The wide-ranging impacts of the financial crisis have been felt around the world. As citizens and businesses suffer, so too do the media who cover them. Advertising dollars have fallen dramatically, print media are hard-pressed to maintain subscribers, and investment in media suddenly seems even less appealing. At the same time, reporters are faced with reporting on complex global financial systems and their impacts locally. In response, IREX has worked with media organizations around the world to teach managers how to better manage their businesses in tough economic times, and train reporters on how to ask the right questions and explain the often complex answers to those questions to their readers and viewers.
In Egypt IREX hosted two sessions in May; one for media managers facing challenges in their business, and another to help reporters and editors better understand their readers’ interests and plan coverage accordingly. In April, IREX in Jordan organized a two-day workshop, “Telling the story of the global financial crisis.” Business reporters and editors heard from BusinessWeek senior editor David Rocks, and economist and financial columnist Dr. Yousef Mansour. Topics included how to clearly explain complicated business processes, and the specific impacts on Jordan’s financial system. In Serbia, IREX worked with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) in March to host a primer on the global financial crisis for reporters. The reporters’ work was highlighted on BIRN’s online news source, BalkanInsight.com [10], and appeared in several editions of the site’s newspaper version. One story, for example, highlighted layoffs in Sandzak’s textile industry and what impact the crisis will have on the industry’s and city’s future.
In Armenia, IREX supported a supplement for local newspapers, called “Finding your way,” focused on how the economic crisis is impacting the average Armenian and provided practical tips for economic survival, including advice on job training, obtaining small business loans, and using a bartering system. In addition, the supplement discussed issues related to migration and its impact on local economies. To prepare reporters for this supplement, in February IREX hosted a two-day symposium, “Advanced coverage of socio-economic issues and migration.” During the symposium, representatives of partner media outlets familiarized participants with the work of the Eurasia Foundation’s Migration and Returnees’ Research Centers in the regions and the effect migration has on families and communities, emphasizing its particular impact on social programs and economic growth.
The crisis has also had a major impact on the advertising market and, consequently, media businesses. In Russia, IREX grantee the Fund for Regional Press Support (FRPS), conducted a two-day training program in March on crisis management for print media in the Volga region. Regional newspapers there are especially vulnerable to the crisis, as their financial security is closely tied to local industrial businesses, which have slowed production in the wake of the crisis. FRPS’ training sessions drew significant attention as more then 20 senior managers from local newspapers attended the event to learn about best practices among international print media in an effort to adapt to the economic downturn and to share their own survival strategies.
At the Russia training session, most of the work focused on attracting additional sources of advertising revenues and cutting costs. FRPS shared knowledge they gained during their partnership with U.S. newspaper associations as part of the USAID-funded and IREX-administered International Media Partnerships Program (IMPP) [14]. “I will begin using the strategies learned at this training, especially (what I learned about) segmentation of the advertising market and staff retention techniques starting tomorrow,” said Oksana Shykhareva, the commercial director of newspaper Kopeechka in Izhevsk, “The U.S. experience allowed us to look at our realities differently and re-evaluate our priorities.”
Similarly, in March IREX organized several training sessions and on-site consultations with local radio stations around Serbia. Topics included creative approaches to advertising, debt collection, and client needs assessments. In addition, IREX hosted a separate event for Serbian media associations to discuss the impact of falling revenues on media outlets and how this may impact the associations’ future work. The decline in broadcast advertising, in particular, has made it extremely difficult for broadcasters to pay mandatory Broadcasting Agency (RBA) fees which are necessary to operate in Serbia. The associations formed two working groups to tackle the most pressing needs and submitted draft proposals for events on local media sustainability; plans to lobby the Serbian government and related institutions about RBA, VAT, and copyright fees; and other issues such as ensuring the continued privatization process and advancing new media use.
IREX offices around the world continue to design and plan similar training sessions for reporters, media managers, and media associations as the world continues to grapple with the wide-ranging impacts of the financial crisis.