2005 Activities

In addition to supporting media and journalists’ organizations, journalism training, press freedom monitoring, and legal defense initiatives for media organizations and journalists, the Network Media Program continued to be engaged in media-related advocacy activities in 2005.

Television Across Europe: Regulation, Policy and Independence, a monitoring report produced by the OSI European Union Monitoring and Advocacy Program and Network Media Program, was released in October 2005 with launches in Brussels and in eight of the 20 countries covered by the report. The report, which analyzes the state of contemporary broadcasting across Europe after years of political and economic reform and provides policy recommendations to key national and international actors, received significant press coverage and prompted much public discussion. Findings for the remaining 12 countries analyzed will be launched in those states in 2006.

Ethics in journalism and the media business were addressed by several projects conducted by the OSI-supported South East European Network for Professionalization of Media (SEENPM). Projects analyzed how awareness among journalists and editors in the region of ethical norms and why some journalists and organizations disregard them. SEENPM projects also assessed the consequences of concentration and non-transparency of media ownership on editorial independence and content and the indirect forms of pressure and censorship that state and private sector actors can apply to media (for example, through allocation of public funds for state institutions’ advertising in media). These analyses worked to increase public awareness about the media and stimulated policy debate throughout the year. With Media Program support, SEENPM will work to address these problems by helping to develop self-regulation systems and identifying and promoting best practices at the national and regional level.

The Media Program also worked with the International Federation of Journalists to facilitate the exchange of experience and methodologies among journalists and media groups that publicize and counter the effects of media concentration. These efforts seek to protect and reinforce the independence of editors and journalists against possible negative influence from powerful political and economic interests.

As part of its commitment to support media development among marginalized groups, the Network Media Program continued to support Roma media initiatives in 2005. During the year, the program worked with the Swiss NGO Medienhilfe to provide instruction in program production and training for Romani journalists to empower and prepare them for work at mainstream media outlets. These efforts have taken on added significance with the emergence of the Decade of Roma Inclusion, which will present greater opportunities for Romani journalists to engage Romani communities in the Decade’s various efforts to end the marginalization of Roma in Central and South Eastern Europe.

In order to sustain media assistance efforts across a broad range of issues, the Media Program and the UK Department for International Development hosted an October meeting of private and European and U.S. governmental donors. Attendees had productive discussions on media assistance issues and worked to determine areas of common interest and future cooperation.