Global Media and the Development Story

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A vibrant media is indispensable for development. By shining a spotlight on policy debates, disseminating research results, and holding governments accountable, journalists play a critical role in the decisionmaking process. At the same time, they sometimes miss—or misinterpret—important stories. Additionally, reporters may face a variety of obstacles, from budget cutbacks to unsympathetic editors.

We asked a prominent journalist to write an article sharing his perceptions—based on more than a decade of reporting development stories for The Wall Street Journal and other influential outlets—on the strengths and weaknesses of media coverage of these issues. We also asked him to offer his recommendations for improving coverage. In order to get perspectives from around the world, we asked six additional journalists, spanning the globe from Argentina to Japan, to provide their own observations. We hope that the insights and suggestions from these essays will spur a deeper examination of how to enhance the media's contribution to the global effort to reduce hunger and poverty.

The essay and commentaries are available for download in PDF format as an entire document or by chapter.

• Full Text
  (PDF 703K)

• Front Cover, Table of Contents, and Foreword
  
  (PDF 529K)
• Essay: Global Media and the Development Story: An Introduction
  G. Pascal Zachary
  visiting lecturer at Stanford University, writes regularly about international affairs, and is the author of The Diversity Advantage: Multicultural Identity in the New World Economy
  (PDF 195K)
• Commentary: Too Much Bias, Too Few Resources
  Ania Lichtarowicz
  senior broadcast journalist, BBC, and former BBC World Service health reporter (United Kingdom)
  (PDF 142K)
• Commentary: Political Pressures
  Nadia El-Awady
  founding member and current president of the Arab Science Journalists Association and board member of the World Federation of Science Journalists (Egypt)
  (PDF 19K)
• Commentary: Development: What is the Right Frame?
  Madhavi Tata
  special correspondent, Outlook magazine (India)
  (PDF 161K)
• Commentary: Persistence, but with Insight and Empathy
  Tetsuji Ida
  staff writer, environment, energy, and development, Kyodo News (Japan)
  (PDF 129K)
• Commentary: The Media Need to be Empowered
  Peter Wamboga
  chief reporter, Farmer’s Voice (Uganda), and coordinator, Environmental Journalists’ Association of Uganda
  (PDF 161K)
• Commentary: We Must Focus Again on Development
  Martin Kanenguiser
  staff writer on economic issues, La Nación newspaper, Argentina, and author of La Maldita Herencia, a book about Argentina’s foreign debt
  (PDF 160K)
• Back Cover
  (PDF 113K)

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I have just read the commentaries by Peter Wamboga, Uganda and Nadia, Egypt and I am still reading. I think you are raising excellent points. The thing is we need to find a way out of these obstacles and the sooner we suggest solutions the better. It is also true that journalists often want solutions to come from somewhere else. These innovative revelations should be coupled with more exposure at international meets for journalists and other interest groups to chart a way forward. Excellent stuff I must say.

Fantastic.This is a wonderful initiative that will go along away in unlocking the potential in the journalists in diverse fileds. Media and issues of development especially for an African practioner is a fairly unchartered ground. In the light of the NEPAD concept, there is a lot for us to learn from the website and what others have done. It is important that we become part of the solution of the developmental issues that confront us in this continent and golbally. Keep it up.