Media viability (Feb. 2022)
The International Media Policy and Advisory Centre (GFMD IMPACT) hosted a session on media viability and sustainability at the Global Conference for Media Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia (9 Feb 2022)
One of the objectives of PRIMED programme is to create and share learning about what media support works and what doesn't in different country contexts - specifically, which strategies are most effective and which factors are most important in contributing to improved media viability and resilience in the settings covered by the programme (see PRIMED Policy and learning strategy).
GFMD is supporting this objective as a technical partner in the PRIMED project by providing platforms such as GFMD IMPACT donor, media development practitioner and academia meetings and literature review and resource pages where PRIMED consortium and its partners can share and exchange knowledge and learnings.
Members of PRIMED consortia took part and contributed to the GFMD IMPACT session on media viability and sustanability in Tallin, Estonia presenting:
The International Media Policy and Advisory Centre (GFMD IMPACT) hosted a session on media viability and sustainability at the Global Conference for Media Freedom in Tallinn, Estonia (9 Feb 2022).
The session brought together media development donors, practitioners and academics to review the latest evidence on how donor support to journalism and media can effectively respond to the evolving challenges of media sustainability and viability.
The event was hybrid and gathered over 40 participants in person and had over 700 views on Youtube.
Ahead of the learning meeting at the Global Conference on Media Freedom in Estonia on 9 February we put together a literature review to help guide and frame the discussion.
Mira Milosevic, Executive Director of GFMD, sumarised the relevant literature on media sustanability and viability, including references to PRIMED programme and the work of PRIMED consortia members (BBC MA, IMS, FPU and MDIF).
See the introduction and relevant resources overview presented by Mira Milosevic in the video below.
Mira Milosevic, Executive Director of GFMD, sumarised the relevant literature on media sustanability and viability
During the presentation, Milosevic referenced PRIMED Viability Learning Brief which summarises the main strategies and approaches embraced by media development actors seeking to tackle the challenges associated with media viability.
There is no common understanding about the definition of “viability”, which goes under several names, including “media sustainability”, “financial/ economic sustainability”, “business viability”, or “media resilience”. - PRIMED Viability Learning Brief
In the section What we know from practice, Patricia Torres-Burd, Managing Director, Media Services, Media Development Investment Fund spoke about MDIFs 25 years of experience in capacity building of media organisations, shared sucess stories and considering risk in desiging support for media organisations.
See Patricia Torres-Burd's contributuon to the session in the video below.
Patricia Torres-Burd, Managing Director, Media Services, Media Development Investment Fund spoke about MDIFs experience in capacity building of media organisations
Clare Cook, Business Viability Advisor at International Media Support spoke about Action research as a viability strategy for media development in the What do we know from research part of the meeting.
Watch Clare's contribution to the session in a video below.
Clare Cook, Business Viability Advisor at International Media Support spoke about Action research as a viability strategy for media development
Clare also prepared a more in depth video on Action Research as a Viability Strategy for Media Development for GFMD IMPACT's sustanability literature review and resorcues pages. For all interested in IMS's work in viability you can find the video below:
Free Press Unlimited (FPU) seeks to support media viability by supporting macro-level conditions through means such as carrying out advocacy and supporting collaborations that improve the enabling environment. It also seeks to support diversification of media outlets’ income streams.
FPU prepared this video to support GFMD IMPACT's session on media sustainability at the Global Conference for Media Freedom on 9 Feb, 2022.