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Developing Independent Media as an Institution of Accountable Governance
which unites 98 publishers that include national newspapers and glossy magazines from Kyiv and the regions. The 11-member board oversees six working groups in the association’s priority areas, which include advertising, distribution, and legislation. UAPP is an active member of the World Association of Newspapers. With IAB, it has developed a concept for a highly visible annual journalism competition to reward high standards in professional journalism. The Association of Independent Regional Publishers of Ukraine (AIRPU) unites 20 regional publishers whose circulations are no less than weekly. The association was formed to concentrate on regionspecific issues, to help its members increase advertising revenue and circulation, and to provide education and enhanced technology to create a stronger regional press. Since 2006, Internews has provided support for training and legal activities, as well as some operational support. AIRPU is an associate member of UAPP and an active member of the World Association of Newspapers. (Source: Internews)
Work with universities to improve journalism/media curricula. Some universities might be too bureaucratic or conservative to be effective partners, but some have a strong teaching infrastructure (especially for cross-disciplinary training); resources to incorporate student-run media on campus; and the ability to meet funder standards for monitoring, budgeting, and evaluation. In considering a university as training partner, select carefully; rather than teaching the practice of journalism, some departments teach communication theory, which is less likely to be compatible with a media development program. Consider the appropriateness of the department’s public output (publications, productions); the institutions where students work as interns (or whether they do at all); the institutions that hire graduates of the department; permissiveness within the power structure of the department; whether the university allows for skill development and concrete output; the ability and willingness of faculty to provide practical training; and whether media outlets themselves value graduates. ++ Help instill professional ethics. International ethics standards apply to media development and should be emphasized in training. However, sometimes these ethics are best presented by local experts, in a local context, with practical advice on working toward ethics standards in specific situations. Teaching