Media Sector Development Working Group

This working group considers the efforts of actors around the globe to shape the laws and institutions that determine how media systems change and develop. These efforts encompass a myriad of activities—policy advocacy, training and capacity building for journalists, the formation of professional associations, the reform of public service media, among others—and constitute a field of practice and international cooperation known as “media sector development.” Equitable access to information, good governance, democracy, civic rights, cultural rights, communication power, and poverty eradication are all cited among the justifications for media sector development efforts, with implications for how this work is supported and carried out. 

The Working Group has two objectives. The first is to offer a space to debate key and emerging issues facing the  sector’s development. The Working Group aims to probe, unpack, and reshape the ideas underpinning media development. At the same time, this working group will have an explicit focus on building a bridge between concepts and action, drawing from interdisciplinary perspectives and co-created knowledge to inform and support advocacy strategies, approaches to international cooperation, policy reforms, and other interventions by local, national, and international actors. The working group provides an opportunity to harness the of IAMCR network for academic-practitioner collaborations that will help support and inspire evidence, research, and data that can be leveraged to support media development. The Media Sector Development Working Group aims to promote a bottom-up approach to media development that recognizes and supports the agency of citizens and civil society to shape broadcast, print, and digital media at multiple levels. 

Co-Chair: Nicholas Nick Benequista <nbenequista [at] gmail.com>
Co-Chair: Susan Abbott <susanabbott1 [at] gmail.com>
Vice-Chair: Winston Mano <W.Mano [at] westminster.ac.uk>
Vice-Chair: Jairo Lugo-Ocando <jairo.lugo-ocando [at] northwestern.edu>

See the list of all current members of the Media Sector Development Working Group. For more information about a given member, go to https://iamcr.org/members-contact (accessible only to IAMCR members).

To join the Media Sector Development Working Group, login to your account and select My Sections and Working Groups from the menu. A number of IAMCR sections and working groups send notices and other information exclusively to their members. IAMCR members can join up to three sections or working groups.

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