Articles
Articles from the Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development (PRIMED).
Last updated
Articles from the Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development (PRIMED).
Last updated
"Journalists and ethnographic researchers, such as anthropologists, sociologists or media scholars, have comparable ways of establishing initial contacts with people from their fields of interest. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and consequential travel restrictions and social distancing, it has become increasingly difficult to access a field. Taking inspiration from social anthropologist Ulf Hannerz (2004, p. 226), who compared journalists and anthropologists as “neighboring groups engaged in a somehow parallel pursuit,” this article explores what researchers may learn from practitioners who conduct research without being on-site."
"This paper is based on my PhD thesis about the production culture of Chinese entertainment. I will discuss the challenges I faced during my fieldwork in China and will reflect on a general level on how to access this non-western field for doing media ethnography."
"It appears to be essential to reflect different perspectives for doing media development work in contexts where foreign actors are not insiders. Here, their outside views on the needs of supported countries and on how to work together can be difficult for implementing projects, especially for actors on-site on which this article focuses."
"This research paper examines national funding mechanisms for private media in five Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries and gives a general assessment of their role in promoting viable, independent, and diverse media."
"This paper looks at the challenge of sustainability faced by local media serving regional and metropolitan audiences, including marginalised communities, in Africa and other parts of the Global South. It considers the role of public policy in supporting these outlets and enabling them to access diverse income streams such as advertising, government subsidies, cross-subsidisation, and community support."
"This paper explores a range of initiatives that show how the media in Kenya is working closely with the government to reform media law and policy. It focuses on reforms that have been implemented over the last decade and, in particular, those that sought to improve media viability in the local market. Based on the experience of the Kenyan media, the study also offers a list of recommendations that could be useful to other countries who are seeking solutions to media viability."
"This research paper presents a contextual analysis of the media sector in Sierra Leone, describing the key stakeholders and the financial motivation for their engagement, as well as the political and economic factors that influence media independence and viability. It also examines the current scope of private investment in the media sector and makes recommendations that could contribute to strengthening public interest in Sierra Leone."
"This research report presents four models of direct media subsidies in Europe - from Serbia, Croatia, Sweden, and the European Union (EU) - and offers an overview of indirect subsidy in the form of reduced value-added tax (VAT) rates for newspapers, digital publications, and periodicals in EU countries and Serbia. The focus is, however, mainly on the experiences and methods of allocating selective direct media subsidies in each of the case studies in an effort to identify strategies for creating more viable public interest media."
"This research paper explores the role of the commercial advertising industry as a key source of revenue for media in Sierra Leone. It looks at patterns and trends in the industry and offers recommendations to enhance the advertising industry in the country."
In light of this year's World Press Freedom Day theme of Journalism Under Digital Siege, the MDIF prepared an article explaining how digital attacks are becoming more prevalent to silence media. Tactics range from cyberattacks and using regulatory agencies and licensing bodies by governments, to denial-of-service attacks and illegal surveillance.
In light of International Women's Day, this article highlights "the relationship between gender and media business performance" and the "media innovations from around the world that champion women." The article is divided into the following sections: women as a primary target, serving the female audience, diversity within newsrooms and leadership, gender and reader revenue, gender-based harassment, partnerships and institutional funding, branded content revenue, gender and events business, a collaboration around gender topics, and a way forward.
