How Global Organizations Support Local Efforts for Media Pluralism: Insights From Contemporary Latin America

• In Event: Development Assistance and Independent Journalism: A Research Network Discussion

Abstract

There has recently been growing academic interest in global media development – efforts by transnational agencies, networks, and organizations in support of a range of goals linked to media democracy. It remains unclear, however, why and efforts make a difference. In this presentation, I offer an answer to this question by reviewing the experiences of transnational media development in contemporary Latin America in connection to citizen-led initiatives to promote media pluralism. The argument is that global media development initiatives make a difference when they are strategically paired with local activism. They support local efforts by linking up local organizations with transnational communities of practice, providing funding and/or connecting local activists with potential donors, raising the legitimacy and visibility of collective mobilization, strengthening the presence rights-based framework of public communication, and recruiting international organizations and individuals with “moral persuasion” power. These experiences are theoretically significant for they demonstrate the persistent significance of local activism in progressive policy reforms and the ancillary role of global networks of organizations, technical agencies, and donors.

Author

• Silvio R. Waisbord, George Washington U