs. Help the institution get to these goals... But, if these objectives are not actualized then funding must be stopped. No more lines in the sand... real responsibility and accountability is essential.
Also, I think it's vital to pay attention to the local media environment. It's not appropriate to do media development in isolation from what's going on locally. Paying journalists in an environment where journos are not paid distorts the media environment. Supporting media institutions amidst others creates undo stress, false competition and eventual distortion of what's there... and what will be left when the aid finishes.
Humble thoughts. Stephen Douglas
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