The Right to Tell : The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development
A free press is not a luxury. It is at the core of equitable development. The media can expose corruption. They can keep a check on public policy by throwing a spotlight on government action. They let people voice diverse opinions on governance and...
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| Format: | Publication |
| Language: | English en_US |
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Washington, DC
2013
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2002/11/2055806/right-tell-role-mass-media-economic-development http://hdl.handle.net/10986/15212 |
| Summary: | A free press is not a luxury. It is at
the core of equitable development. The media can expose
corruption. They can keep a check on public policy by
throwing a spotlight on government action. They let people
voice diverse opinions on governance and reform, and help
build public consensus to bring about change. Such media
help markets work better. They can facilitate trade,
transmitting ideas and innovation across boundaries. The
media are also important for human development, bringing
health and education information to remote villages in
countries from Uganda to Nicaragua. But as experience has
shown, the independence of the media can be fragile and
easily compromised. It is clear that to support development,
media need the right environment-in terms of freedoms,
capacities, and checks and balances. The World Development
Report 2002, "Building Institutions for Markets (rep.
no. 22825)," devoted a chapter to the role of the media
in development. This volume is an extension of that work. It
discusses how media affects development outcomes under
different circumstances and presents evidence on what policy
environment is needed to enable the media to support
economic and political markets and to provide a voice for
the disenfranchised. To this end, it draws together the
views of academics as well as perspectives from those on the
front line-journalists themselves. |
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