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covering the theoretical basics of professional journalism (including an emphasis on ethics), on-
the-ground field work in news gathering and story production, and in-house, side-by-side
mentoring focused on technical and editorial skills. Such training would need to include staff at
all levels of a media outlet, to ensure that owners and managers create the space necessary for
journalists to implement what they learn. It should also include business, financial,
management and related skills that would help improve the overall manner in which outlets
function. International or regional trainers may be necessary for initial efforts, complemented
by a train-the-trainers component that is geared towards creating a sustainable base of local
experts capable of delivering such training themselves.
Opportunity 3: Support in-kind equipment donation or equipment purchases to raise
quality of production.
Almost all local media stakeholders emphasized the importance of modernizing their equipment
and the difficulties with affording to do so. It is not uncommon in media development
programs to assist with equipment, and such assistance would be valid, though it is
recommended with some caution. Requests for equipment could benefit from an expert audit of
technical needs, to ensure appropriateness and compatibility and may be more effective if tied to
other forms of assistance. Transparent competition or other similar processes may help avoid
appearances of bias or favoritism.
Opportunity 4: Support activities to build trust between government and media to
increase understanding and reduce tensions, and nurture alternate conflict resolution
mechanisms.
The current situation reflects a level of mistrust and misunderstanding between the government
and the media, including a lack of awareness of the rights and responsibilities of both.
Confidence-building measures would seek to bring the two sides together to help increase
understanding and reduce tensions between the two sectors, with a goal of finding alternate
mechanisms for resolving differences outside of unsubstantiated tabloidism and heavy-handed
police action. Opportunities for assistance could include empowering an international or local
partner to play a convening role for discussion and debate; supporting specific events, activities,
fora
, conferences, etc. that bring different actors together, funding joint campaigns or
programming/content on issues of shared concern or conducting joint trainings on common
goals.
Opportunity 5: Support implementing partners to play a convening role (facilitating
dialogue, debate and discussion), to build alliances between media and other sectors in
advance of common goals.
Though the media community appears to have the support of the public, it does not appear to
have wider support from other sectors. In particular, the media could benefit from additional
support from civil society, which should ultimately share in common goals. Advocacy towards
the licensing of private radio stations, for example, should be in the interest of all active
stakeholders, as it would extend the possibilities for delivering key information to citizens.
Greater cooperation between civil society and the media could also help to develop and deliver
