In the Service of the Public, a new study released by DW Akademie, examines the transformation of state broadcasters into independent media in various countries, including those in Moldova, Mongolia and Myanmar.
Determining whether the transformation of a government broadcaster into an independent media organization has been successful or not can be a challenge. It’s also often unclear whether public service media are the only ones capable of carrying out their public responsibility, or whether private and community media can also take on this role.
The series Edition DW Akademie has just published In the Service of the Public – Functions and Transformation of Media in Developing Countries, a study offering recommendations for future projects involved in transforming state media. The authors take a closer look at broadcasters in twelve countries: Afghanistan, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Moldova, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria and Serbia.
DW Akademie is the Deutsche Welle’s internationial centre for media development, media consulting and journalism and has been accompanying the transformation of state broadcasters in developing countries for many years. “Supporting reforms like these is not always easy,” says Director of DW Akademie Christian Gramsch, pointing out that “transformation processes can come to a halt. As a media development organisation we often have to look at alternative approaches to take.” The new comparative study is an important orientation guide for DW Akademie’s worldwide activities, says Gramsch.
The publication takes a critical look at the stakeholders involved in each transformation process and the extent to which they have contributed to its success or failure. There’s a special focus on analysing approaches taken by media development organizations.
“One of the study’s major findings is that transformations are possible under certain conditions,” says Petra Berner, head of DW Akademie’s Strategy and Consulting Division, and co-editor of the publication. However, she points out that transformations require a long-term strategy supported by all stakeholders involved in the process: political elites, management and employees of media outlets, civil society groups and the general public.
The authors stress that greater efforts are needed to create the political and legal frameworks conducive to effectively developing public service media, and that improvements are required for implementing the reforms in the media outlets themselves. “Media development organisations have often failed to recognise the role of organisational development, and that restructuring broadcasters is a long term-process,” says Berner.
Edition DW Akademie is a new publication series focusing on the areas of media development, media policy and journalism. In the Service of the Public was edited by Jan Lublinski, Merjam Wakili, Petra Berner.
Read the report in full as a digital publication (ISSUU) or PDF.