[Commlist] ICA Preconference: Whose News is It?

*Whose News is It? Assessing the Role and Influence of International 
Media Assistance in Defining the News Agenda*

*Call for papers*

This preconference explores "International Media Assistance Influence on 
the News Agenda" on a global scale. We seek to debate the question, 
"Whose news is it?", fostering deeper understanding of the nature and 
role of foreign media assistance. We hope to attract researchers and 
practitioners to construct a more comprehensive framework for critical 
analysis and empirical examination of media funding and its 
implications. Ultimately, the goal is to exchange and disseminate 
research illuminating the multifaceted aspects of foreign media funding 
from an interdisciplinary perspective.

A significant portion of global international development assistance has 
been dedicated to enhancing the capacity of societies to deliver news 
and investigative journalism. This aid and investment has sought to 
foster journalism in often hostile environments where governance and 
economic conditions create barriers to the existence and operation of 
independent media. Over the years, media assistance programs have 
allocated substantial resources to support media organizations and 
individual journalists operating in diverse countries (Requejo Alemán 
2011, 2013). This backing has played a crucial role in filling the void 
left by traditional journalism business models, primarily rooted in 
analogue environments reliant on advertising which has massively 
declined. A report by the Centre for International Media Assistance in 
2018 estimated that approximately $600 million annually is directed 
towards media development in Africa, coming from both state and private 
donors (CIMA 2022). One could argue that this figure might even be 
higher, considering the undisclosed amounts spent by China on global 
media operations and training.

In recent years, funders and researchers have increasingly collaborated 
to evaluate the impact of media development assistance (Becker et al. 
2019; Benequista et al. 2022). Meanwhile, some scholars have delved into 
how the influx of foreign funding affects the development of an 
independent media sector in the Global South (Paterson, Gadzekpo, and 
Wasserman 2018) and how foundation funding influences the "boundaries of 
journalism" (Wright, et al, 2019). Notably, China has made substantial 
investments in the development and influence of media in Africa and 
Latin America, channelling resources into media infrastructure and 
training (Kalathil 2017; Myers, Dietz, and Frère 2014). Furthermore, 
other nation-states and media corporations like Google, along with 
private foundations, have directed resources into journalism 
initiatives. Despite comprehensive criticism of media assistance, many 
argue that investigative journalism in numerous regions around the world 
would cease to exist without the foreign support it receives, even as 
they express concerns about maintaining colonial dependencies, 
neo-imperialism, and alignment with donor priorities (Requejo-Alemán and 
Lugo-Ocando 2014; Wright, Scott, and Bunce 2019).

While extensive research has been conducted on the impacts and 
influences of foreign assistance on media in Africa (e.g., Wasserman and 
Madrid-Morales, 2018), Latin America (e.g., Morales and Menechelli, 
2022), and the Arab World (e.g., Bebawi, 2016), the growing role of the 
Asia-Pacific region as a site of East-West tension calls for exploration 
of foreign journalism funding in this area. This region has increasingly 
become a battleground for geopolitical struggles where all participants 
aim to project soft power and influence. The objectives and outcomes of 
media development aid have been examined in special issues (Higgins, 
2015; Paterson et al, 2018; Olmedo Salar & Lugo-Ocando. 2018) and in 
various books (Becker, et al, 2019; Lugo-Ocando, 2020), and are the 
focus of an IAMCR working group.

With this context in mind, this call for papers seeks to inspire 
discussions and identify the fundamental elements and issues that define 
the role of media assistance and account for its role, nature, and 
influences. The potential outcomes include the creation of a journal 
special edition featuring papers presented at the pre-conference, and/or 
the development of an edited book. Acceptance into the preconference 
does not determine acceptance into any subsequent publication.

Those interested in submitting abstracts should draw from, though not be 
limited to, these questions and issues:

  * What is the current state of media assistance in the Global South?
  * Is media assistance in the Asia-Pacific still relevant in the
    post-Cold War era?
  * Who are the primary donors and recipients of media assistance?
  * How does media assistance influence news agendas?
  * What distinctions exist in the goals and outcomes of private versus
    public media assistance?
  * Is media assistance a form of media co-option?
  * What is the relationship between media assistance, soft power, and
    geopolitical or ideological conflicts?
  * How is the reporting of climate change and other global crisis
    affected by donor funding?
  * In which ways is (covert) media assistance framed and articulated?
  * How can media assistance be mobilised to engage and bolster the full
    spectrum alternative voices at the margins?
  * What are the historical contexts of media assistance programs and
    the issues they address?

Please send a 300-word abstract to (C.Paterson /at/ leeds.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(C.Paterson /at/ leeds.ac.uk)> and (Saba.Bebawi /at/ uts.edu.au) 
<mailto:(Saba.Bebawi /at/ uts.edu.au)> by midnight GMT on 15 January 2024. 
Decisions will be communicated by 15 February 2024.

This preconference will take place Thursday, 20 June from 8:00 AM - 
12:00 PM at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre (GCCEC). 
Registration details will be posted at icahdq.org.

Hosted by the /Global Communication and Social Change/ division of ICA 
and organised by:

Susan Abbott, Saba Bebawi, Jairo Lugo-Ocando, Winston Mano, viola 
milton, Pablo Morales, Chris Paterson, Herman Wasserman

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