New Report by CIMA -- U.S. Universities and Media Development

[Source: Center for International Media Assistance, by Anne Nelson, August 26, 2010]

CIMA, the Center for International Media Assistance, is pleased to release a new report, U.S. Universities and Media Development. The report is written by Anne Nelson, a veteran journalist and journalism educator. U.S. universities have long been partners in international media development, but in the past, universities tended to work within narrowly defined categories of media assistance, largely centered on journalism training.

U.S. Universities and Media Development argues that sweeping technological and social changes have disrupted the profession of journalism, and many journalism programs have retrenched, cutting back on international activities to concentrate on their domestic programs. Others have taken the opposite approach, seeking new international partnerships to increase revenue through grants and tuition.  Much of the most dynamic activity is taking place in university departments that are new to the field of media development.

American universities that would like to participate in this new world will need to replicate some of the spirit of the new culture. The report recommends that new centers for media research and development be interdisciplinary from the start, not trapped within the walls of former departments.   

U.S. Universities and Media Development and a short summary of the report are available for download, along with previous CIMA reports and videos of CIMA discussions and events, at http://cima.ned.org. Also on the website is a comprehensive bibliographic database of media assistance resources with information on more than 800 reports, articles, books, and manuals related to the media assistance field.

See attached report below.