Indicators

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.

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.