Indicators

Development and media development indicators.

This resource page is a work in progress. Please get in touch to let us know what is missing using this form.

Now, more than ever, a clear understanding is needed of how news media outlets can stay – or become – viable. Which aspects should be considered when trying not only to survive financially as a media outlet but to produce quality content and attract enough income to run a successful business? What political frameworks need to be in place to foster a vibrant media landscape?

To answer these questions, DW Akademie has developed a new set of indicators. The Media Viability Indicators (MVIs) provide a practical tool that allow media managers, media development experts, and academics to gather data and evidence sorely needed for more effective strategies––by evaluating individual media outlets or entire information ecosystems. The framework considers a range of aspects covering politics, economics, communities, technology, and content.

The Vibrant Information Barometer is an annual study that tracks how information is produced, spread, consumed, and used.

Information production and consumption have drastically changed since the early 2000s. The Vibrant Information Barometer builds on what we learned from nearly two decades of implementing the Media Sustainability Index. VIBE offers a fresh way to measure and diagnose the challenges and opportunities of today’s complex information systems.

Here you can find a summary of an event discussing how VIBE can be used as a tool to increase impact in development. The 2021 VIBE study covers 13 countries across Europe and Eurasia (Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine).

Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The MDIs: a framework for assessing media development

The Media Development Indicators define a framework within which the media can best contribute to, and benefit from, good governance and democratic development. The MDIs look at all aspects of the media environment and are structured around the five following categories:

  • A system of regulation conducive to freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity of the media

  • Plurality and diversity of media, a level economic playing field and transparency of ownership

  • Media as a platform for democratic discourse

  • Professional capacity building and supporting institutions that underpins freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity

  • Infrastructural capacity is sufficient to support independent and pluralistic media

Taken as a whole, they provide an aspirational picture of the media ecology to be constructed in order to ensure freedom of expression, pluralism and diversity of the media.

USC ANNENBERG - MEDIA IMPACT PROJECT

A 2-in-1 Guide: Impact Assessment & Metrics

Offline Impact Indicators Glossary

pageMedia Impact ProjectpageMedia Impact Funders

WHAT IS MISSING?

This resource page is a work in progress. Please get in touch to let us know what is missing using this form.

Last updated