Putting the Sex in International Media Development

Feb 19, 2008 - 11:09 AM PST

‘International media development’ is a completely unsexy way to do international development. Providing food to starving children, rehabilitating former soldiers or even digging wells with your bare hands sounds more exciting. But, truth be told, ‘international media development’ might be the most important way to improve the lives of the world’s least fortunate people.

What is international media development, you may ask? In essence, it is the label put on efforts to improve the way the media operates. Some organizations build radio stations where none exist, others produce content on socially relevant topics and distribute it to local media outlets, while others (like JHR) train local journalists how to report more effectively on certain issues. There are many ways to do media development—and not all are born equal. But, if done properly, media development efforts can have a huge impact.

Why you ask? My answer to this is complex, and takes more room than we have here. But, in short, here are some highlights from my answer.

1) A free and well functioning media sector is one of the most important building blocks of a well functioning society. Without it, dialogue between and among citizens, government and civil society is impossible. The great philosopher and state builder Edmond Burke first called the media the ‘fourth estate’—referring to the fundamental role the media plays in society. Having a well functioning media is as important as having a well functioning government and judiciary. Without it, real and long-term progress is impossible.

2) Much of the most ‘sexy’ development work provides band-aid, or short-term, solutions to problems. Take, for instance, famine relief efforts. A famine starts; food is shipped in from around the world. Lives are saved in the short-term, but there is little done to prevent it from happening again. In many instances, media development organizations have come in and have helped local radio stations spread the word about better agricultural practices, have helped inform everyone of market prices to avoid unnatural supply shortages and inform people what regions have better food supply. This helps nip the next famine in the bud, saving lives and dollars in the future.

3) There is much talk in development circles today of ‘sustainable’ programming—essentially that it’s better to teach a man to fish than to fish for him, etc. Well, there is no better way to teach a man to fish than to have his favourite radio station—in his local language—giving him all the information about how to do it properly. Plus, if the one guy is learning, so are about 50,000 others who are also listening. Most international media development efforts not only have sustainable impact, but also have a huge multiplying effect. By training one journalist, you can reach thousands, if not millions, of people with important information.

I could go on and on. The real shame is that media development efforts haven’t gained much attention from the media (how ironic) and even the international development community at large. Perhaps this is because it’s a relatively new field—of the hundreds of international NGO’s based in Canada, only about five (depending on definitions) are interested in media development. Or maybe it’s because Paris Hilton hasn’t done any PR for it (Paris, why aren’t you returning my calls?). Either way, it should change, and I’m going to do my best to make it happen!

Note: This posting is my own and does not necessarily represent the positions, strategies, opinions, or beliefs of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR).

Discuss this article on our forums