Overview

The Network Media Program (NMP) has been in operation since the early nineties. It has a dual mandate of supporting Soros foundations' work in media development, and undertaking its own activities of media support. The first part of the mandate is implemented by facilitating exchange of expertise between the foundations, connecting them with appropriate foreign partners, providing guidance and advice, and co-funding cross-border initiatives. The availability of its own budget also meant that NMP was able to fund projects submitted directly to it by grant seekers, and initiate in-house projects.

NMP, first and foremost, works in nascent democracies, as it acknowledges that independent and professional media are crucial players in both preserving and consolidating democracy, as well as promoting citizenship and community development,

From the beginning NMP took a multi-faceted approach to support of independent media. It believes that, in order for this support to bear lasting results, it has to address overall media environment in a given country, and, in some cases, region. This means support to efforts of local journalists' and civil society organizations to participate in raising legal culture, especially related to advancement of freedom of expression. This includes public education and debate on licensing broadcast media and reform of state broadcasters into public services. It also includes support to research aimed at highlighting negative effects of media concentration on pluralism and challenges posed by media convergence and digital switchover. NMP also supports local and international NGOs, which monitor violations of press freedom (such as, harassment, physical attacks or legal prosecution of journalists and media, ungrounded refusal of information or denial of registration, illegal withdrawal of licenses) and provide legal aid. The third "pillar" of this approach is promoting professionalism and ethical standards in journalism through financing (and sometimes by devising) a variety of training programs, strengthening indigenous institutions (mostly offering mid-career training for journalists) involved in this effort, supporting emergence of media self-regulation systems (codes of ethics, press complaints commissions, etc.). In some instances NMP provides various forms of support to media outlets operating in very difficult environments, such as disaster zones, areas of unrest or extremely adverse economic conditions.

NMP, within its remit, works on alleviating plight of Roma in Europe, by working with a number of Roma media in South East and Eastern Europe on training of prospective Romani journalists and their integration into the newsrooms of mainstream media, as well as co-productions between Roma and mainstream media. Recently it is also paying increasing attention towards bringing public health issues into media discourse.

In all its work NMP coordinates and cooperates with a number of European and US governmental and private donors.

Since NMP, in large part, operates on funding unsolicited proposals, it does not produce detailed plans of activity for any given year. The projects that it supports, however, have to fall into the strategic directions outlined above.

Highlights of 2006

NMP supported training and networking of media lawyers in South East Asia and Southern Africa, helping to assist in affirming press freedom. Through its partnership with Article 19, NMP also supported a range of media law analyses.

The support for the Arab Working Group for Media and Elections helped them develop monitoring methodology, which was used to monitor media coverage of elections in Egypt, Palestine, Yemen, and Bahrain. In some cases the monitoring exercises were followed by debate at a national level about media professionalism and heightened interaction and relationship-building between media and human rights NGOs.

The Media Program also continued to finance diverse journalism training initiatives in a number of countries including Rwanda, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Peru. In Peru, for example, NMP has supported start-up of a "blended learning" (classroom training combined with distance training) program introduced by the National Association of Journalists and aimed at journalists from outside major cities, who have difficulties accessing formal journalism education. And with the South-East Asian Press Alliance, it supported fellowships for journalists from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. These fellowships resulted in a number of articles, which looked into religions as political forces, which spur or limit development, and influence the political realm in South East Asia.

NMP assisted community radio development as means to promote citizenship and fight poverty in Africa and Asia. In Indonesia, it worked with the radio network KBR 68H to establish an emergency fund for stations damaged by natural disasters. Eleven stations were helped back on air and received technical training. Public service announcements were also broadcast on KBR68H's network of more than 500 stations to help communities prepare for disasters. Weekly radio programs to promote religious tolerance and open dialogue were also produced and distributed throughout the network.

Plans for 2007

Monitoring of freedom of expression. After years of support to press freedom groups in various parts of the world, in 2007 NMP will facilitate a series of meetings of these groups with a view of improving their coordination and effectiveness. Following these events, NMP will convene a meeting of organizations and networks engaged in this work globally to develop more effective cooperation.

Policy research. Using its experience in producing Television Across Europe report, NMP provides support for analysis of public/community broadcasting in ten African countries with a network of African partners. At the same time, NMP is carrying out a follow-up research project for ten European countries on the recent changes in their public broadcasting situation. It is also carrying out a report on the state of readiness for the switchover to digital broadcasting, and its impact in selected countries in Europe. Research into media ownership in Latin America and Middle East/North Africa countries is looked into as well.

NMP also supports five sub-regional consultation meetings to ensure African input and ownership of several important Africa-focused media and donor aid policy initiatives.

Professional debate. NMP supports London's independent journalists' club The Frontline to organize media events and fora on important political, social and media issues. This year within the same partnership similar debates were also piloted in Russia, Ukraine and US.

Journalism training. NMP is engaged in strategic planning with relevant partner institutions to improve journalists' skills to cover areas, such as public health, budgetary transparency and environment.

Please note that OSF London programs form part of the wider program operated by OSI. For further details please use the following link: http://www.soros.org/initiatives/media