Publication

Focused assessment of media development in Libya

Safety of journalists and professional capacity building; a baseline report based on a selection of UNESCO’s media development indicators (categories 3 and 4)
Focused assessment of media development in Libya
UNESCO
2015

Document code : CI-2015/IPDC/PI/4

Collation : 29 pages : illustrations

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The Libyan media sector has the potential to bolster Libya’s democratic transition by providing reliable, unbiased, and timely information to the population and informing and educating the Libyan population about the broader political process. International donors have an opportunity to support the development of the Libyan media sector by facilitating training and promoting professional journalistic practices and a fair regulatory environment that will encourage the development of professional journalism.

In the three years since the fall of the former regime, many international actors have worked to develop the Libyan media sector. To track these developments, UNESCO contracted Altai Consulting to conduct a partial baseline assessment based on the Media Development Indicators (MDIs), whose development was led by UNESCO to help evaluate five broad media development ‘Outcomes’: 1) System of regulation and control; 2) Plurality and transparency of ownership; 3) Media as a platform for democratic discourse; 4) Professional capacity building and supporting institutions; 5) Infrastructural capacity. In Libya, with a view to the current state of media development, 91鶹Ʒ chosen to conduct a baseline study of Outcome 4, “Professional capacity building and supporting institutions,” and indicators 3.13 and 3.14 of Outcome 3, “Media as a Platform for Democratic Discourse” as these two outcomes overlap with the priority areas agreed upon by most stakeholders working in the sector. At a time when Libyan media professionals are working under increasing political uncertainty and increasing threats, it is more relevant than ever to assess their general working conditions in terms of safety and security.