Widespread citizen participation is essential for sustained development. The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process therefore requires active citizen participation in policy discussions. Yet how can citizens participate fully when they are politically unaware and have never heard of PRSPs? This paper from World Learning examines the key role the media plays in development and PRSPs in particular. PRSPs provide an opportunity to support media development for good governance and poverty reduction in the long-term.
Citizens need timely, relevant and clear information and analysis on political and economic issues to participate fully. A robust and independent media can provide this information, facilitate a dialogue between policy makers and citizens, serve as a watchdog of political processes and disseminate the findings of consultative PRSP processes. In many developing countries the media faces obstacles to fulfilling this role so the people remain ignorant of their potential for political participation. The media needs support, but current strategies designed for this purpose are inadequate.
Governments in developing countries often do not see the development of a thriving media sector as a priority. In fact, many are reluctant to support it as they perceive it to be a threat to their power. Other impediments to the development of effective media include:
- Media is increasingly dependent on advertising and so often reflect consumer or business interests over public information and poverty-related issues. Because of limited financial support, it is often only articles that can be paid for that get published.
- Lack of technical skills within journalism to report on economic and sector-specific issues.
- Poor relationship between government and media, limiting the scope of investigations.
- Lack of alliances between civil society experts and media, which would enable the flow of information.
- Media bias towards urban issues over poverty-related articles which are considered rural affairs.
- Inability of the poor to access media because of low literacy levels, lack of access to media sources and prioritisation of meeting basic needs over processing ostensibly irrelevant information.
The PRSP process provides an opportunity to support the development of an effective media in a bi-directional process. Facilitating media involvement in PRSPs will enhance informed participation by encouraging serious debate and disseminating representative information. The PRSP can also propose legal and regulatory reforms to support the development of an independent media. Other ways of supporting the media to promote good governance and poverty reduction are:
- Empowering the poor to participate by providing appropriate information, a forum for participation and feedback between government and citizens.
- Enhancing information flows around development interventions to improve the media’s capacity for reporting on these issues.
- Increasing transparency and accountability within international financial institutions and improving outreach work to educate the poor about their roles and activities.
- Promoting an enabling environment for independent media, such as regulatory mechanisms, investment and strengthening the judiciary.
- Encouraging industry wide trade and professional organisations and collaboration with foreign media companies.
- Raising the level of professional journalism through educational and practical programmes for journalists, managers and editors.
