07 August 2008
Independent Media's Role in Building Democracy
By Frederick W. Schieck, Deputy Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development
Independent media can contribute to the betterment of nations and societies. In order to do so, however, they must often undergo their own self-improvement process.
Overview
Independent media around the world have emerged as some of the most powerful forces in the struggle to change closed, repressive regimes into open and productive societies. The move towards democracy and free markets is being carried out in earnest across the globe, especially since the end of the Cold War, but the outcome is not at all predictable as dark forces emerge after surviving for decades under the mask of repression.
Racists, terrorists, ethnic tribalists, criminal syndicates, drug gangs, and political strongmen have emerged or reemerged in too many countries. They test whether the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union and the developing nations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America will adopt democratic, representative forms of government that provide education, health, security, opportunity, and a sound economy promoting investment and trade.
In the midst of this struggle, the United States attempts to help these countries move toward democracy by helping in the formation, training, and protection of free and independent newspapers, radio, and television. We believe independent media can be helped to carry out two major roles: being a “watchdog” over government and educating people about the issues that affect their lives.
Two hundred years ago, President Thomas Jefferson said it best: “The only security of all is in a free press.” In 1823 Jefferson said: “The force of public opinion cannot be resisted when permitted freely to be expressed. The agitation it produces must be submitted to. It is necessary, to keep the waters pure."
From 1990 to 2001, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spent $270 million to support free media in the former Soviet bloc and in developing countries. About $182 million of that spending was focused on Eastern Europe and the former Soviet satellites, including large investments in independent media campaigns in Serbia and Bosnia just prior to the defeat of President Slobodan Milosevic by voters in 2000 after presiding over bloody wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo.
U.S. journalists and academics also were sent by the U.S. Information Agency (USIA), which has since been merged into the State Department, to train reporters, editors, and broadcasters in Nigeria, Guinea, Ivory Coast, and dozens of other countries emerging from decades of one-party rule.
U.S. Government Independent Media Programming
The media-support programs funded by the State Department and USAID include four major aspects. The first is journalism education. American journalists and teachers are sent overseas to speak (along with local experts) to working journalists on styles of reporting, accuracy, balance, fairness, gathering information, writing clearly, separating commentary from reporting, and protecting sources. They also receive guidance in how to tackle delicate issues such as ethnic conflict, women’s rights, and HIV/AIDS. In addition, journalists are brought to the United States to visit U.S. newspapers and broadcast stations to observe how a free press operates in the American context. The visiting journalists can also attend special seminars and courses at the Voice of America or at institutions of higher education.
American journalists and editors are sent overseas to teach the basic principles of the free press such as objectivity, accuracy, and fairness – not to defend American foreign policy. In fact, one of the greatest lessons they teach is that the role of a working journalist in a free society is to criticize government policy and that even the president of the United States is not immune from the barbs of a free press.
The second aspect of support for free media relates to media business development. To get away from government control, media outlets need to be able to earn their own way, pay decent salaries, and cover production costs from newsprint to transmitters. In some poor countries, reporters are paid so little that some accept “brown envelopes” with cash payments from sources or when they attend press conferences. U.S. programs teach media owners and managers about advertising, marketing, and financial management so they can stand on their own. The programs also assist with feasibility studies, business plans, and creating audit bureaus to certify circulation to determine advertising rates. The third aspect of U.S. media support is helping local groups of journalists, publishers, human rights advocates, or legislators draft laws that protect the press’s ability to cover government and other topics without fear of harassment. U.S. funds also go to educate media lawyers and support legal defense of media outlets. The fourth aspect is helping in the formation of professional associations of journalists, editors, and media owners. Such bodies become a force for protection of individual members while they carry out typical association functions such as setting standards; encouraging members to improve quality and reliability; and pushing for greater access to public documents, meetings, and interviews with public officials.
Other Forms of Independent Media Assistance
U.S. assistance in some cases includes financial support for capital investments such as buying presses, transmitters, broadcast equipment, and newsroom computers. While the primary U.S. aim is to assist private, independent media, in some cases assistance does go to train staff and managers at state-owned media as well. However, the long-run goal of this assistance is to make state media more independent, more professional, and possibly to become privatized. When state-owned media follow professional standards, they are more likely to serve the public interest rather than prop up the current government. U.S. support for independent media faces some controversy. Sometimes free media, when they first appear, lack experience and report news that is unverified, false, misleading, exaggerated, or slanderous. In some countries, U.S. support for free media is considered foreign meddling. In others, free media at times express views that are anti-American or at odds with the policies of the United States and U.S. allies. Despite these controversies, and the criticism of fledgling media outlets, USAID remains committed to this activity. Building an independent and responsible media is an evolutionary process that will take decades in countries that have not had a tradition of tolerance for a wide range of competing views. Assistance to Latin American media has largely ended in recent years as every country but Cuba has moved towards democracy. However, some assistance does go to investigative reporting, which is needed to deal with corruption and illegal drugs.
USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives
In 13 countries moving towards democracy such as Afghanistan, USAID’s help for media goes through the Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), which operates in regions of recent or ongoing conflict.
OTI's support to independent media – in addition to the provision of training and development of infrastructure – includes programming messages of peace, tolerance, and democratic participation. This attempt to spread positive news and information supportive of democratic values and processes is quite different from straightforward support for independent media, which seeks only to support responsible journalism and not promote specific messages.
Other USAID Support
Other programs at USAID that support key development needs such as education and health may include media support elements as well. These programs can utilize radio, television, and newspapers to market social programs. In Rwanda, U.S. help in broadcasting reports of genocide trials and other issues is seen as critical in overcoming the legacy of “hate radio” that was used to encourage ethnic hatred and genocide in 1994.
Innovative New Approaches
One of the lessons learned by USAID after running media programs for more than a decade has been that rather than trying to create entirely new media outlets, it is better to assist existing ones, even if it means buying transmitters and newsprint through direct grants.
Another lesson is to try – when governments forbid direct criticism of the ruling authorities – to support critical reporting in less threatening areas such as local reports on roads, health, and the environment. Journalists have used such reports as a starting point to begin critical reporting on government issues, long before they were able to tackle more serious issues such as the need for free elections and an independent judiciary. U.S. assistance also trains journalists to try and forge positive relations with government officials, to carry out investigative reporting, and to cover terrorism. One recent U.S.-backed effort helped Bulgarian journalists track the flow of drugs and money linking Osama bin Laden and Europe through Bulgaria.
The power and influence of the media have never been more important than they are today. Satellite communications and the Internet make it possible for small groups of extremists to spread messages of hate and intolerance widely to millions with the click of a button. U.S. assistance in the creation of balanced, fair media continues to be an important priority, especially after the September 11 attacks, as we search to create a more informed and tolerant world.
From the February 2003 edition of eJournal USA.
