MEDIA AND

GOVERNANCE
A Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS

4 INTRODUCTION
Media contribution to governance and democracy
Some preliminary points
– What mission?
– What public?
– What language?
– What media?

9 MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

Encouraging governance through the media
– The media and crises
– Can the media be a factor in bad governance?

Governance for the media

– Freedom
– Legislation
– Governmental bodies for regulating audiovisual media
– Spirit of the law: pluralism and public service by audiovisual media

Governance in the media

– Autonomy
– Professional training
– Ethics
– Editorial charters
– Media self-regulation bodies

16 PRACTICAL ADVICE
The media and international cooperation
– Possible types of cooperation
– What methodology for intervention?

18 ANNEXES
Bibliography and Webliography

3
 INTRODUCTION

The media are one of the principal agents ■ Support over a number of years for
of globalisation. Their importance and UNESCO’s International Programme for the
power are growing, seemingly unstop- Development of Communications (IPDC), for
pably. The World Bank recently came which Switzerland was one of the initiating
upon the governance-media niche indi- countries.
rectly through the economy. Its Presi- ■ A major contribution to the debate within the
dent gave the following explanation United Nations on the new world order for
for this in 1999: «What became very information.
clear to me (...) was that the issue of ■ Support for regulatory bodies.
corruption and the issue of press ■ The creation of several community radio
freedom, while they may have politi- stations in Africa.
cal impact, are in fact essential ■ Making experts available to governments to
issues in terms of economic devel- consider ways of introducing media plural-
opment... Any movement for equity, ism.
social justice and corruption needs ■ Support for a number of Swiss NGOs for
a free press for it to work.» That media operations at times of crisis.
was how the World Bank con- ■ An initial discussion document appeared in
vinced itself that the fight against 1999: «New information and communication
corruption, the aspiration to technologies – implications for development
greater transparency in the man- cooperation».
agement and functioning of the ■ The co-presidency of SDC, until 2004, of the
apparatus of State, and the need Global Knowledge Partnership, an important
to account to the people have think tank on the digital divide.
become democratic require-
ments, indispensable for eco- The media, which had long been on the margins
nomic development but difficult of the principal trend of development activities,
to achieve without the intermedi- have now become more strategically important
ation of the media. for SDC.

Having realised this, SDC regards

this brochure as a document for
discussion and orientation on the
place of the media in interna- Media contribution
tional development cooperation.
It is seeking to establish a frame- to governance and
work in order to stimulate activi-
ties within this domain. democracy
This publication is part of a rather In Switzerland, freedom of expression is re-
broader discussion by SDC on garded as the foremost of the individual free-
access to information as one of the doms. Without it, all the other freedoms would be
key components of governance. unable to endure for long. It is the essential basis
(See the publication «Information of the democratic State. Freedom of the press in
and Governance», SDC 2004 on the broad sense (written and audiovisual press)
this issue). and more generally freedom of communication
(including the new media) are the corollaries of
SDC is already very much involved in freedom of expression. Freedom of expression is
the media domain. Of particular note a right embodied in the Universal Declaration of
are: Human Rights (Article 19) and also in the Inter-
national Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
■ Major programmes for media (Article 19).
training and support in Africa, Central
Asia, the Caucasus and in Central and Where the rule of law does not exist, or exists
Eastern Europe. only partially, the media, no matter how imper-

4
 INTRODUCTION

fect they may be, should nevertheless be encour-

aged. It is often they who pave the way for free- Some preliminary
dom and democracy. Freedom of expression, in
all countries and in all cultures, is an ideal that points
never exists in its pure state; in reality it is
approached more or less well through fragile We distinguish between:
consensus, delicate compromise, setbacks and ■ Governance through the media: use of the
temporary victories. media for targeted campaigns concerning
human rights, the fight against corruption,
The media, the principal vehicle for freedom of information in times of conflict, political crises
expression, are therefore at the very heart of the or natural disasters, etc.
problem of governance: they navigate within ■ Governance for the media: framework con-
legal frameworks, more or less sympathetic to ditions for media activity.
freedom of expression; they organise themselves ■ Governance in the media: internal rules that
in defence of their credibility (codes of ethics, the professionals impose on themselves.
self-regulation); they make more or less proper
use of their margin of freedom to address a soci-
ety on the move, and they take part in campaigns
in support of governance.

The pre-eminence of freedom of expression

among other individual freedoms is not without
a degree of ambiguity for the media. A
newspaper that publishes full pages on
human rights (possibly in collabora-
tion with NGOs) might also remain
silent on certain issues, or may
be corrupt. A national radio Understanding Governance: as of today, there is no interna-
station may stir up local con- tional consensus on the definition of governance. The SDC Gover-
flicts, in the belief that it is nance Division hence subscribes to the following definition, inspired by
providing information in UNDP’s.
the general interest. Con-
versely, local radio sta- Governance addresses the exercise of political, economic and administrative author-
tions save lives every ity in the management of either the world or an individual country’s affairs at all levels.
day by defusing con- Governance is a concept encompassing the complex mechanisms, resources, processes
flicts about which the and institutions by which citizens, legal entities, gender and social groups articulate their
outside world knows interests, mediate their differences and exercise their legal rights and duties. Governance
nothing. Because of transcends the State to include as well the private sector, civil society and international
this, international co- organisations in overall development process at global, national, regional and local levels.
operation makes more
and more use of the In the related policies, promoting Governance aims at creating an enabling environment
media in projects to to ensure the full respect of the rule of law, human rights protection, gender equality, a
prevent conflict and to shared and accountable use of power, and macro-economic stability, all geared
inform in a period of towards human development and according to the principle of subsidiarity.
political crisis or natural
disaster.

Despite these ambiguities,

SDC is working on the media
to realise the objectives of partic-
ipation, gender balanced develop-
ment, transparency, respect for the
rule of law and the emergence of a civil
society.

5
 INTRODUCTION

about the media, we tend to think mainly of an

urban public. This is a popular presumption also
shared by the elites of our partner states. But
the majority of those who benefit from SDC’s
development programmes, in Africa, Asia
and South America, are rural populations.

The present document will focus prima-

rily on the illiterate rural and urban pop-
ulations that often represent the major-
ity of the public. This methodological
approach is justified by some of the
principles of governance:
■ Democratic participation: this
concerns all citizens, literate or not,
however near or far they are from
the capital of their country.
■ «Empowerment» of all population
groups, especially women’s groups,
which are often the most dynamic and
most dependable.
■ It is important to formulate inclusive,
not exclusive, policies in the context of SDC
intervention.

What language?

It is essential for communication to be in people’s

everyday language. Even if they are fluent in an
official language, even if they speak several lan-
What mission? guages, it is only in the language they actually
speak that are likely to be most deeply affected.
To inform, to comment, to entertain: that is the Communication is part of culture, and is there-
primary mission that the media set for them- fore nourished by the deep roots of the various
selves. Governance as such is not directly their societies. That is why it is so important to circulate
problem, except when they embark on an educa- laws in national languages and to deal with all
tional campaign in collaboration with the State or questions of governance on the basis of positive
with national or international NGOs, for exam- traditional values.
ple. But by their very existence, by their plurality,
the media fulfil a function without which gover- Switzerland is a multilingual, multicultural coun-
nance would be impossible. We must not there- try; it is particularly sensitive to languages and
fore expect the media to change everything all at minorities. This is a comparative advantage that
once, or to pursue objectives that are not their ought to be used in all areas of development in
own. If a newspaper exposes a case of corruption general, and of governance in particular.
and the judicial system fails to follow it up, it is up
to the political parties or human rights NGOs to What media?
do so. The media therefore rely on those actions
to follow the issue as it evolves and to inform Every medium has its own special characteristics.
public opinion. Some media are better suited to development
operations than others. The degree of freedom
What public? they enjoy is different, too. Depending on the
goals they are pursuing and the public they are
This is the first key question that must be asked in addressing, we can count on one or another, or
any communication situation. When we talk even on a measured combination.

6
 INTRODUCTION

1. Traditional communication economic situation also sometimes leads them to

Societies did not have to wait for the flood of yield to economic or political pressures. For all
modern media in order to communicate. Even that, they play a strategic role in forming the
today, the most powerful «medium» is still word opinions of the elite, in democratic interaction,
of mouth. Information spread by the «mass and in exposing abuses. The written press is
media» doesn’t survive for long if it isn’t picked growing strongly in Asia, but declining in South
up, discussed and commented on in the street. America and in jeopardy in Africa and Eastern
Europe.
2. Radio
This is the most popular medium, and often the 5. Television
most appropriate for development. It is not nec- This is the medium of the collective imagination.
essary to be able to read and write, live in towns Images of major football matches, series from
or be rich to benefit from it. It is all the more Brazil, Mexico and the USA give the whole world
effective because it is a direct continuation of oral something to dream about, and not understand-
culture. ing the language is no obstacle. The future of
television will be more «democratic», simpler
Two fairly recent developments have made radio technology will soon enable it to be decentralised
a particularly interesting medium from the point and participative – like
of view of governance, especially for participa- radio.
tion and decentralisation.

■ Broadcasting on FM wavelengths, which

enables many different local radio sta-
tions to be set up, well suited for
participation and interaction.
■ The emergence of radio plural-
ism in many countries tied to
the past by an audiovisual
monopoly.

3. Press agencies
Their function is to supply
raw information rapidly
to the media that the
latter will then com-
plete, synthesise and
comment on. In poor
countries, editors often
don’t have the means
to subscribe to the
national Press Agency,
even if it is subsidised. In
such cases, agencies are
reduced to producing a
simple bulletin that they
print and sell like a newspa-
per.

4. Newspapers
This is an essentially urban
medium. Illiteracy, the high cost of
paper, low advertising revenue and dis-
tribution problems are the main obstacles to
their circulation nationally. Their precarious

7
 INTRODUCTION

6.The new media (Internet, e-mail, media for governance (more transparency, more
mobile phones) democracy, more consultation, more informa-
This is a sector that is really buzzing and evolving tion, etc.) is enormous. But there is a growing
rapidly. The new media carry great hopes for trend among States, no matter how liberal, to
countries where SDC is active. At the same time, control them.
their technical requirements (modern telecom-
munications infrastructures, the ability to read In terms of governance, we must emphasise that
and write and mastery of the keyboard and the the new media
mouse) are a new obstacle to the participation of ■ favour networks, overcome distances and
many citizens in the global information society. strengthen horizontal communication and
Overcoming the digital divide therefore poses a civil society organisations;
new challenge, one that international coopera- ■ reduce the effects of isolation;
tion has to take up. The potential of the new ■ facilitate decentralisation.

8
MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

■ announcing food distribution times to

Encouraging gov- refugees avoids scuffles and frustrations
(humanitarian aid).
ernance through
We have to be wary of using the media as instru-
the media ments, as a means of manipulating minds. On
the contrary, we have to listen to people to
This refers to the role that the media can enable them to find appropriate solutions for
play as «instruments» and partners of themselves. Rather than «sensitising» people, we
governance programmes. For a better have to «sensitise» our-selves for them. Commu-
understanding of this special role for nication itself can either be participative or
the media, we have to appreciate that authoritative. Moreover, if they transmit a mes-
in certain cases, communication sage that the population can easily understand,
means directly influencing reality. the media are functioning as a community link.
They stimulate debate, encourage the circulation
Here are some examples: of ideas, reinforce the sense of identity and self-
confidence. They are also consolidating the fab-
■ introducing village residents to ric of society.
the provisions of the property
code, which gives them rights The process of speaking out is an important
over their local environment, will stage in empowerment. Country folk, when
induce them to refuse to give they’re asked, start by saying they don’t have
away their trees to the first dealer ideas. But if we listen to them for long enough, a
who comes along, and even per- great many suggestions and ideas will come to
haps to put their natural the surface.
resources to good use («empow-
erment»); Regarded as «country people’s radio run by
■ informing the public that an country people for country people», rural radio
entry in the public register is a stations in Africa and South America are partici-
free service might encourage patory media. They belong to the community, are
them to refuse to accede to the managed by a local committee and run by
demands of a dishonest govern- enthusiastic amateurs. Experts take part on the
ment official (fighting corrup- air (assuming they speak the local language),
tion); but are just one category of interlocutors among
■ local radio stations that regularly others. «There’s no better expert than one coun-
organise round-table discussions try person talking to another».
on the extent of decentralised
powers will more easily overcome The media and crises
resistance from local officials than
through an approach to the Min- This is a very particular way of using the media
istry of the Interior (decentralisa- for specific goals.
tion);
■ systematic campaigns on schooling We can distinguish three levels:
for girls, or following up failures in
education, will help the authorities ■ Before the crisis
and communities to take measures This means professionals instructing people
to improve the percentage of children how to react to a crisis before it arises (how
in full-time education (gender bal- to address the public, where to find informa-
anced development); tion, etc.). A module called «information in
■ a pacifying message from local moder- time of crisis» should be introduced into the
ates may defuse a situation at the very training of all journalists and broadcasters.
point where demonstrators are preparing Prevention of conflicts is a multi-disciplinary
for a confrontation with armed police approach. International cooperation and the
(prevention of conflict); media have a central role to play in this.

9
 MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

■ During the crisis Can the media be a factor in

In civil war situations or in extremely violent bad governance?
situations, it is likely that professionals will
no longer be able to carry on the essential If the rule of law exists, if all opinions can be
job of informing and conciliating. If the voiced, if the private sphere of individuals is
crisis is a natural disaster, the media may protected, if there is a high standard of profes-
themselves have been destroyed. That’s sional training, then the system is in equilibrium.
where specialised NGOs come into the Then the media play their role of radiating
picture, capable of working «under fire» democracy under the watchful eye of the public
in collaboration with humanitarian aid citizen, and regulatory and self-regulatory
organisations whose communication authorities.
needs are immense. Professional training
and codes of ethics are important, but frag- Reality, however, is often rather different. The
ile, safeguards at a time of crisis. power of money leads to concentrations, which
distort the free expression of pluralistic opinions.
■ After the crisis, local professionals can The media, in the short term, are capable of
relearn how to work more or less normally focussing the attention of voters to topics selected
under difficult conditions. That’s when sup- by partisan interests. Or again, journalists
port programmes, covering issues such as divulge information, often on the basis of volun-
reconciliation and material and psychologi- tary leaks, at embarrassing moments.
cal reconstruction, are particularly opportune.
Several international NGOs actually do So what can we conclude from this? That the
useful work, but anything they do is no sub- media are capable of good and bad, certainly,
stitute for cooperation between profession- but in particular that democracy could not exist
als, among themselves, nationally or without the media.
even internationally. Projects of
the «media house» type are
one means among others Governance for
of encouraging national
professionals to work the media
together again.
Every State, in its Constitution and by its laws,
The media are a imposes a framework on media activity that
means of collec- should only be dictated in the general interest.
tive access to in- But in developing countries, or countries in tran-
formation. With- sition, far too much national legislation is con-
out that access, ceived so as to influence media content, by
it is impossible authorising abusive repression of publishers and
for the indi- journalists in contravention of the rules in force.
vidual to form a
free personal Freedom of expression and information is cov-
opinion, or for the ered by founding international texts: the Univer-
community to form sal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 19) and the
a pluralist public International Covenant on Civil and Political
opinion. Information Rights (Art. 19).
provided by the media
allows genuine democratic Freedom
participation; it gives full
meaning to citizens’ civil rights, Freedom is one of the pillars of the democratic
exercised by «enlightened» individuals constitutional State. It must be guaranteed with-
(empowerment). It imposes an obligation on out ambiguity in legal texts.
the public authorities to give a transparent
account of themselves. ■ Freedom of expression is the essential
principle.

10
 MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

■ Freedom of the written and audio-

visual press: the way to guaran-
tee freedom of expression.
■ Freedom of communication:
this is the modern way of
gaining a dynamic under-
standing of the first two
freedoms from a per-
spective that also
encompasses new
media.

Legislation

If the media, in their plu-

rality, are the very breath of
democracy, then those who
make the laws and the
authorities must allow them
to breathe.

Media law in certain countries

resembles a list of all possible and
imaginable misdemeanours that
might be committed by the press,
accompanied by tariffs for fines and
days in prison. Everyone accepts that
abuses of the freedom of communication
should be punished. Journalists’ trades unions in
general demand that their members be subject to
the same rules and regulations as the general The
public – the provisions of the penal code. But principal
offences committed by the press should not lead tasks of the reg-
to their perpetrators going to prison. Nor should ulatory authorities are:
fines ever be large enough to ruin an enterprise. ■ to preserve the general interest;
Criminal law does not exist to kill the press or to ■ to guarantee access to public service organs
settle old scores. for all citizens;
■ to appoint and to dismiss directors;
Good laws are essential, but not enough. In ■ to guarantee fair access to the airwaves dur-
European states in transition, for example, there ing elections;
are clearly sizeable gaps between the spirit of ■ to guarantee freedom of audiovisual commu-
new laws inspired by the western model and their nication by allocating radio frequencies,
application controlled by old, authoritarian telecommunication cables and satellites to
reflexes. public and private radio and television spon-
sors.
Governmental bodies for
regulating audiovisual media The law and regulations on communication are
the responsibility of parliaments. Before making
Regulatory bodies are state institutions, albeit legislation, it is advisable to consult regulatory
independent ones. Their role is an essential one, bodies, as well as the professional and non-pro-
as there can be no system of communication fessional associations directly concerned, such as
without a minimum of practical rules, the appli- media syndicates, publishing companies, Internet
cation of which cannot be left to the government companies, lawyers’ associations, defenders of
alone. human rights or other citizens’ groups.

11
 MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

competition has encouraged the media to be

more curious, more dynamic and better able to
serve the interests of democracy and gover-
nance. Even former State media have devel-
oped in this way.

Pluralism of the written press, the com-

puter and computer-aided publication
has become widespread more rap-
idly and more easily than audiovi-
sual pluralism.

Withholding information is a uni-

versal social phenomenon. Train-
ing those who hold information -
governments, enterprises, associa-
tions, international organisations -
for the requirements of trans-
parency provides an excellent sup-
port for pluralism. In a pluralistic con-
text, the State is obliged to distribute
information emanating from itself to all
media, not just to State or public service
media.

2. Audiovisual media in the public service

The advent of pluralism has profoundly altered
the audiovisual landscape in many countries. But
State radio and television services still have con-
siderable difficulty in adapting to the new situa-
tion. In order to qualify as a «public service», a
title they often improperly bestow on themselves,
it is essential for State radio and television serv-
Spirit of the law: pluralism and ices to submit themselves to the control of civil
public service by audiovisual society, and that they take the whole population
media into consideration, including minorities. It is also
essential for them to have editorial, administra-
Regardless of the law, freedom of expression will tive and financial independence, as without them
only truly blossom if two general conditions are they would be unable to serve the general inter-
met: est.

1. Media pluralism Private, community, associative, religious and

«Several newspapers, however mediocre, are commercial radio and television services often
worth more than a single newspaper, however say that they also provide a public service. While
excellent.» This aphorism, which can equally be that may be partly true, it is only because of their
applied to radio and television, sums up a com- contribution to pluralism. In countries where pub-
plex process that integrates the necessity of hav- lic radio and television services are not in a posi-
ing a number of channels to express the different tion to respect the principle of universality (cover-
trends of public opinion, emulation of the com- age of the whole country and all minorities), the
petition and the advantage of spreading freedom State, or the concessionary authority, may be
of expression over a number of actors. induced to allocate public service functions to pri-
vate media (national news bulletins, official
Every country that has switched from a monopo- notices at times of crisis, cultural programmes in
listic regime to a pluralistic model has seen how minority languages, etc.).

12
 MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

The principles of public service are to a large In a broad sense, public service is the gover-
extent concordant with those of governance. nance of public audiovisual media. Newspapers,
■ Universality of services means radio and tele- unlike radio and television, do not lend them-
vision for all, and not just for urban dwellers selves to public service type organisations. It is
or majority groups. rather the pluralism of titles that guarantees the
■ By presenting the plurality of opinions, civil best public interest.
society assumes a position that enables it to
scrutinise the management of public affairs
(empowerment, accountability, transparency).
■ Audiovisual media must respect the principle
of the general interest, and not serve private
interests.

13
 MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

■ Financial autonomy: a guaranteed budget,

Governance however modest, prevents the media from
having to live on their wits or by compromis-
in the media ing. Financial autonomy will be all the more
solid when there are a number of different
Professionals can set their own rules, demands sources of finance. In poor countries, particu-
and aspirations, the major elements of which larly where there is an abundance of local
are: radio stations, the staff are sometimes not
paid.
Autonomy ■ Technical autonomy: a newspaper’s inde-
pendence is extremely limited if it is produced
This is the basic principle without which no in a State printing press or distributed by state
medium can aspire to any degree of freedom. postal services.
Autonomy has a number of facets.
■ Editorial autonomy means that journalists Professional training
receive instructions only from their hierarchi-
cal superior (and not from a minister, banker, This is one of the best ways to guarantee the
religious figure or diplomat). health of the media. It is essential that all those
who start work in the media, whatever previous
training they had, are trained and supervised by
experienced professionals.

Ethics
The surveillance
and conciliation system in the Swiss media Professionals generally accept the
principles of ethical conduct. This is
The Swiss press council is the self-regulatory organisation set up shown by the close similarity
by journalists to defend the principles embodied in the Declaration of between the major codes of
the rights and obligations of the journalist. Its function is to ensure that ethics. In many countries,
certain ethical principles are respected within the profession. It reacts to com- ethics are violated on a
plaints and has no means of legal constraint, but its counsel carries considerable daily basis. But the impor-
authority in professional circles. tant thing is for the guilty
journalist – and his or
Some newspapers have mediators, who are the link between unhappy readers and the edi- her colleagues – to be
tors. As regards radio and television, unhappy listeners and viewers have recourse to a aware that a rule has
pyramidal complaints system: been broken.

1. They start by setting down their grievances in a letter or e-mail. A dialogue is established with Editorial
those responsible for the broadcast. That is as far as most cases go. charters
2. If they are not satisfied, they can forward their claim to a mediator, as provided for by law,
who will seek conciliation. This is a simple, free procedure. These take the form of
3. If that fails, a complaint may be addressed to the independent authority for radio and an agreement negoti-
television (AIPE), comprising nine members appointed by the government. Its independ- ated within a media
ence is guaranteed by law. This is a serious and costly procedure. The complaint has to enterprise between the
be submitted within 30 days of notification by the mediator and must be counter- journalists and the pub-
signed by 20 persons. The AIPE will verify whether the law and regulations have lishers establishing a gen-
been violated. If that is indeed the case, the broadcaster must indicate what eral line, the journalistic pro-
measures it has taken to prevent any repetition of the perceived fault. gramme and the organisation
4. Decisions of the AIPE may be subject to appeal to the federal of the enterprise. In Switzerland,
Tribunal, and its decisions, in certain cases, to the Euro- if there is a drastic change of
pean Court of Human Rights. course by the publishers, journalists
can invoke a conscience clause that
authorises them to resign and claim com-
pensation.

14
 MEDIA AND GOVERNANCE

Media self-regulation bodies coercive power. The underlying idea is that it is in

the interests of the communicators to put their
These are institutions that monitor compliance own house in order without the State or courts
with ethical rules and ethical practice in the becoming involved.
media: the professional tribunals, press councils,
journalists’ orders, or publishers, mediators and In the same spirit, conciliation boards seek to
ombudsman. These constitute an internal police reach an agreement between the complainants
force for the journalistic profession, but have no and the media, in order to avoid legal action.

15
 PRACTICAL ADVICE

3. Support for the creation of local radio stations

The media and and community multimedia centres to facili-
tate the setting up of a project.
international
For and in the media
cooperation Below is a (not exhaustive) list of measures poten-
tially capable of reinforcing the media in their
The existence of a pluralist and auto- central role in the smooth running of societies
nomous press (written, audiovisual and and governance.
new media), carrying on its business
within a global framework of respect for 1. Sustain media pluralism and independence by:
freedom, is the most important contri- ■ Consultations to improve framework con-
bution that the media can make to gov- ditions (legal or other)
ernance. Every endeavour made in this ■ Support for professional organisations
direction deserves to be sustained by ■ Support for regulatory bodies.
bilateral and multilateral aid. 2. Improve professional training facilities (jour-
nalists, managers, technicians).
Nevertheless, considerable prudence 3. Create access to electronic mail and the Inter-
is called for, as problems relating to net, especially wherever this is scarce.
media freedom, defamation or free 4. Support the conversion of State radio and tel-
access to public information are evision services into public service media.
extremely difficult to regulate. It is for 5. Make targeted programmes to help the writ-
the local partners, and media profes- ten press where there are serious economic
sionals in particular, who have the problems. For example:
difficult task of achieving consensus. ■ by helping all newspapers in the same
market to source paper cheaply
The methodological approach to ■ by improving distribution networks.
international aid is therefore very 6. Reinforce local professional organisations
important. (journalists’ unions, publishing companies,
etc.).
Possible types 7. Encourage collaboration between the
of cooperation authorities and the independent media.
In particular:
Through the media ■ encourage the authorities to develop pub-
Here are some examples of opera- lic information services
tions where partnerships could benefit ■ encourage national, regional and local
governance: authorities to develop public information
services on the Internet and help them to
1. Media campaigns promoting the set up their own websites.
major themes of governance: 8. Encourage the creation of endogenous con-
respect for human rights and access tent, especially in the new media.
to justice 9. Help the media to switch from old to new
■ democratisation and decentrali- technologies.
sation
■ fight against corruption
■ dissemination of relevant profes-
sional, economic and scientific
information.
2. Co-production of articles and broad-
casts aimed at preventing conflicts and
managing political crises and natural dis-
asters. In Bosnia, for example, articles
highlighting inter-community collaborative
experiences were published in this way.

16
 PRACTICAL ADVICE

What methodology for inter- In all cases, effective international cooperation

vention? gives precedence to:

The classic method of on-demand support for ■ content in the language spoken by the people
local partners is also an appropriate one. A deci- in their everyday lives;
sion to provide aid for the media will depend on ■ endogenous creation;
a positive response to the four following ques- ■ sub-regional approaches facilitated by the
tions. tendency of newspapers and local radio sta-
tions to work in networks.
1. Will the needs expressed by the local partner
be in the interests of good governance?
2. Is the local partner willing to go some of the
way towards governance?
3. Does the partner have the necessary space
for freedom?
4. Is the partner credible?

17
 ANNEXES

Bibliography
Books and articles dealing Global Media Assistance Strategies 2002. Draft
with the media-governance Summary of Conference Report. Paris.
relationship http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/mas/report

Studies commissioned by the World Global Media Assistance Strategies 2002. Min-
Bank: utes on the Workshop on the Role of Media in
1. «Mapping Media Assistance» set up Economic and Democratic Development. Paris.
by a research team at the University http://pcmlp.socleg.ox.ac.uk/mas/report
of Oxford, Monroe E. Price, Bethany
Davis Noll, Daniel de Luce, 2002. KOFF (Kompetenzzentrum Friedensförderung)
2002. Media Workshop Report. Berne.
2. «The Enabling Environment for free http://www.swisspeace.org/publications/
and independent Media», USAID, working.htm
2002.
Spurk, Christoph 2002. Media and Peace-build-
Antal, Juraj 2002. The effects of ing: Concepts, Actors and Challenges.
media on corruption. Discussion pa- Koff-Series, Berne.
per series/CERGE-El;87/CERGE-El.
Prague. Hieber, Loretta (ed.) 2001. Lifeline Media:
Reaching populations in crisis. A Guide to Devel-
Becker, Jörg 2002. Beitrag der oping Media Projects in Conflict Situations.
Medien zur Krisenprävention und Geneva.
Konfliktbearbeitung, working paper
no. 1, Sektorberatungsvorhaben Kri-
senprävention und Konfliktbear-
beitung. Eschborn.

Swiss Agency for Development and

Cooperation (SDC).
– Information and Governance,
2004
– Information and Communication
Technologies for Poverty Reduc-
tion, March 2003

Swiss Agency for Development and

Cooperation (SDC) and Swiss Federal
Archives:
Information and Good Governance,
September 2001

DfID (Department for International

Development) 2002. Support for Media
Development, Partial List of Projects,
Memo. London.

Girard, Bruce et al. 2002. Global Media

Governance: A Beginner’s Guide. Lanham.

18
ANNEXES

19
 ANNEXES

Webliography
Media governance programmes:

British Council
www.britishcouncil.org/governance/medinf/index.htm

Department for International Development, Social Development and Communications

www.dfid.gov.uk

European Union
http://europa.eu.int/comm/governance/index_en.htm

International Federation of Journalists

www.ifj.org

Media for Democracy in Africa Programme 2000–2003

www.ifj.org/regions/africa/mdafricafr.html

Friedrich Ebert Foundation (Project in Nepal)

www.nepalmedia.org/issues/role_media.htm

Good Governance and Arab Journalists’ Unions

www.amin.org/eng/daoud_kuttab/2002/oct2002.html

OECD «Programme de l’OCDE sur Ia gestion publique et Ia gouvernance (PUMA)»

www1.oecd.org/puma/about/index-fr.htm

Open Society Institute-Network Media Program

www.osi.hu/nmp

UNESCO «Media for promotion of a culture of peace, democracy and good governance»
www.unesco.org/africa/portal/ciie_2.html

World Bank
www.worldbank.org/wbi/governance/journalism.htm

Other international addresses

World Association of Newspapers (WAN)

www.fiej.org

World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC)

www.amarc.org

Article 19
www.article19.org

Center for War, Peace and the News Media

www.nyu.edu/cwpnm/

Commonwealth Foundation
www.cornmonwealthfoundation.com

20
 ANNEXES

Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA)

http://www.cjaweb.org

Commonwealth Broadcasting Association

www.cba.org.uk

Council of Europe, The Media Division

www.humanrights.coe.int/media

Freedom House
www.freedomhouse.org/

Institute for war & peace reporting

www.iwpr.net

Institute for media, policy and civil society

www.impacs.org

International Press Institute (IPI)

www.freemedia.at/

Institute on governance
www.iog.ca

Regional NGOs

Asia

■ Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) Bangkok

www.seapabkk.org

■ Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD), Kuala Lumpur

http://aibd.org.my

Africa

■ Union for Radio and Television Networks for Africa (URTNA)

www.urtna.orq

■ Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Windhoek

www.misanet.org

■ Union des journalistes d’Afrique de l’Ouest, Dakar

www.ujao.org

21
 ANNEXES

Latin America

■ Inter American Press Association (IAPA), Miami

www.sipiapa.com

■ International Association of Broadcasting (IAB), Montevideo

www.airiab.com

Europe

■ European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Geneva

www.ebu.ch

■ European Institute for the Media (EIM), Düsseldorf

www.eim.org

NGOs and Swiss consultancies

■ Fondation Hirondelle, Lausanne

www.hirondelle.org

■ Cimera, Geneva
www.cimera.org

■ Intermédia consultants, Berne

www.intermedia-consultants.net

■ Media Action International, Geneva

Field of competence: Information in periods of crisis, Afghanistan.
www.mediaaction.org

■ Medienhilfe, Zurich
Field of competence: Information in periods of crisis, Central Europe.
www.medienhilfe.ch

22
Media and Governance

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