Participation
Public sentinel: news media and governance reform
How can the news media aid governance reform?
Authors:
P. Norris (ed); The World Bank
Publisher:
World Bank, 2010
News media have contributed to the improvement of governance in several countries through their ability to expose corruption. This book contributes to the awareness of the potential contributions of independent news media to governance reform efforts around the world. It focuses on the performance of news media in addressing the major issues facing the international development community.
The book considers the following three related issues using normative, empirical and strategic frameworks:
- The normative approach looks at the roles media systems should play to strengthen democratic governance and bolster human development
- The empirical approach considers independent evidence derived from cross-national comparisons and from selected case studies. The book theorizes that the capacity of media systems to fulfill its roles is determined by the profession, the market and the state
- The strategic approach looks at the policy interventions that work most effectively in closing the gap between the democratic promise and the performance of the news media as an institution.
The book highlights the role that journalism can play in good governance. It reasons that the ideals of journalism are often challenged especially in states governed by autocratic regimes and those in transition. It documents the many ways that journalistic practices fail to meet the ideals. It adduces evidence which suggests that the performance of the media systems falls far short of the aspirations.
The book makes the following policy recommendations to improve the role of journalism:
- Use needs diagnostics and media performance indicators – apply systematic media audits and indicators. Incorporate media indicators and audits into governance diagnostics and needs analysis
- Reform the role of the State and turn state broadcasters into public service broadcasters and ensure the independence of broadcasting regulatory bodies
- Expand the framework of civil liberties and remove legal curbs on the media
- Address problems of market failure and ensure that media systems are pluralistic and diverse. Strengthen media markets and media industries and support media infrastructure
- Expand civil society organizations and encourage links between news media and the rest of civil society
- Expand public access to the new media and rights to information and build and support media literacy as part of building citizenship skills.
