Summary
Supporting Greater Media Independence in the Western Balkans will support outlets to be more financially and structurally resilient, including improving gender quality in the workplace, and will enable them to produce more quality, relevant, gender-sensitive content that attracts and engages new audiences, including women, young people and marginalized groups. The project aims to achieve a level of relationships and standards in which media outlets and journalists report together with citizens, and not only about them.
Donor
FCO – CSSF
Main Objective
The project’s overall vision is to enable a positive shift in citizens’ engagement with independent media in the Western Balkans.
Specific Objectives
The aim of this project is to strengthen the editorial independence of the media, enabling them to provide citizens with a more diverse range of content, thus encouraging open, informed and active discussion amongst target audiences in the six Western Balkans countries.
Main Activities
The implementation of the Engaged Citizens Reporting (ECR) concept with the aim of enabling the production of quality, relevant, gender-sensitive content, which includes, inter alia, more diverse, representative (of different citizens/groups), gender-sensitive, conflict-sensitive, more informative, more scrutinised, facts-based content as well as encompassing standards such as the right to reply.
Training of young journalists with the aim to provide them with intensive learning and editorial support and mentoring in the field of investigative and quality journalism.
Series of legal, technical and organisational assistance and support, to strengthen the media and journalists of WB6 countries, help them become more professional, independent and effective in performing their duties. Only such empowered journalists and media can strive for quality journalism and restore public trust.
Target Groups
Local media outlets and journalists in the Western Balkan countries
Main Implementer
The British Council
Partners
Thomson Foundation, INTRAC.