The World Bank should make support of independent media an мinvestment priorityо in its mission countries, and doing so would best serve the organizationнs own interests, said the chief executive of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN).

Timothy Balding, WAN Director General, spoke at a World Bank meeting in early October and urged consideration of the role unfettered media can play in assuring the proper administration of financial aid programs. Support from abroad is necessary for economically stable press institutions to take root in developing and transitional countries, he said.

Balding said that little attention had been given to the role of independent media in a report presented at the meeting, мWorld Development Report on the Knowledge Economy.о

General information about WAN and its activities can be found at the web site http://www.fiej.org . Or contact WAN at 25, rue d'Astorg, 75008 Paris, France. Tel: (33-1) 4742-8500. Fax: (33-1) 4742-4948. E-mail: contact_us@wan.asso.fr.