[4]The Media Strengthening Program will support Mozambican professional and community journalists and their media platforms to provide high quality information to citizens and promote accountability and development.
The program will promote a free, open, diverse, and self-sustaining media sector. The five-year, $10 million project is funded by USAID [5], with additional assistance from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) [6].
• Support Mozambique’s new and traditional media to produce, expand, and integrate high-quality content
• Create strong communities of journalists, editors, media managers, media lawyers, civil society leaders, and development organizations that work together to protect and strengthen freedom of expression
• Build sustainable, innovative media organizations
• Support improved journalism education to develop a cadre of future media professionals
• Support the role of media in meeting the country's development goals, including in health, education, governance and economic expansion
In Mozambique, a country rich in natural resources but facing significant development challenges [7], the news and information needs of many citizens are unmet. Journalists have limited training and resources and work in an environment of self-censorship. They have few tools to research stories in depth, verify information and ensure balanced and audience-friendly presentations. The professional media is concentrated in the capital, Maputo, and constrained by economic and political forces. Outside Maputo, community radio stations struggle with the lack of quality programming content, financial sustainability, technical capacity, and infrastructure. New media approaches, including mobile platforms, offer opportunities to improve and diversify content, but are not yet widely used.
Mozambicans need quality news and information in formats and languages they can access. They also lack sufficient routes to make their views heard and are limited in their ability to promote government transparency and accountability. A more robust media less limited to elites and using both traditional and new formats could play a significant role in Mozambique's future development.
• Build journalists’ and editors’ professional skills, with special emphasis on health and elections coverage
• Administer an online, interactive Media Resources Clearinghouse to facilitate collaboration and information-sharing among journalists, professional organizations, and media advocacy groups
• Support the Eduardo Mondlane University’s School of Communication and Arts to improve journalism education and build practical skills
• Provide customized business and management consulting for current and emerging media outlets
• Share best practices in community radio management and development of programming to engage listeners
• Award grants to media partners to create innovative approaches to media literacy and civic education
• Provide media literacy and civic education support, and advocate for a stronger legal enabling environment