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Middle East Media Sustainability Index Available Online
Discussion of Prospects for Media Reform to be held November 28

WASHINGTON, DC -20-11-2006- The first Middle East and North Africa Media Sustainability Index (MENA MSI) is now available online at www.irex.org/msi. The MENA MSI provides the only comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of media development across the Middle East and North Africa.

The MENA MSI findings will be reviewed by journalists from the region at a program on Media in the Middle East on Tuesday, November 28, at 2:30 pm at IREX, 2121 K St NW, Washington, DC.

The Media Sustainability Index provides country-by-country rankings for the Middle East and North Africa. It analyzes freedom of speech, plurality of media available to citizens, professional journalism standards, business sustainability of media, and the efficacy of institutions that support independent media. The MSI uses a tested methodology and detailed input from media professionals about the media sectors in which they work.

The MSI for the Middle East and North Africa finds media freedom inhibited by self-censorship and free expression laws that are enacted but not enforced. Yet many of the oil-rich states have significant resources devoted to media, allowing significant advancements, including a robust satellite television market that has served as the model for the region in terms of professionalism. The MSI for Iraq details how violence and sectarianism constricts the newly unfettered media.

The MSI, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the US Department of State Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and UNESCO, provides a valuable tool for media professionals, policymakers, scholars, and advocates concerned about media and its role in democratic and economic reform.

IREX will host a discussion of Media in the Middle East, including analysis of the Media Sustainability Index and presentations by journalists from the region.

Media in the Middle East: Prospects for Reform
Tuesday, November 28, 2006

This article was originally published by Arab Press Freedom Watch (APFW) , London