Independent Development Consultant (Graves), CIMA (Stephens)

This report, based on results of a survey, conducted by the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), of public and private media sector funders and implementers, interviews, and a review of literature, was prepared in order to learn who are the major donors, on what part of the sector they focus (direct assistance to media outlets, journalism training, public information campaigns, improving the legal environment for media, and media management), and what opportunities exist to educate potential donors about the importance of developing independent media. Independent media sector development includes direct assistance to media outlets, journalism training, creating a legal enabling environment for independent media, media/business management training to ensure financial sustainability, and developing non-governmental professional associations supportive of independent media. As stated in the report, United States (US) official development assistance and private sector philanthropy are at their highest levels ever, and represent an opportunity to increase funding for the independent media sector worldwide through outreach and advocacy to donors about the importance of building and strengthening independent media around the world.


The document opens with results of statistical survey of 140 funders on donor spending on development of independent media from both the US government development assistance sector and from private sector donation. The total US spending is US$142 million, consisting of US$69 million in government spending and US$60 million in private funding with $13 million in spending from US government-supported nonprofit organisations.


The public sector funding section lists US government donor organisations, what approach they take, and where they place their efforts. Approaches vary from producing a Media Sustainability Index - designed to measure the regional development of independent media - to providing technical advice for launching independent media assistance programmes. Some provide funds for training journalists in basic reporting skills, media ethics, and online journalism, as well as election coverage. Some provide grants to organisations working on media law reform, media fellowships, local TV production grants, media management development, and regional advocacy and networking efforts, as well as refugee media projects and training related to global health journalism.

The private sector funding section lists foundations and their approaches, including support for journalism training, fellowships to place experienced journalists in mentoring situations, media management training, association development, media law, and legal defence, as well as organisation of donor conferences and meetings to discuss best practices and coordinate programmes and activities with donors. An additional potential funding source section lists technology companies, remittances, and online fund raising as possibilities.

In conclusion, the document states that education and advocacy are needed to inform potential donors of the impact of independent media and its role in democratic societies. It recommends that media sector development organisations should join organisations involved in “communications for development" to make a case for building the sector so that it can address development concerns such as health and poverty issues. Further, it recommends drawing attention to prioritising development of the independent media sector at international conferences, such as the World Economic Forum, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, and other events attended by world leaders. Because, as the working group observed, short-term "piecemeal" projects are less likely to have lasting impact, the conclusions call for more coordination between the various private and government donors.