Moving Media

In this speech, presented at the Global Forum on Media Development in Amman, Jordan, Feek
attempts "to provide a summary of the most compelling case for why media should be a more central part of strategies to redress poverty and make substantial progress towards the MDGs." The ideas
presented are intended to help others in the field to make the
case for their work "with the communities with whom
you engage; the people whose lives you enter and affect; the
policy makers you wish to influence; or the
funders you want to support your work." This speech seeks to offer help in answering the question posed by so many policy makers: "Can you prove that the media
- and other forms of communication - have impact?"



The case is presented in 3 parts:

1. The History of the major social forces that have shaped this world
2. The Data from research and evaluations
3. The Methodologies that underpin the way we work

History

Feek argues that there are numerous examples of the successful use of communication and media
throughout history, and that these may have been underplayed in making the
"case" for the field. He offers examples the media's role in civil rights movements of Martin
Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Ghandi, women's suffrage leader Emily Pankhurst, Nelson Mandela and others.



Data

Historical examples, Feek argues, will not stand on their own in the face of demands for hard data. To
meet this demand, he presents evidence of the media's impact on developmental issues related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Examples cited include India, where a 1% increase in newspaper circulation was found to be associated with a 2.4 % increase in public food distribution and
a 5.5 % increase in calamity relief expenditures. In Zambia, Feek cites a study that found 15% of married women with no education regularly exposed to radio and TV were currently using
contraception compared 7% of those exposed to no media. Further examples address
issues of poverty, education, gender, health the environment and government. In each
area, Feek presents data that can be used to argue for the importance of media and communication in reaching
development goals.



Methodologies

In the final section of his speech, Feek argues that the fields of media development and development communication
are seriously underestimated as disciplines. The theoretical underpinnings, learning and rigour
are not understood by many outside the fields, resulting in a preception of the fields. He goes on to outline the basic tools of the trade in
these fields, and provides references to the resources that can be found on The
Communication Initiative website:

• On-the-ground Experience and Learning - providing an overview of case
  studies and programme experiences.
• Strategic Thinking - describing "intelligent, creative and challenging" works in the field, including such titles
  as "Gender and Media: Pakistan Perspective", "Garage Cinema and the Future of Media Technology" and "How to Start a Media Campaign"
• Theory - ideas underlying the disciple, including Social Cognitive Theory, Social Expectation Models, Social Learning Theory and PRECEDE - PROCEED
• Planning Models - patterns and methods that "can systematically
  guide the planning and implementation of our initiatives." Examples include
  the "Seven C's of Effective
  Communication",
  "Consumer Based Health Communication" and "Agents for Change"

Click here
to download the full speech in PDF format.