One of the aims of World Press Freedom day in May was to encourage us to reflect on the value of an independent media. This is something I've been thinking about a lot recently while writing a new book on media and development and co-producing the video below. How exactly does good journalism promote transparency and accountability? What role can technology play in enabling ordinary citizens to promote good governance
The media have multiple, overlapping roles which are fundamentally shaped by local contexts. Pretending that they don't leads to bad project design and policy making. It also fuels the mistaken belief that access to technology alone is enough to solve problems.
The point here is not that the media doesn't matter for development. It does. Increasingly. The point is that efforts to highlight the importance of the media should exist alongside, rather than seek to obscure, recognition of the complexities of the media's role. Ultimately, it's not helpful to pretend that the media always have a direct and positive influence on development.
In my opinion, I agree with Martin Scott and his final statement of media not always having a positive influence and it not solving our problems. I believe that sometimes media can effect us negatively.
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