2025年媒体发展状况：媒体支持切合性与有效性全球实证研究报告-

Report

TheStateof

MediaDevelopment

Globalevidenceonrelevantandeffectivemediasupport

DWFreedom•TheMediaDevelopmentThinkTank

Contents

Foreword5

Executivesummary8

Introductionandoverview12

PRINCIPLE1

Ensurethatassistancedoesnoharmtopublicinterestmedia15

PRINCIPLE2

Increasefinancialandotherformsofsupporttopublicinterestmedia

andtheinformationenvironment21

PRINCIPLE3

Takeawholeofsystemperspectiveonsupportingthemediaand

informationenvironment28

PRINCIPLE4

Strengthenlocalleadershipandownership35

PRINCIPLE5

Improvecoordinationofsupporttothemediaandinformationenvironment42

PRINCIPLE6

Investinknowledge,researchandlearning50

“Allisnotlost”—FiveregionalperspectivesontheUSfundingfreeze56

Conclusion60

Recommendationsataglance62

Annex70

Methodologyandlimitations70

OECDDevelopmentCo-operationPrinciplesforRelevantandEffectiveSupport

toMediaandtheInformationEnvironment

73

Listofabbreviations78

Literaturelist80

Foreword

5

Foreword

ThelastweekofFebruary2025sawanunprecedented

onlinemeetingonmediadevelopment.Expertsand

managersfromthemediadevelopmentsectorhadcometogethertobidfarewelltooneofthemostimportant

institutionsinoursector:theCenterforInternational

MediaAssistance(CIMA).Theorganizationhadstopped

itsoperationsandcloseditsofficesatextremelyshort

noticeduetoanalmostcompletefreezeonUSfundingforinternationaldevelopmentandcooperation.

LikeCIMA,manymediadevelopmentandsupportorga-

nizationsaroundtheworldwerehithardbythenewUS

government’sdecision.Thisespeciallyaffectedthosein

theGlobalSouthaswellasthemanymediahousesacrosstheglobethattheseorganizationshadbeen,orstillare,

supporting.

Someparticipantsweretearful,othersjuststunnedbytherapid,almostsurrealsequenceofevents.Whilethereasonforthemeetingwasdistressing,italsogavereasonfor

hope:theglobalmediadevelopmentcommunitynotonlycomestogetherinmomentsofcrisis,butthevaluesthatCIMAhasalwaysstoodforwillliveon:anongoingcom-mitment,acollaborativeandinclusivespirit,androbust

professionalstandards.

Arguably,themostimportantstandardestablishedby

theCIMAandtheGlobalForumforMediaDevelopment

(GFMD)foroursectorarethemediadevelopmentprin-

ciples,inkeepingwiththeDevelopmentCooperation

PrinciplesforRelevantandEffectiveSupporttoMediaandtheInformationEnvironment,guidelinesdevelopedbytheOrganizationforCooperationandDevelopment(OECD).

Asahistoricalsuccess,thetwoorganizationsunitedthesectorbehindtheOECDsixprinciples.Whilethesemayinitiallyseemobvious,theyarenoteasytofulfillwhen

budgetsaretightandacountry’spoliticalandsecurity

situationiseventighter.Morethanever,theseprinciplesshouldbethesector’sbasisandguardrailforfuturework,notonlybutespeciallyintimesofcrisis.

TheseandothermediadevelopmentachievementshavenotbecomeobsoletegiventhelossofUSfundingbutarenowmorecrucialforthoseofuswhocanstillact.

AtDWAkademie,wehavefor

manyyearsinvestedinresearch

andadvocacywork.Werecently

developedDWFreedom:TheMediaDevelopmentThinkTankthatfocusesonglobaltrendsandpolicyissuesandcomplementsourregionalprogramsontheground.

OneofourmaingoalswithDWFreedomistoconductaregularassessmentofbothourownandoursector’swork—i.e.tocheckwheredifferentstakeholderscommitted

tomediadevelopmentstandregardingtheOECDmediadevelopmentprinciples;howwellthesectorfulfillstheprinciplesingeneral;andwhatweasmediadevelopersaregoodat,andwhereweakspotsarethatneedfurtherimprovement.

Thisstudyistheresultofaglobalresearcheffort.Withthehelpofsevenresearchersfromdifferentworldregions,weinterviewednearly80keyexpertsfromoursectorandsur-veyedalmost80mediadevelopmentorganizationsworld-wide.TheresultswereassembledinJanuary2025,givingusanideaofwherethesectorstoodatthetime,and

providinganexcellentpointofreferenceforthefuture.

WehaveaskedNickBenequista,CIMA’sSeniorDirector,

toputthesefindingsintheframeworkofthecurrentcrisisandtosharehisperspectiveinanintroductoryarticle.Hispragmaticsuggestionsonwhatneedstobedoneinthe

nearfutureofferimportantorientationandinspiration.

AnelementkeytousisinmediadevelopmentisPrinci-ple5:localleadershipandownership.Wehavethereforemadesurethatourreportreflectsastronggeographicalvarietyofperspectives.

Myhopeisthatwewillnavigatethroughthesedifficulttimestogether.Wehave,overthepastdecades,estab-lishedexpertise,contacts,principles,professionality

andcollegialityinthemediadevelopmentsector.Thesewillstayandhelpustocontinuetheworkthathasnowbecomemoreimportantthanever.

CarstenvonNahmen

ManagingDirector,DWAkademie

DWAkademieReportTheStateofMediaDevelopment

6

Afragilemediadevelopmentconsensusisbroken.Wecanbuilditbackstronger.

ThefallofcommunisminEasternEuropein1989triggeredthecreationofmediadevelopmentasthesub-fieldof

internationalcooperation,aswerecognizeittoday.Sincethen,formorethan30years,theUShasalwaysbeenthe

strongestproponentofthisendeavor.What,then,happenstothemediadevelopmentsectorwithouttheUSasits

strongestadvocate?

Mediadevelopmentsurvivesbyfindingnewchampions:

manysmalleronesandevenimperfectones.These

championscanbeingovernmentsandparliaments,in

philanthropy,inprivatesectorindustriesandcommercialnewsoutlets.Thesectorsurvivesbybuildingpolitical

agreementsthatcanendure.Forthis,wewillneedtomakethecaseformediadevelopmentatboththeregionalandnationallevels,andbepreparedtotemperourprincipleswithpragmatism.

NobellaureateAmartyaSenfirstargued43yearsago

thatafreepresspreventsfamine.Sincethen,thecasehasbeenconclusivelymadethatavibrantandpluralnews

mediaisfundamentaltohumanprogress.

Withaccesstoindependentnews,citizensaremore

politicallyactive,includingatthepolls(Cagé&Rueda,

2016;Gentzkowetal.,2006).Aperhapsobviouspoint,butoneworthmakinginthecurrentcontext,isthatcitizens

withaccesstoindependentmediaarebetterinformedandmoreresilienttomanipulation(Snyder&Strömberg,2010;Banerjeeetal.,2023).Empiricalevidencealsoconfirms

theconnectionbetweenafreepress,governmentrespon-sivenessandlowercorruption(Besley,2002;Freille,2007;Gusevaetal.,2008).

Mediafreedomalsoprovidesadividendtopeaceand

security,bothinternationallyandinternallywithinnations.Theevidenceisclearthatdemocraticcountrieswhich

enjoyapluralandfreepressdonotgotowaragainst

eachother(Nordetal.,2024).Citizenswhocansettletheirdifferencesthroughdebateandpeacefullegalmeansarealsolesslikelytotakeuparmsagainstoneanother.

Thisevidence,andthegrowingsophisticationofmedia

supportpractices,havehelpedtoelevatemediadevel-opmentfromanicheandslightlystigmatizedsub-fieldof

internationalcooperationtoa

morerespectablepositiononthe

internationalagenda.Fifty-onecoun-

triessigneduptotheMediaFreedomCoalition;UNESCOdeclaredjournalismwasapublicgood,likeeducationandcleanwater(UNESCO,2022);andtheOrganizationfor

EconomicCooperationandDevelopment(OECD)issuedprinciplesformediasupportre-assertingtheessential

roleofnewsindevelopment.TheUN’snewGlobalDigitalCompact,aframeworkforglobaldigitalgovernance,hasmadeacommitmentto“promotediverseandresilient

informationecosystems,includingbystrengtheninginde-pendentandpublicmediaandsupportingjournalistsandmediaworkers.”

Bytheendof2024,avisionwastakingshapeformediadevelopment.Atthetopwouldbediplomaticpressuremaintainingpoliticalcommitmenttomediafreedom.

Governmentofficials,mediasectorrepresentatives,and

civilsocietywouldworktogethertofindlocally-driven

solutionstothechallengesofmediaviabilityandpublic

trust.Internationalassistancewouldbecatalyticinhelpingnewsroomstoinnovate,learnandadapt.Directassistancewouldallownewsroomsinexileandonthefrontlinesto

keepinformationflowingtosomeofthemostinformation-deprivedregions.Theentireenterprisewouldbeheld

togetherbytheguidingprinciplesthatarethesubjectof

thisreport,emphasizingcommitmentstodoingnoharm,

localownership,andeditorialindependence,amongothers.

Inotherwords,wehadbeguntoformaglobalconsensusontheimportanceofindependentmediatoglobaldevel-opment.Wehadalsobeguntoreinforcethestructuretosupportit.

AUSwithdrawalfromtheseissueswillweakenthefragileconsensus.TheUN,whichwasalreadyrevaluatingitsroleininternetgovernance,couldbetippedtowardsstate-

centricmultilateralismfrommultistakeholderisminawin

forgovernmentswishingtohavegreatercontroloverthe

digitalpublicsphere(Komaitis,2023).Intheyearstocome,theOECDmaybecomelessbullishonmediadevelopmentandinformationintegrity.Andjustpractically,thediplo-

maticeffortstosupportpressfreedomwillloseatremen-douscapacitypreviouslylentbytheUSStateDepartment.

Foreword

7

Partofthesupportstructurewillsurvive,buttheloss

ofUSsupportwillseverelyreduceitsscale.Priortothe

fundingfreeze,theUS,throughUSAID,theStateDepart-mentandtheNationalEndowmentforDemocracy,was

annuallyspending150–200millionUS-Dollars,easilya

thirdofallofficialdevelopmentassistancetothemedia

sectorglobally.BecausetheUShasdirectedmoreofits

supporttoclosedautocraciesthananyothergovernmentfunder,mediaoutletsthatoperatefullyorpartlyfromexileandcomefromcountriessuchasChina,NorthKorea,Iran,Venezuela,Nicaragua,Russia,BelarusandAfghanistan,

willbeforcedtodownsizeorshutdowncompletely.Inter-nationalnetworksandinitiativesthatsupportlearning,

innovation,cooperationandcoordinationwillalsorecedeamidstthelossoffunding.

What,then,istobedone?

Aglobalconsensusonmediadevelopmentmaybelostfornow,butwecanrebuilditlocally,nationallyandregionallyuntilwehaveasettlementsostrongthatitcan’tbebrokenagain.Theprinciplesforeffectivemediasupportremain

anindispensableguidebutneedtobeinterpretedandoperationalized.

Althoughtheprincipleshighlighttheneedforlocal

ownership,weneedtoreexaminewhatthattrulymeansaswebuildnewalliesandchampions.Inthepast,we’veappealedlargelytoloftynorms,butweneedtospeak

moreeffectivelytoself-interest.

Forinstance,CIMAresearchhasfoundthatveryfewpri-vatesectoractorsgiveconsiderationtothedemocratic

valueofthemediasector,butthattheycanbepersuadedbythebusinesscaseformediadevelopment(Dragomir,2023).Wealsoneedbetterargumentsandbetterincen-tivesforreformersinsidegovernmentstomakethecaseformediadevelopmentstrategies.

Thegrowingfrictioninsomecountriesandregions

betweensmall,fiercelyindependentnewsoutletsand

theirlarger,lessindependentmediacompanieshasalso

beenanimpedimenttopolicywins.Whilemediacompa-

niescapturedbythestateormalignactorsmaybebeyondanyreasonableappeal,otherscanlendtheirstrength.

Thedonorprinciplesacknowledgetheneedformore

resources,thoughinretrospecttheprinciplesshouldhavestipulatedtheimportanceofdiversifyingsourcesofsup-port.Weneednewprovidersofofficialassistancetoenterthefield,andweneedtostimulategreaterphilanthropic

support,includingfromlocalsources.

Theprinciplesalsohighlighttheneedtodirectresourcestocountrieswhere“multipleconcurrentcrises(forexam-ple,political,economic,climateorconflict-related)risk

creatinginformationdeserts.”Aretheremainingresourcesfromofficialdevelopmentaidbeingdirectedwheretheyaremostneeded?

Doingmorewithlesswillbeessential.Effortscannotbe

duplicated.Competitionamongimplementersneedstobebetterdrivenbyanethosofdemonstratingwhatworksindifferentcontexts.Evenbeforethiscrisis,concernswere

growingabouttheamountofinternationalassistance

reachinglocalactorsonthefrontlines.AccordingtooneOECDstudy,only8percentofinternationalassistanceisgivendirectlytolocalorganizations(Piron,2023).Thisstudyfindsthatmediadevelopmentorganizationsare

doingbetterthanofficialdonorsbyre-grantingabout

40percentoftheirresourcestolocalgroups.Localizingassistancebringsitsownsetofchallenges,butitwillbeanimportantpartoftheresponse.

Nationalandinternationaljournalismnetworkshave

proventobeadriverofinnovationandasourceofresil-

ience.Here,wemayneedtoshiftfromaparadigmof

internationalassistancetooneoftrueinternationalcoop-erationbyenlistingtheaidofmediastakeholdersintheUSandEuropeasmembersandsupportersofthesenetworks.

Finally,wemustbemorepragmaticwithourgoals.The

mediadevelopmentsectorhaslongbeendrivenbyanide-alismthatisinspiring,butthatcanblindustothefragilityofourvictories(Nelson,2019).Byseekingchangethatis

incrementalbutresilient,wecanrebuildaconsensusthatthistimewillendure.

NickBenequista

SeniorDirector,CenterforInternationalMediaAssistance(CIMA)

DWAkademieReportTheStateofMediaDevelopment

8

Executivesummary

Keyfindings

OECDPrinciple1

interestmedia

Donoharmtopublic

–Themediadevelopmentsectoris

well-equippedwhenitcomestoriskmanagement:morethanhalfofthesurveyedorganizationshaveeffec-tiveriskmitigationstrategiesand

over40percenthavewell-suitedriskmonitoringtools.

–However,roomremainsforimprove-ment:alackofawarenessamongstinternationalorganizationsofcer-

tainlocalrisksisonespecificissue.Anotheristheriskofdonorsjeopar-dizingtheeditorialindependenceofmediaoutletsbypursuinganundulypoliticalagenda.Mediaassistancemustbecautiouswhenitcomestonavigatinggeopoliticalinterests.

–Intervieweesalsohighlightedthe

riskofforeignfundingbeingusedtolabelrecipientorganizationsasfor-eignagents.Anotherissueisbraindraintothedetrimentofmedia

outletsifhighersalariesarepaidelsewhere,notleastintheinterna-tionaldevelopmentsphere.

–Whenitcomestodiscrimination,theresultssuggestthatmediadevel-

opmentorganizationshaveastrongfocusongender-sensitivityand

diversityinprojectsandbeyond.

However,only23percentoforgani-zationshaveprojectguidelinesfordisabilitymainstreaming.

OECDPrinciple2Increasefinancialandotherformsofsupport

–Thisstudyunderlineshowworriedmediadevelopmentorganizationsareaboutthepersistentlysmall

shareofoverallofficialdevelop-

mentassistance(ODA)investedinstrengtheningmediasystemsandindependentmedia.Thisisconsid-eredespeciallyconcerninginlightofcurrentdemocraticchallengesandshrinkingspacesforindepen-dentreportingworldwide.

–Inwiderdevelopmentco-opera-

tion,mediaarestilloftenseenas

toolsforstrategiccommunicationratherthanasakeypillarfordem-ocraticdevelopment.Suchviews

tendtohinderthemediadevelop-mentsector’sintegrationinother

developmentfields.Thereisaneedforawareness-raisingandgreater

exchangewithotherdevelopmentactors.

–23percentofinternationalmediadevelopmentorganizations’fund-ingisallocatedtocorefundingofpublicinterestmedia.Acknowl-

edgementofmediaasapublic

goodandtheassociatedneedforcorefundingisconsideredkeyforeffectivesupport.

OECDPrinciple3Takeawholesystemperspective

–Thisprincipledemandsaholistic

andsystemicapproachtosup-

portingpublicinterestmedia.Thisstudyfindsthatthemediadevel-

opmentsectorisquitewell-posi-

tionedwhenitcomestounderlyinganalysesofmediaandinformationenvironments.

–However,thereisamismatch

betweentheassessmentscon-

ductedanddonordecision-making.Intervieweesalsocriticizedfundingcyclesofoneyearorlessasunsus-tainable.Theaveragefundingcycleofthemediadevelopmentorganiza-tionssurveyedwas22months.

–Abroadrangeofthemesaresup-

portedbymediadevelopmentorga-nizationsacrossbothtraditional

andnewermediaactors.Thereis

neverthelessaneedtoconsiderfur-therintegrationofneweractorsintomediadevelopmentsupport.

Executivesummary

9

*

OECDPrinciple4

Strengthenlocalleader-shipandownership

–Thisstudyfindsthat,accordingtointernationalmediadevelopmentorganizations’budgetestimates,

anaverageof40percentoftheir

fundingreacheslocalandregionalactorsdirectly.

–75percentoflocalandregional

organizationsagreethattheyare

meaningfullyinvolvedinproject

implementation.However,only

halffeelthattheyaresufficiently

involvedinprioritysetting,hintingatroomforimprovementinthisregard.

–Internationalorganizationsinmostcasesstilltaketheleadroleinappli-cationsforODAfunding.Insome

regions,however,localandregionalpartnershavebuiltupsufficient

expertiseandexperiencetobeleadapplicantsforODAfunding,andthisisworkingwell.

–Thephenomenonof“parachuting

in”externalexpertsintopartner

countriesratherthanmakinguseoflocalexpertiseismuchlessprev-

alentthanitusedtobebutstill

exists.Theresultsshowthatorga-

nizationsfocusonskillsbroughttothetableratherthanontheoriginoftheexpert.

OECDPrinciple5Improvecoordinationofsupport

–Over55percentofrespondents

fromalltypesofmediadevelop-

mentorganizationsagreethattheyaremeaningfullyinvolvedinsectorcoordination.However,represen-tativesfrominternationalmedia

developmentorganizationstendtoseethedegreeofco-ordinationinamorepositivelightthanrespon-dentsfromorganizationsbased

outsidetheGlobalNorth.

–Only30percentoflocaland

regionalorganizationsagreethat

thereisswiftcoordinationofsup-

portbyinternationalmediadevel-

opmentactorsduringtimesofcrisis.Thisislinkedtoaseemingfailuretolearnfrompreviouscrises.Instead,localandregionalorganizationsin

variouspartsoftheworldaretakingtheleadincrisisresponseintheir

regionsandactivelycollaboratingtorampupcrisispreparedness.

–Onaday-to-daybasis,thereislesscollaborationthandesiredamong

donors,whichcanskewthemarketbecauseparticularsegmentsare

over-orunderfunded.Mediadevel-opmentorganizationsaredoinga

betterjobofcoordinatingwitheachother,eventhoughthisissometimeshinderedbycompetitionorbythe

factthatsomekeydecisionsaremadeatdonorlevel.

–Asregardsadministrativerequire-

ments,33percentofallsurveyed

mediadevelopmentorganizations

thinkthatdonorsororganizations

theypartnerwithofferefficientpro-cessesformanagingfunds.There

isanurgentneedtoharmonize

reportingrequirementsaswellastooffermoreflexibilityinrequirementsdependingoncontext.

OECDPrinciple6Investinknowledge’researchandlearning

–Thisstudyfindsthatalmost60per-centoforganizationshaveaccess

tosectorbestpracticesandlessonslearned,andprecisely50percent

haveinternalmechanismstosharetheirownlessonslearnedwith

others.

–However,thereisalsowidecon-

sensusinthesectorthatproducingandsharingevidenceisnotadonorpriority,withslightlymorethan

30percentoforganizationsindicat-ingthattheyhavesufficientfundingforthesetypesofactivities.

–Thereisconsiderabledemand

forannualreportsfromorganiza-

tionssuchasReportersWithout

BordersorFreedomHouse,but

alsoformoreactionableresearchonapproachesthatwork.Amix

betweenface-to-faceconferences,newslettersandmorein-depth

webinar-typedivesintospecific

topicsemergedastheoptimalwayofkeepingthesectorinformed.

DWAkademieReportTheStateofMediaDevelopment

10

√

OECD

Principle1

Donoharmtopublicinterestmedia

71%

havegendermainstreamingguidelines.

56%

haveriskmitigationstrategies.

44%

havegoodriskmonitoringtools.

“Thereshouldbeariskassess-

mentconductedmonthlyoreveneverysixmonths,especiallyin

areasthatsufferfromongoingconflict.”

23%

havedisabilitymainstreamingguidelines.

OECD

Principle2

Increasefinancialandotherformsofsupport

45%

regionals/localsareaware

ofsafety/securityassistanceprograms.

39%

seemediadevelop-

mentwell-integratedintogovernanceprograms.

“Aslongasmediaisthepoor

cousininthegovernanceworldandcomeslowerthanelectionsandcorruptionandtheother

sectorsingovernance,itwillalwaysbelowpriority.”

19%

seemediadevelopment

well-integratedintogeneraldevelopmentefforts.

18%

reportofsufficientfunding.

OECD

Principle3

Takeawholesystemperspective

77%

supportdigitalmedia.

54%

haveaveragefundingcyclesexceedingoneyear.

41%

thinkmediadevelopment

takeslong-term,sustainableapproach.

30%

haveup-to-datedatafortheircontext.

“I》vereadbrilliantanalysesof

[media]landscapes,butdon》t

thinkthatthisresearchisoften

putintopracticeorusedortakenanynoticeof.”

Executivesummary

11

*

OECD

Principle4

Strengthenlocalleadershipandownership

79%

internationalsinvolvelocalstaffinprojectmanagement.

69%

regionals/localsplaymeaning-fulroleinprojectdesign.

“Atthecore,theideais:Nothingaboutuswithoutus.Andwe

needtomakesurethattheinter-ventionismosthelpfulforthe

communitywe》retryingtoserve.”

40%

averagefundingchanneled

directlytolocal/regionalactorsbyinternationalorganizations.

23%

averagefundingallocatedtocorefundingofmedia.

OECD

Principle5

Improvecoordinationofsupport

58%

regionals/localsfeelinvolvedinsectorcoordination.

“Wedon》ttypicallyhavedirect

accesstothedonor,butthe

internationalmediadevelopmentorganizationsfeelmorecomfort-ablegivingusinstructionsratherthanrequestingchangesfrom

thedonor.Thisistheproblem.”

34%

seeefficientprocessesformanagingfunds.

30%

seeswiftsectorcoordinationincrisis.

OECD

Principle6

Investinknowledge’researchandlearning

58%

haveaccesstosectorbest

practicesandlessonslearned.

50%

havemechanismsforsharinglessonslearnedwithothers.

“Whenweresearchatopicandthensharethatinformationwithallies,[…]withorganizationsthatareworkingalongthesamelines,itaddsalotofvaluetotheworkthateachofusisdoing.”

31%

reportofsufficientfundingforresearch.

DWAkademieReportTheStateofMediaDevelopment

12

Introductionandoverview

In2016,organizationsfromaroundtheglobegatheredin

IndonesiafortheJakartaWorldForumforMediaDevelop-ment.FutureNobelPeacePrizelaureateMariaRessafromRapplerwasthere,aswereJustinArensteinfromCode

forAfricaandLeonWillemsfromFreePressUnlimited.AsChairpersonoftheGlobalForumforMediaDevelopment(GFMD),Willemshadsuccessfullyledthecampaignfor

includingaccesstoinformationandthesafetyofjour-

nalistsintotheUNSustainableDevelopmentGoals.The

thendirectorofGFMD,AymanMhanna,hadsetupanewelectionprocessfortheGFMDsteeringcommitteein

whichanewgenerationofmediadevelopmentexperts

fromallworldregionstookover,underthechairmanship

ofRicardoCorredorfromtheColombianGaboFoundation(Lublinski,2016).

Asectorinthemaking—andincrisis

TheJakartaforumwastheculminationofoveradecadeofsectorcooperation,coordinationandconsolidation.Here,then,wasasectorinthemaking.TheGFMD,ofcourse,

hadexistedsince2005,soJakartamaynotbeseenasthesector’sbirthplace,butthereandthen,participantscouldsensethatsomethinghadgrowntogetherthatwasbiggerthanthesumofitsparts.

Nineyearslater,themediadevelopmentsectorfindsitselfatajuncture.AsaddressedbyDWAkademie’sManagingDirectorCarstenvonNahmenintheForeword,andby

NickBenequista,SeniorDirectorofthedormantthinktankCenterforInternationalMediaAssistance(CIMA),inhis

introductoryarticle,thewithdrawalofUSfundingishavingdireconsequencesformediadevelopmentworldwide.

Almostconcurrently,thesectorhasachieved,underthe

1Fordonors,pleaserefertoGFMD》sforthcomingdonorsurvey,forthemediasector,turntoUNESCO》sforthcomingWorldTrendsinFreedomofExpressionandMediaDevelopmentreport.

leadershipofCIMAandGFMD,animportantmilestone

inthattheOECDin2024publishedtheDevelopment

CooperationPrinciplesforRelevantandEffectiveSupport

toMediaandtheInformationEnvironment(OECD,2024).

Themultilateralrecognitionofthesector’ssupportfor

freedomofexpression,ruleoflaw,goodmediaeducation,viablemediabusinessmodels,capacitiesofjournalistsandmediamanagers,aswella