[Commlist] New book: The Sustainability Imperative in Media Development

NEW BOOK

"The Sustainability Imperative in Media Development : A Critical 
Analysis of a Self-Serving Myth" has just been published and is 
available at https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-83659-6 
<https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-83659-6>

This book critically examines how the media assistance and broader 
'development' sector have appropriated the catch-all concept of 
sustainability to suit their agendas.

Analysing 289 project evaluations conducted globally between 1999 and 
2019, it scrutinizes the tacit discourses underpinning what Bourdieu 
termed “the imperialism of the universal” in fostering media systems in 
the global South. Breaking away from the comforting narratives that have 
long shaped the sector, this thought-provoking work challenges the 
conventional wisdom about why media development struggles.

It argues that the sector’s persistent crises cannot be fully understood 
through the conventional explanations of external pressures, political 
hostility, or digital disruption alone. Instead, it contends that the 
very notion of "sustainability" — long positioned as both the goal and 
the measure of success — has evolved into a self-serving and largely 
unexamined myth that obscures deeper systemic challenges. By questioning 
the assumed universality and efficacy of externally supported media 
interventions, the book reveals the limitations of existing frameworks 
and calls into question the sector’s often-idealized narratives about 
its role and influence.

Rather than offering a manifesto devoid of constructive alternatives, 
/The Sustainability Imperative in Media Development/ proposes a 
reimagining of the very foundations of media action. Through incisive 
analysis and a deconstruction of widely accepted development dogmas, the 
author reveals how entrenched ideas about media assistance have not only 
shaped misguided strategies — increasingly weakened by populism and new 
entrants to the sector — but have also masked the true complexity of 
local media ecosystems. This book dismantles the illusion of universal 
solutions, highlighting the need for a more honest and contextually 
grounded conversation about the social impact of media action.

*Leroy, M. (2025). The Sustainability Imperative in Media Development. A 
Critical Analysis of a Self-Serving Myth. Cham: Springer Nature 
Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-83659-6 
<https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-83659-6>*



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