media

Looking back on the past twelve months, I am thrilled by the results of IREX’ work and excited to consider the prospects for the coming year.  In 2012, with our generous donors’ support, it was possible to benefit more people than ever before. Over half a million lives have been touched this last year because an IREX’er -- in the U.S. and around the world -- was there to provide support. In doing so, we’ve had the privilege to work with more than 400 local partners in 125 countries.

Ten years ago, Vesna Dobrosavljevic was a budding Serbian radio journalist enrolled in the IREX Summer School for radio production in Kotor, Montenegro.  Today, she is the information and business website editor for B92 Radio (Serbia’s leading independent news outlet) and more importantly, a qualified trainer herself lending expertise to the next generation of Serbian journalists.

Newly released IREX audience research shows that while Iraqis continue to rely on television as their primary source for news and information, social media and mobile devices play an important role in the consumption and distribution of news and information in Iraq.

The streets of Monrovia were bustling at 6:30 that morning. Though Monrovians are early risers, this was unusual for a holiday morning. But of course this was an unusual holiday - October 11, 2011, Election Day. 

On behalf of IREX, I am pleased to extend our congratulations to the U.S. Agency for International Development on its 50th Anniversary. With less than one half of one percent of the federal budget to work with across the globe, USAID has saved millions of lives from devastating disease while helping people and countries develop into more prosperous, peaceful, and democratic societies.

As we approach World Press Freedom Day on May 3 and consider its theme of 21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers, our thoughts naturally turn to the Middle East. Over the last four months, citizens there took to the streets to demand change. We saw two seemingly entrenched regimes toppled. We see several others on the edge of collapse. And we see how news and information has broken free of the control of these regimes.

On January 24 2011, terrorists attacked Moscow’s largest airport killing more than 30 people and injuring over 100. This tragic event yet again showed that Russia is still not a safe country. But it also became an example of how the Russian media environment is being reshaped by blogs and social media.

Ali Al-Mutlbi, IREX’s Senior Media Coordinator based in Najaf, tells us about a local newspaper salesman trying to make ends meet selling papers on the street in a post-Saddam Iraq. The story reflects the difficulties facing many Iraqis today. For those seeking to help develop a vibrant media sector in Iraq, it reminds us that the media is more than journalism, but rather helps generate income for many people up and down the economic ladder.

I recently participated in a roundtable, "Old and New Media in Russia Today," at the Annual Convention of the Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS). The conference brings together political science, history, language, humanities, and other scholars and practitioners in the areas of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies from around the world.

In a world where —according to tech-guru Richard Graves— “mobile phones are king,” how do practitioners engage youth in the social, economic, and political development necessary for lasting reform? Last week at the “Youth and Media: Capturing Youth Perspectives” panel, four journalists challenged the international development community to find their answer in media.