page_title: Media independence
section_title: Donor priorities
hierarchical_section_title: Media independence / Influences in media systems / Mitigating political and economic interference / Donor priorities
caption_attribution_description: English: Donors priorities in media development, UNESCO
context_page_description: Media independence is the absence of external control and influence on an institution or individual working in the media. It is a measure of one's capacity to "make decisions and act according to its own logic," and distinguishes independent media from state media.
  The concept of media independence has often been contested as a normative principle in media policy and journalism. Nick Couldry considers that digital transformations tend to compromise the press as a common good by the technological, political and social dynamics that it brings. For this reason, authors such as Daniel Hallin, Kelly McBride, and Tom Rosenstiel consider other norms to be more relevant. Karppinen and Moe state that "what we talk about when we talk about media independence, then, are the characteristics of the relations between, on the one side, specific entities ranging from media institutions, via journalistic cultures, to individual speakers, and, on the other, their social environment, including the state, political interest groups, the market or the mainstream culture."
context_section_description: Donor support of media development and freedom of expression non-governmental organizations can vary widely. A report by the National Endowment for Democracy’s Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) highlighted the swings in funding by tracking United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funding to different regions over the past three years.
  Private foundations based in the Global North are increasingly providing grants to media organizations in the Global South. Such funds are often directed to cover specific topics of interest, such as health or education, and these donations can either support or weaken editorial independence.
caption: Donors priorities in media development, UNESCO
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