IREX
International Research & Exchanges Board

Press Coverage of the MSI

2008

Media in "worrying" state
B92. September 19, 2008.
BELGRADE -- No media reform has been conducted in Serbia, while freedom of speech was less pronounced than in 2006.

Improvements, but still long road ahead for Africa's independent media
The Africa Monitor, June 2008
The MSI is mentioned during a discussion on the media environment in Africa at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in Washington, D.C., on June 12, attended by African media experts and local African journalists.

PDFTelevision Across Europe: Follow Up Reports 2008
Open Society Institute, 2008
The MSI is sighted in the Open Society Institute’s “Television Across Europe: Follow Up Reports 2008” chapter on Albania.

PDFFreedom of Information and Access to Media in Russia
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, 2008
The MSI is mentioned in a report on “Freedom of Information and Access to Media in Russia” at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Center for Slavic, Eurasian, and East European Studies.

Supporting freedom of speech and good governance in Iraq
BBC World Service Trust, 2008
The MSI Iraq chapter is mentioned by the BBC World Service Trust as part of their “Supporting Freedom of Speech and Good Governance in Iraq” program.

More Than Just Numbers: Using the Media Sustainability Index to Fuel Development
United Nations Development Programme, 2008
The United Nations Development Programme website highlights the Media Sustainability Index and its function in fuelling development.

Regional Profile of the Information Society 2007
Information Society Portal of the United Nations
The Information Society Portal on the United Nations website highlights the MENA MSI and its findings.

2007

Croatia’s media: arrested development
FollowtheMedia.com. October 1, 2007.
A decade ago European institutions saw Croatia’s media sector as hopeless, with little or no possibility developing to recognized standards. The new century brought considerable donor involvement in media but only modest attention from major broadcasters and publishers. The European Union declared Croatia last November a functioning market economy, another step toward EU accession and signal that the ‘post-donor’ era had begun.

Media Sustainability Index
Yemen Times, Yemen. January 22, 2007.
The creation of indicators and standards has continously proved as a good way to measure development and progress. It is also used as means for comparision and motivation to improve. For example, the United Nations Human Development Index is a tool used to measure development through life expencancy, literacy and education and standard of living.

A Free Press Is an Engine for Economic Growth
Arab News, Saudi Arabia. December 26, 2006.
Arab and international legal and media experts recently outlined international standards to protect the right of journalists to publish the truth and to expose corruption keeping in mind international standards of defamation and libel laws.

Media Sustainability Index (MSI) 2005 Middle East & North Africa (MENA) - Libya
www.libya-watanona.com, Libya. December 11, 2006.
The first Media Sustainability Index for the Middle East and North Africa demonstrates several weaknesses—in particular, freepress protections in the law that are not upheld in practice, and pervasive self-censorship—that are common not only among the countries of the region but also in other parts of the world where media sectors are in transition.

Middle East Media Sustainability Index Available Online Discussion of Prospects for Media Reform to be held November 28
Arab Press Freedom Watch. November 20, 2006.
The first Middle East and North Africa Media Sustainability Index (MENA MSI) is now available online at www.irex.org/msi. The MENA MSI provides the only comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of media development across the Middle East and North Africa.

PDFMedia Matters: Perspectives on Advancing Governance & Development from
the Global Forum for Media Development (PDF Download)
Global Forum for Media Development. October 18, 2006.
IREX Media Development Director Mark Whitehouse contributes chapter on the Media Sustainability Index (MSI), "Indexing Initiatives and Standards of Good Practice in Monitoring and Evaluation."

Report: Eastern European media struggle economically
IJNET. February 02, 2006.
Despite a relatively tranquil year politically, Eastern European media outlets have yet to show much economic independence from governments, according to a report from the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX).

Whitehouse: 'Kada je rijec o kontroli medija, vlasnik je manje opasan od politicara'
Voice of America, Croatia. February 2, 2006.
Irex, americka nevladina ustanova koja prati medije u tranzicijskim zemljama, u svom godišnjem izvješcu o 'održivosti medija' izdvaja Hrvatsku kao zemlju u kojoj je ostvarena najpogodnija medijska klima, u odnosu na susjede te na vecinu zemalja bivšeg Sovjetskog saveza. O analizi za Glas Amerike govori Mark Whitehouse, direktor Irexova odjela za medije.

Quality of Bulgarian Journalism in Decline - MSI 2005
 Sofia News Agency, Bulgaria. February 1, 2006.
The quality of journalism in Bulgaria and its compliance with professional standards scored lower in 2005 than in previous years, to a great extent due to the continuing self-censorship practiced by both reporters and editors.

Irex izdvaja Hrvatsku zbog postignutog napretka na medijskoj sceni
Voice of America, Croatia. February 1, 2006.
Prema nedavno objavljenoj analizi americke nevladine organizacije Irex, u Hrvatskoj – od svih zemalja Jugoistocne Europe, ali i šire – vlada najpogodnija atmosfera za neovisne medije.

Irex: Hrvatska predvodi u napretku u medijskoj klimi
Jutarnji, Croatia. February 1, 2006.
WASHINGTON - Americka nevladina organizacija Irex ocijenila je u svom izvješcu kako je Hrvatska ostvarila najveci napredak u stvaranju pogodne klime za neovisne medije od svih zemalja jugoistocne Europe.

MSI 2004 in the Press | IREX in the Press