While Azerbaijan’s independent media sector struggles with government restrictions and a decreasing number of outlets, Azerbaijanis increasingly turn to new media as a source of news and information. Social media sites such as Facebook have seen recent annual growth rates of up to 50%, the number of blogs has exploded, and news and information sites continue to expand. Azerbaijan's youth increasingly voice their own opinions and produce their own reporting using these tools.
Improving the quantity and quality of professional and citizen-generated news and information represents the major goal of the Azerbaijan New Media Program (ANMP) [7], a three-year initiative recently launched by IREX under a cooperative agreement with USAID [8]. The project will work on expanding professional and citizen journalists’ coverage of important issues; developing information-based ties among communities, NGOs and Azerbaijani citizens through the development of community information centers; training in new and social media use; and support for innovative applications of technology in gathering and distributing information and news.
Under its previous project, the USAID Media Advancement Project (2004-2010), IREX opened f.y.i. Community Information Centers (CIC) in 12 regional centers of Azerbaijan. The centers provide internet access and training and also serve as hosts for community events. Many blogs, websites, and social networking groups originate and persist thanks to the centers’ facilities. Professional and citizen journalists conduct research, receive training in new media and journalism, and network at the centers, further strengthening their role as a resource to their communities.
Ramin Mahmudov, coordinator of IREX’s f.y.i. Community Information Center (CIC) located in Guba, 180 km from the capital, Baku, believes that popularity of online social networks in Azerbaijan will increase further, “…people use new media sources and social networks to satisfy their needs for news. No doubt that the role of new media in Azerbaijan plays an increasingly bigger role in our society.” His colleague, the coordinator of the f.y.i. center in Imishli, 230 km from Baku, Abulfat Zeynally, shares this opinion. “I am very positive about the role of new media in meeting peoples’ information needs. Traditional media in Azerbaijan is not able to provide good-quality news to people at present, so people turn their attention to the Internet.”
IREX implements the Azerbaijan New Media Project under a cooperative agreement with the US Agency for International Development and with its partners Transitions Online [9], Kiwanja Foundation [10], and Save the Children [11]. Numerous Azerbaijani organizations will be supported under the program.