Early Development Focused On Radio Broadcasting - August 8, 2022
After Taliban extremists were expelled from Afghanistan in late 2001, international aid agencies planned ambitious infrastructure projects. Effective communication with the population was given priority. Due to high illiteracy rates, particularly in rural areas, radio broadcasting was deemed the "dominant medium of mass information." Plans for radio development quickly took form, intended as short-term compliments to democratic "transition," a politically popular notion but contentious in practice.

Aid Disappears, Local Media Closes Down - July 31, 2022
Unique in the media world are local outlets. These broadcasters and publishers connect people on a real level. National media are great, generally, for big subjects and comprehensive reporting as well as fit-for-purpose entertainment. On the other side, social media is good for fluff and distraction. Local media is at highest risk.

Extremists Show True Color: Dark - May 23, 2022
Several well-known international agencies monitor the status of media workers. From Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) and Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) to International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and others these groups mind the realm, some quite activist. Considering relentless efforts by despots and dictators to control or even stamp out the free flow of information they provide valuable resources to the public and lawmakers. There are, however, limits to their effectiveness.

Media Development: Best Intentions Blinded By Forces Unrecognized - February 7, 2022
Populations emerging from repression and conflict have benefited greatly from media development efforts. Updating broadcast and publishing output, sometimes just getting them started, measurably improves civic discourse. At the same time these programs can irritate if not antagonize certain authoritarian elements preferring their own communication, or even darkness.

Reporting The Chaos, The End And Moving On - January 3, 2022
A shortened attention span is the overriding fact of life for the news media. Place blame on social media, if you want. The average user “scrolls through” TikTok 45 minutes each day. Every item is ”breaking news” of one sort or another. Google Trends enumerated 57 subjects attracting top attention throughout 2021, only 10 for more than a fortnight. Coronavirus, obviously, held attention all year.

With Doom And Crisis Resilience Appears - September 15, 2021
Taking for granted significant civic institutions is a mark, say historians, of inevitable decline. Citations are extensive, from the Roman Empire to the Soviet Union. In post-modern times, dismay at failures of Orange Revolutions and the Arab Spring to stem civic decline is palpable. Causes differ and are complex. Science, physics in particular, grants metaphysical truth. Objects at rest tend to fall apart: the Law of Entropy.

Honor Killings Stalk Women in Journalism - June 11, 2007
Three times in two weeks women working in journalism in the Middle East were reported murdered. The killings are a gruesome reminder that for the many and significant steps forward for journalism in the region; it remains in the grip of cultural antiquities and fear.