EFFECTIVE SUPPORT TO MEDIA AND THE INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT
Introduction
Democracy depends on a well-informed public. Freedom of expression, media independence and access to information are the cornerstones of democracy. The ability of citizens to receive accurate and unbiased information is fundamental for making healthy political and economic decisions, building fair and just societies, and pursuing meaningful and sustainable development and peace. This ability, in turn, requires journalists who can safely produce quality content irrespective of gender, media outlets that can operate with sufficient resources and without undue interference, and information ecosystems1 predicated upon human rights-respecting frameworks, gender equality and the ethical use of technology.
A well-functioning independent media system is critical to sustainable social and economic development, and a bulwark of peaceful, economically prosperous societies. Greater citizen engagement, stronger accountability and lower corruption are all attributable to the presence of professional news media. A vibrant news sector is also fundamental as the first line of defence against democratic backsliding and autocratisation, whose first step is often to undermine media freedom and financial viability. Credible news media provide sunlight on critical social, economic and political issues to ensure a well-informed civil society and accountability of industry and private interests.
International norms have long recognised the importance of freedom of expression and of the media, including in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, especially Article 19; the General Comment on Article 19: freedoms of opinion and expression; the 1991 Windhoek Declaration for the Development of a Free, Independent and Pluralistic Press and subsequent declarations; and various other instruments at the global and regional levels, including target 16.10 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
In 2014, the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a series of guidelines on Accountability and Democratic Governance: Orientations and Principles for Development. Targeting the development assistance community, the guidelines aimed to inspire “new approaches to risk-taking, analysis and programming around systems of accountability and ‘do not harm’ efforts in political engagement.” In addition to areas such as elections, political parties, and parliaments, the guidelines included a dedicated chapter on media assistance that acknowledged the central and powerful role of the media and advocated several strategic principles for incorporating media assistance into the larger framework of development assistance.
Much has changed in the almost 10 years since the principles were first introduced. A confluence of financial, social, political, and technological forces now poses an unprecedented threat to media as a democratic institution, journalism as a profession, and information as a public good. In particular, the rise of new technologies, including social media has had far-reaching consequences on information ecosystems. The current global information ecosystem is increasingly dominated by non-traditional media, which has positively affected vibrant public debate but has also facilitated a significant rise in mis- and disinformation and hate speech. The new information environment has also led to a collapse of the traditional business model for journalism. Taken together with state capture of media interests, threats to journalist safety, declining public trust in journalism, and growing authoritarianism, these trends pose an existential threat to free and independent media and information integrity and with them, to democracy itself.
The complex and interrelated nature of these challenges requires a fresh and sophisticated approach to development assistance. There is a need for more and better support for media and journalism, contextualised within a larger information ecosystem. The 2014 principles viewed media assistance as support for “editorial independence, financial sustainability, professional capacity, and a lively civil society.” Nearly 10 years later, the urgency of needs calls for a renewed and increased commitment to assistance that represents a more strategic response to current challenges, takes a more holistic, systemic approach to public interest media, and balances growing tensions between addressing mis/disinformation and respecting freedom of expression and opinion-building – all within the context of ever-evolving information technologies, including artificial intelligence.
This document puts forward a first draft of some proposed principles which set out what relevant and effective support to media and the information environment might look like. The target audience for these principles is first and foremost development agencies within the DAC, whose 32 members include many of the world’s largest providers of ODA.
In addition, it addresses media support practitioners and organizations, local media outlets, national governments, parliaments, political parties, international policymakers, private foundations investors, and other stakeholders engaged in the future of media and media support. The principles derive from and respond to consultations conducted by the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), which between December 2021 and June 2022 gathered input from representatives from bilateral donor agencies, implementing organizations, civil society groups, and media development experts via nearly 200 in-person and online discussions.
In November 2022, the DAC Network on Governance agreed to develop new principles, recognizing a need to ensure that the international response to the crisis in the media sector fits better in a rapidly changing information environment. That same month, the intergovernmental panel of UNESCO’s International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC) also voted to endorse the process for developing such principles. This document captures that intent.