Minority Realities in the News · Teresa Hanley Minority Realities in the News-Final Evaluation July 2016 v The project achieved increased media coverage of development and minority

T.HanleyJuly2016MinorityRealitiesintheNews-FinalEvaluation

MinorityRealitiesintheNewsFinalEvaluation

TeresaHanley,July2016

TeresaHanleyMinorityRealitiesintheNews-FinalEvaluationJuly2016

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Contents

ExecutiveSummary............................................................................................................................................iv

Acknowledgements...........................................................................................................................................vii

Acronyms..........................................................................................................................................................vii

1.Introduction....................................................................................................................................................1

1.1Backgroundtotheproject.........................................................................................................................1

1.2Aimsoftheevaluation..............................................................................................................................1

1.3Thecontext................................................................................................................................................1

2.Methodology...................................................................................................................................................2

3.Activitiesagainsttheplan...............................................................................................................................3

4.Results.............................................................................................................................................................6

4.1Result1......................................................................................................................................................6

4.1.1Targetsandresults.............................................................................................................................6

4.1.2Achievementsandlearning................................................................................................................6

4.1.3Conclusion........................................................................................................................................10

4.2Result2...................................................................................................................................................10

4.2.1Targetsandresults...........................................................................................................................10

4.2.2Achievementsandlearning..............................................................................................................11

4.2.3Conclusion........................................................................................................................................15

4.3Result3....................................................................................................................................................15

4.3.1Targetsandresults...........................................................................................................................15

4.3.2Achievementsandlearning..............................................................................................................15

4.3.3Conclusion........................................................................................................................................17

5.Impactlevel...................................................................................................................................................17

6.Themesandcross-cuttingissues...................................................................................................................18

6.1Communitybenefits................................................................................................................................18

6.2Gender.....................................................................................................................................................19

6.3Valueformoney......................................................................................................................................19

6.4Partnershipmodel...................................................................................................................................20

6.5Sustainability...........................................................................................................................................21

7.Conclusionandrecommendations................................................................................................................22


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Annexes.............................................................................................................................................................25

Annex1 Termsofreference....................................................................................................................25

Annex2 Evaluationparticipantsininterviewsandgroupdiscussions....................................................29

Annex3 Documentsreviewed.................................................................................................................31

Annex4 SummaryanalysisofOutputsforMinorityRealitiesintheNews.............................................32

Annex5 EvaluationTools........................................................................................................................40


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ExecutiveSummary

MinorityRealitiesintheNewsisaprimarilyEU-fundedprojectaimingtobuildthecapacityofjournalistsinselectedEUmemberstatestoreportonandengagewithminoritycommunitiesintheGlobalSouth.Itaimstoincreasereportingondevelopmentissuesandthatjournaliststoriesincludeminorityelements.Theprojectwasimplementedbythreepartners:MinorityRightsGroupInternational(MRGI),MinorityRightsGroupEurope(MRGE)andGenderProjectforBulgariaFoundation(GPF).TargetstatesfortheprojectwereEU-widebutwithaparticularfocusonBulgaria,CzechRepublic,Greece,Hungary,Latvia,Lithuania,PolandandSlovakia.Theprojectbeganonthe18thofMarch2013andranforthreeyears.Itstotalbudgetforthreeyearswas1,299,172Euros.

Theevaluationaimstofulfilanaccountabilityandalsoalearningfunction.Itassessesproject'seffectivenessinrelationtotheexpectedresultsaswellasitsbroaderimpact.Itconsidersefficiencyinrelationtouseofresourcesandimplementationagainstplans.Italsopresentslearningaboutfactorswhichcontributedtosuccessesandlessonsfromdealingwithchallenges.

Theevaluationemployedarangeofmethods.Theseincludedocumentreview,analysisofmediacoverageandmediaresourcesproduced,twocountryvisitstoHungaryandBulgaria,45interviewswithjournalists,coursetutors,projectteamandexternalstakeholders.Constraintsfacedbytheevaluationincludedlowlevelsofsomemonitoringdatasuchasfeedbackfromcourseparticipantsanddetailsoffilmscreeningaudiencesandresponses.Therewasgoodmonitoringofmediacoveragethoughthisislikelytounder-representmediacoveragestimulatedbytheprojectgiventhediversityandfragmentationofthemediawhichmakesidentificationofallmediamentionsachallengeforallmonitoringsystems.

Themainprojectactivitieswere:

• Thedevelopmentofanonlinetrainingcourseandrecruitmentof277journaliststoundertakethecourse

• Facilitatedvisitsof92journaliststominoritycommunitiesinAfricaandAsia• Bursariesforextendedvisitstominoritycommunities• Participants’productionofover300articles,radioandTVprogrammesforpublicationand

broadcast• ProductionbyMRGIofarangeofresourcesincludingfilms,briefings,podcasts.

Results

Theprojecthascreatedanexcellentonlinetrainingcoursewhichhasachievedsignificantresults.Itsuccessfullyrecruitedawiderangeofjournalistsfromacrossprojectcountriesanddifferentmedia.Ahighproportionof60%ofparticipantsachievedcoursecompletion.Inparticularthecoursebuiltjournalistawarenessandskillsinreportingondevelopmentandminorityissues.Thelearningandflexibleapproachtakenbytheprojectteamenabledthemtoactonjournalistfeedbackandbuildontheparticularlysuccessfulpartsofthecoursesuchaswebinarsandtutorengagementwithparticipants.Theopportunityforjournalisttoapplytheirnewlearningandskillsvariedsignificantlydependingonjournalists'controlovertheirworkloadwithseniorjournalistsinestablishedmediahousesandfreelancejournalistsactiveonlineandinsocialmediashowingmorechancetocontinuetocoverminoritystoriesaftertheycompletedtraining.


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Theprojectachievedincreasedmediacoverageofdevelopmentandminorityissueswithsupported-countryvisitsforjournalistsmosteffectiveingeneratingnewstoriesthatwereprintedandbroadcast.Thesestorieswereappreciatedbyeditorsofmediaoutletsfortheiroriginalcontentandgeneratedaudiencefeedback.MRGproducedalloftheirplannedoutputsincludingbriefings,informationresources,e-bulletinsandpodcaststoahighqualitywhichinturnstimulatedsomemediacoverageintheEUwhentheywereactivelypromoted.Evidencesuggeststhatpromotionismostsuccessfulthroughtargetedmarketing,in-countryeventsandinclusionofcontentwhichhelpsjournalistmakealinkbacktotheEUcountrysuchasrankingtables.Theprovisionofintervieweesandactivepromotionincludingonsocialmediainresponsetocurrenteventsandnewsopportunitiestoshowtherelevanceofthesestoriesandresourceshavealsoincreasedcoverage.MoreintegrationoftheMRGI-producedresourceswiththetrainingcoursee.g.throughmorein-countryevents,morecontentlinkedtotheEUcountriesandmorepromotiontocourseparticipantsandsupporttothemintheirusewouldbebeneficial.Inparticulargreaterresourcingofthepromotionofresourcesgenerallycouldincreasetheeffectivenessoftheseresourcesinraisingmediacoverageandthuspublicandpolicymakerawareness.

TheprojecthasproducedhighqualityfilmsandtelevisioncontentwhichreachedarangeofaudiencesinandoutsideoftheEU.Nationaltelevisionjournalistswhoweresponsoredoncountryvisitsproducedcontentquicklyforhomeaudiences.Internationalfilmmakersproducedhighqualityfilmswhichinsomeinstancespromotedrecognitionanddebateonminoritiesinternationally.Theproductionofhighqualitydocumentaryfilmsisaslowerprocessbutpotentiallyreachesawideraudienceifthereisactivepromotionandfollowup.ThefilmsareusedalsobyadvocacyandeducationgroupsinandparticularlyoutsideoftheEU.However,sponsorshipoftelevisionjournaliststoproducestoriesisacosteffectiveandefficientwaytoensurecoverageonnationaltelevisionoutletsinpeople'sownlanguageandalsomayinfluenceeditors’viewsofwhatisattractivetoviewerswhentheyachievegoodratingsandfeedback.

MRGandpartnershavecreatedanextremelystrongmodelforbuildingcapacityandmediacoverage.ItprovidesgoodvalueformoneyandisappreciatedbycivilsocietyorganisationsworkingwithminoritycommunitiesintheGlobalSouthaswellasbyjournalistsandeditorsinEurope.Itconsideredgenderissueswellthoughsometimesreducedthesetowomen'sissuesandexperiencesofdiscriminationbuttherearegoodexamplesofpromotingawarenessalsoofwomen'sagencyparticularlyinthefilmsandStateoftheWorld'sMinorities'reports.TheprojecthasachievedsomeimpactonpublicandpolicymakerawarenessofdevelopmentandminorityissuesinturngeneratingdiscussionandcontributingtoMRGadvocacyattheinternationallevel.Thesuccessfulmodelandfoundationshouldnowbefurtherexpandedandbuilduponforsustainedmediacoverage.

Itisrecommendedfutureactivitiesconsiderthefollowing:

ð Increasetheproportionofresourcingallocatedtothepromotionofinformationresourcesandmediaproducts

ð Considerfollow-upawardsforcourseparticipantswhohaveshownanongoingcommitmenttoreportonminorityissues

ð BuildoncurrentrelationshipsandengagefurtherwitheditorsacrossEuropeð Explorewaystoshowthecommercialviabilityofinternationalcoverageandconsidermedia

formatsadditionaltonewsð WorkmorecloselywithnationalPlatformsforDevelopmentwheretheyareactive


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ð IntegratemorecloselytheproductionofresourcesbyMRGwiththecoursesuchasbypromotingtheirusebycourseparticipants(pastandfuture)

ð Buildwaystocollectdataonfilmscreeningsandthenumbersreachedthroughjournalistoutputs.


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AcknowledgementsIwouldliketothanktheparticipantsinthisevaluationfortheirtime,interestandopennessindiscussingtheirreflectionsontheproject.InparticularBernadetteSebaly,MiraHadjimitova,CarlSoderburgh,EmmaEastwoodandJasminQureshiwereextremelyhelpfulandefficientinorganisingcountryvisits,respondingtoqueriesandprovidingalldatarequestedaswellasprovidinginterestinginsightsontheprojectandbroadercontextinwhichitisworking.FurthermoreIverymuchappreciatedthetimemadebybusyjournalistsforinterviewsparticularlyduringcountryvisits.Ihopethefindingsofthisevaluationcanhelpcontributetotheprojectandpartners'planningforfutureworkinthevaluableendeavourtobuildawarenessandcommitmenttominorityrightsindevelopment.

AcronymsCAR CentralAfricaRepublic

EC EuropeanCommission

EU EuropeanUnion

GPF GenderProjectforBulgariaFoundation

MRGE MinorityRightsGroupEurope

MRGI MinorityRightsGroupInternational

PUT PeopleUnderThreat

SDG SustainableDevelopmentGoal

SWM StateoftheWorlds'MinoritiesandIndigenousPeoples


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1.Introduction

1.1BackgroundtotheprojectMinorityRealitiesintheNewsisaprimarilyEU-fundedprojectaimingtobuildthecapacityofjournalistsinnewEUmemberstatestoreportonandengagewithminoritycommunitiesintheglobalsouth.Itaimstoincreasereportingondevelopmentissuesandthatjournaliststoriesincludeminorityelements.Itsexpectedresultsarethat:

• Journalistsreporthavingandusingnewtools,skills,methodsandcontactsthatenablethemtoreportmoreeffectivelyonminorityorindigenousdevelopmentissues

• Journalists/mediaprofessionals/MRGandpartnersstaffgenerateadditionalstoriesaboutdevelopment/minorities

• IncreasedvisibilityofdevelopmentandminorityissuesinTVandfilmoutputsintargetcountries

Theprojectwasimplementedbythreepartners:MinorityRightsGroupInternational(MRGI)operatingfromLondon,ThailandandUganda,MinorityRightsGroupEurope(MRGE)operatingfromHungaryandGenderProjectforBulgariaFoundation(GPF).TargetstatesfortheprojectwereEU-widebutwithaparticularfocusonBulgaria,CzechRepublic,Greece,Hungary,Latvia,Lithuania,PolandandSlovakia.Theprojectbeganonthe18thofMarch2013andranforthreeyears.Itstotalbudgetforthreeyearswas1,299,172Euros.

1.2AimsoftheevaluationTheevaluationaimstofulfilbothanaccountabilityandalsoalearningfunction.Itassessestheproject'seffectivenessinrelationtotheexpectedresultslistedaboveaswellasitsbroaderimpact.Itconsidersefficiencyinrelationtouseofresourcesandimplementationagainstplans.Italsopresentslearningaboutfactorswhichcontributedtosuccessesandlessonsfromdealingwithchallenges.Genderwasacoreconsiderationoftheevaluation.

1.3ThecontextTheprojecttookplaceduringaperiodofimportantchangeinEuropeduetotherapidincreaseinthescaleofconflictintheMiddleEastandrelatedrefugeeandmigrationcrisesintheregionandinEurope.ThesecriseshavestimulatedcontradictoryresponsesinEuropewithpublicopiniontowardsminoritiesincludingsympathy,solidarity,andsupportforrefugeesfromSyriabutatthesametimehostilityandprejudicetowardsthesamerefugeesarrivinginEuropeaswellastopre-existingminoritycommunitiesinEurope.Theseattitudesarestillinastateoffluxandthelonger-termimpactonpublicattitudestoandunderstandingofdevelopmentisstillemergingbutthetrendshighlighttheimportanceofthisproject.

InGreece,afocuscountryfortheprojectthemigrationcrisisexacerbatedtheeconomiccrisis.TheEUandinternationalfinancialinstitutionsprovidedGreecewithdebtreliefbutitwasaccompaniedbysevereconditionswhichhittheGreekpublicandmanyinstitutionshard.TheseimpactedontheabilityofthemediatofunctionandalsoontheprojecttorecruitjournalistsfromGreece.

Theprojectcoincidedwiththefinalstagesofprocessestodevelopinternationaldevelopmentgovernanceframeworksto2030.In2015theMillenniumDevelopmentGoalsweresucceededbytheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.AlsotheSendaiFrameworkforDisasterRiskReduction2030andthe2015ParisClimateChangeAgreementwereestablishedduringproject'simplementation.ThesewereprocesseswheretheEC


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andEUmemberstatesplayedimportantrolesandsowerepotentialtargetsforadvocacyandpublicpressure.

Thegrowthofsocialmediahasbeenachallengeforthemainstreammediabutalsoprovidesnewopportunitiesforsourcingmediacontentandreachingnewaudiences.Internationalnewsbudgetshaveexperiencedsignificantbudgetcutsasthemediastrugglestofindmodelsforfinancingnewsintheageofsocialandonlinemedia.Butatthesametime,ratesofparticipationinsocialmediafromacrosstheEUandalsofromdevelopmentcontextshavecontinuedtoincrease,eveninthefaceofextremedangere.g.forpeoplelivinginsideDaesh-controlledareas.Socialmediacanprovidepotentialmediacontentthoughthereareobviouschallengestovalidatesources.Inaddition.socialmediauseiswidespreadacrosscentralandeasternEuropepartlyinsomecountriesinresponsetoalackoftrustinthemainstreammediawhichhasfacedpoliticalpressureandinterferenceinanumberofcontexts.Theevaluationtakesaccountofthesecontextualfactorsinitsanalysis.

2.MethodologyTheevaluationemployedarangeofmethods.Itincluded:

• Reviewofrelevantdocumentationincludingprojectreportsandmonitoringdata,onlinetrainingparticipantfeedback,budgets,projectfinancialreportsandprojectoutputsi.e.briefings,informationresources,reports,films,e-bulletins,andpodcasts..FulllistattachedinAnnex3.

• AnalysisofmediacoverageusingdataprovidedbymediamonitoringserviceMeltwaterandadditionaldatagathereddirectlybyMRG.

• Analysisofonlinetrainingresourcesandjournalists'participation.• ParticipationinaprojectteameventwithMRGIandpartnerstogatherendofprojectlearning.• 45interviewswhichincludedprojectcorestaffintheUK,Hungary,Bulgaria,UgandaandThailand

wellassomecontractedteammemberse.g.forwebsitedevelopmentandonlinecoursetutors.Interviewsincludedjournalistswhoparticipatedonthecourse,editors(whowerenotparticipantsbutmanagingparticipants),partnerorganisationsworkingwithcommunitiesvisitedbyjournalists,film-makersandsomeexternalstakeholdersandassociatesworkingondevelopmentintargetcountriesorwithminoritiesincountriesreportedonbytheprojectparticipants.FulllistattachedinAnnex2.

• Theselectionof21journalists(13femaleand8male)forinterviewsaimedtoachieveabroadrangeofexperiencesandincluded:a)participantsfromdifferentroundsoftheonlinetrainingprogrammeb)differentnationalitiesc)differentlevelsofseniorityandexperienceinjournalismd)differenttypesofexperienceintheprogrammei.e.peoplewhocompletedanddidnotcompletethecourse,thosewhoparticipatedincountryvisitsandthosewhodidnotandalsothosewhoreceivedbursariese)bothmaleandfemalef)differenttypesofmedia(television,radio,print,online)andg)freelanceandthosebasedandemployedinaspecificmediaoutlet.

• TwocountryvisitstoprojectlocationstoSofia,BulgariaandBudapest,Hungaryforface-to-facemeetingsandgroupdiscussionswithjournalists,editorsandprojectpartners(MRGEandGPF).

• Genderwasconsideredthroughouttheevaluationincludingintheidentificationofinterviewees,inprojectoutputcontentandalsoindiscussionswithprojectstafftoidentifyhowgenderhadbeenconsideredintheprojectdesignaswellaslearningfromimplementation.


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Someoftheconstraintsfacedbytheevaluationmethodologyaredetailedbelowalongwithhowtheywereaddressed.

a)Lowlevelsofparticipationinprojectmonitoringbyjournalistsparticipatingonthecourse-only42outof267participantsontheonlinecoursecompletedthefeedbackformattheendofthecoursethoughaslightlyhighernumberof49completedthefeedbackformsentoutforfollow-upsixmonthsaftercompletion.Thesenumbersaretoolowtomakequantitativeanalysesoffeedbackbutdopresentsometrendsandidentifiedusefulareastoprobeininterviews.

b)JournalistfeedbackcollectedbyMRGandintheindependentevaluationpotentiallyfavourspositivefeedbackbecauseparticipationisvoluntary.TheevaluationtriedtoaddressthisbyincludingawiderangeofcourseparticipantsandotherstakeholdersincludingjournalistswhodidnotcompletethecourseandoneswhowerenotselectedforimmersionvisitsinAfricaorAsia.Alsothemethodologywhichsoughttolearnwhatcontributedtosuccessaswellasidentifyingchallengesmeansthispotentialbiasdoesnotdetractfromthevalidityofthefindings.

c)Thereislimitedmonitoringdatafromintendedusersofresourcesproducedbytheprojectthoughmediamentionsbasedonthemarecollected.MRGdistributesasurveytothe700recipientsoftheannualStateoftheWorld'sMinoritiesandIndigenousPeoples(SWM)Report(hardcopy)isbuttheresponselevelislow,usuallyfewerthan40andonly12responsesoneyear.Therewaslimiteddataavailableregardingparticipantsatthefilmscreenings.Othermonitoringconcentratesonmediamentionsgeneratedbyresources.Butthereisnotregularcollectionoffeedbackorconsultationwithintendedusersoftheresources(outsideofthisevaluation).Itwasbeyondthescaleofthisevaluationtoundertakeanin-depthstudyofthelargenumberofresourcesproducedthoughinterviewsdidexplorejournalistviewsofthembutanadditionalmarketresearchprocesswouldbeusefulforMRGtoundertakeseparately,probablybestthroughdirectcontacttoselectedjournalistsforfeedbackonwhattheyfindusefulandwhy.

d)Mediamonitoringdatathatwasavailabletotheevaluationislikelytounder-representmediacoveragestimulatedbytheproject.ThisisbecausesomeofthelocalmediaandsocialmediacoveragethatjournalistsproduceisnotpickedupbymonitoringsystemsandsowasdependentonMRG’sownmonitoringofindividualjournalistsandtheirnotificationofpublicationstoMRG.

3.ActivitiesagainsttheplanAllplannedprojectactivitieswereundertakenwithinthetimescheduleassummarisedbelowanddiscussedinthenextsection.

Activityplanned Activitiesundertaken1.Recruitment • Thefullquotaofstaffandcontractorsneededfortheproject

wererecruitedinatimelymannerincludinggoodrecruitmentoftutorsfortheonlinetrainingcourse.

2.Onlinetrainingcourse • Aspeciallydesignedonlinetrainingcoursewasdeveloped.• 5roundsoftrainingrun.• 277journalistsrecruitedtoparticipateonthecourse.• 167completedthecourse.

3.Facetofacetraininginregionalmediacentresinglobalsouth

• 10sessionsinUganda,Thailand,Kenya,Tanzania,Nepal,Cambodia

• 92participantsintotal


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4.Journalistimmersionvisits • Asabove-thesevisitstocommunitiestookplacealongsidetheface-to-facetraininginAfricaandAsia.

5.Onlineforum • Forumestablishedaspartofeachroundofonlinetrainingwithparticipationinitacriteriaforselectionforcountryvisits.

6.Supporttothosewhohavecompletedtheirtrainingtoidentify,research,produceandplacerelevantstories

• JournalistsareencouragedtoapproachMRGforanyhelpneededtoidentifyintervieweese.g.fromcivilsocietyorganisationsworkingwithminoritycommunities.ParticipantswerealsoinvitedtoanyMRGeventsheldintheircountryandhavereceivedregularcontactfromtheMRGEoffice.

• ProjectpartnerGPFcreatedandsupportedaFacebookgroupforongoingcontactwithjournalistsinBulgariawhichtheevaluationfoundwasappreciated.

7.Documentaryfilms • 4produced-thefourthnotyetlaunchedduetoalegalissue.8.Inter-activemapofPeopleUnderThreatonline

• LaunchedOctober2014andupdatedannually

9.Mediainformationsources • MRGproduced1:- 5Briefings- 3informationpacks- 3annualSWMreports- 11Podcasts- 29E-bulletinswhicharedistributedtonearly5000

subscribers(belowplanned10,000)• MRGincreaseditssocialmediaactivityonFacebookandTwitter

whichcomplementsthepressreleasesandevents.10.Monitoringandevaluation • Immediatefeedbackgatheredfromjournalistsandanother

surveycarriedoutafter6monthsthoughwithlowresponserates.

• MediamonitoringofcoverageofminorityissuesinEUmediathroughMRGEandMRGIowntrackingandcontractedoutmonitoringserviceprovidedbyMeltwater.

• Sometrackingofsocialmedia• SurveyofreadersoftheSWMannually.• Learningmeetingsheldamongtheteamandalsosomein-house

learning/reflectionfollowingresourcelaunches.• Evaluationcommissionedontime.

Itshouldbenotedtherewereafewunexpectedchallengesandsomeprojectdelays.Thekeyonesintermsofscaleandimpactontheprojectarebelowalongwithdetailsofhowtheteamresponded.

a)Websitesandonlinecourse

TheplannedwebsitewithdataforPeopleUnderThreat(PUT)andalsofortheonlinecoursetooklongertocreatethanexpected.TheonlinecoursecontentcreatedbyacontractedconsultantwasconsiderablyrevisedbyMRGstaffwiththelearningthatcoursedeveloperneedstohaveonlinecoursedevelopmentexpertiseaswellassubjectknowledge.Partofthedelaywasalsothatuploadingthematerialwasverytime-consumingusingthemoodlesoftware(anopensourcesoftwareusedbymanyinstitutionsforonline1Fulllistinganddetailsinannex4


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trainingcourses).Whilethecoursewaslaunchedontimethedelaysinitscreationhadaneffectonthetimeavailableforrecruitmentofthefirstroundparticipants.

InrelationtothePUTwebsite,thehostsoftheMRGbespokewebsiteannouncedunexpectedlyitwouldbegoingoutofbusinessmeaningthatMRGhadtocreateanewwebsite.Thishasaknock-oneffectonsomeresourcescreatedaspartoftheprojecthostedonthatwebsitenotablythePeoplesUnderThreatsiteaswellasonthebudget(forwhichtheECagreedtheuseofthecontingencybudget).Theonlinecoursewasnotaffected.

b)Naturaldisastersandcountryvisits

TheearthquakeinNepalinApril2015delayedoneoftheface-to-facetrainingsscheduledtobeheldtherebutalternativearrangementsweremadequickly.ThetripwasrescheduledandrelocatedtoThailandthoughlateronetripdidgotoNepal.

c)Briefingandinformationpacks

ThecompletionandlaunchdatesforsomeMRGresourcesweredelayedduetoexternalconditionsparticularlyininsecureorpoliticallysensitiveenvironments.ThebriefingonCentralAfricanRepublic(CAR)ontheEveofElections:FromCrisistoReconciliationwaslaunchedon9December2015,laterthanoriginallyplanned.IthadbeenintendedtobebasedonparticipatoryresearchbutthedeteriorationofthesecuritysituationinCARmeantthiswasnotfeasible.TheVietnamfilmtooklongerthananticipatedbecausethefilm-makerfounditwouldbenecessarytosub-contractlocalfilmmakersbecausethecostsforaninternationalfilm-makerandcoststheymustpayfora"governmentminder"werehigherthanbudgeted.ThereleaseoftheTanzanianfilmwasalsodelayedfollowinglegaladvicereceivedbyMRGwhichwarnedofpotentialrisksoflitigationifitwasreleasedinitsoriginalform.Thefilmiscompleteandwillbereleasedbutoutsideoftheprojectschedule.TheIraqfilmfacedconsiderabledifficultiesfilminginthesecurityzonebutthefilm-makerovercamethesetoproducethefilmontimeaidedbyMRG'sflexibilityinitssupport.

Thelaunchesofsomeoutputswerealsodelayedinanticipationofpotentialnewshookswiththeaimtoincreasemediacoverage.ThisincludedtheCARresourcehelduntilthecountry'sreferendumandtheSaudibriefing,Stillinvisible–thestigmatizationofShi’aandotherreligiousminoritiesinSaudiArabiawhichwasreleasedwhenthecountrywashighprofileinthenewswithdebateovertheimpendingexecutionofaprominentShiacleric.

Overall,MRGdealtverywellwithunexpectedcircumstances.MRGcompletedallactivitiesandoutputswithintheprojecttimescheduledespiteanambitiousprojectanddifficultconditions.Butthereisalsolearningregardingtheambitiousscheduleofoutputsproduction,importantlytoallowamoreflexibleschedulefordatacollectionininsecureenvironments,alsoforidentifyingstoriesforfilmsaswellfordisseminationtoallowflexibilitytorespondtoexternalopportunitiesandensurewidecirculation.


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4.ResultsThefollowingsectiondiscusseseachresultinturn,itstargetsandresultsandfactorscontributingtoachievementsaswellaschallengesandlearning.

4.1Result1Thefirstplannedresultisthatjournalistsreportthattheyandusenewtools,skills,methodsandcontactsthatenablethemtoreportmoreeffectivelyonminorityorindigenousdevelopmentissues.

4.1.1TargetsandresultsAchievementsagainsttargetsareshownbelowandthendiscussed.

Result1:Journalistsreporthavingandusingnewtools,skills,methodsandcontactsthatenablethemtoreportmoreeffectivelyonminorityorindigenousdevelopmentissuesIndicatorsandtarget Achieved• A1.Numberofjournalists/media

professionalscompletecourseandreportgainingskills,tools,methods,contacts(target250)

• A2.NumberJournalistsreporthavingandusingnewtools,skills,methodsandcontactsthatenablethemtoreportmoreeffectivelyonminorityorindigenousdevelopmentissues-(target200)

• A3.Numberofjournalistswhoparticipateat

least3timeeachinonlineforum(target200)

• A4.Numberofuniquevisitstoonlineinteractivemap(60000)

• A1.277registered;167certified.167successfullycompletedthecoursesthoughmonitoringdidnotgatherfeedbackfromalljournalistsbutcertificationindicatessomeimprovement.Monitoringdatashowsjournalists'self-assessmentoftheirimprovedknowledgeandskills.

• A2.167journalistsuccessfullycompletedthecoursewhichisundertargetbutevaluationinterviewsalsofoundsomejournalistswhodidnotcompletethecoursebelievedtheyhadgainedskillsfrompartialparticipation.

• A3.Totalposts1491from177participants-lowernumberofparticipantsbuthighernumberofpoststhantarget.

• A4.Visits-16,379users;19,031sessions.withpageviews-muchlowerthantarget.[discussedlaterinrelationtoresult2]

4.1.2Achievementsandlearning

Onlinecourseandparticipants

Anexcellentonlinetrainingcoursewascreatedcoveringfourcomponents.Thecoursecoveredminorityrights,introductiontointernationaldevelopment,minoritiesandindigenouspeoplesinthemedia,andlastlycoveringthestory.Thecoursecoveredanambitiousrangeofcontentbutwaswellpitched.Evaluationintervieweeswereabletopointtoareaswheretheylearnedsomethingnewwhichforsomepeoplewasaboutinternationaldevelopmentandforotherstheygainedmoreonthejournalismskillsrelevantto


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reportingonminorities.Adaptationsanddevelopmentswereaddedwitheachofthefiveroundsofthecourseforinstanceintroducingwebinars.Alearningapproachwasadoptedbytheteamwithreviewsbyteleconferenceattheendofeachroundinvolvingthepartnersandtutors.

Theprojectachievedgoodresultsinrelationtorecruitmentofjournaliststoparticipateonthecourse.Atotalof277journalistswereacceptedontothecourseofwhichnearlytwo-thirdswerewomen.Ofthese167(60%)wereawardedcertificatesforcompletionofthecourse.110(65%)outof167successfulparticipantswerewomen.TheprojectrecruitedjournalistsfromalltheprojectfocuscountriesthoughwithmarkedlyhigherparticipationfromBulgariaandHungarywhereprojectpartnerswerelocated.Lithuania,PolandandSlovakiawerealsowellrepresented.RecruitmentfromGreecefaceddifficultiesduetothesuspensionofsomemediaduringtheeconomiccrisis.Theparticipantsalsorepresentagoodrangeoftypesofmedia,levelsofexperienceandemploymentstatusi.e.freelanceorbasedandemployedbyaspecificmediaoutlet.Overtimethepartnerslearnedthattoachievethewiderobjectivesoftheprojectitwasimportantforjournaliststohaveexperienceinjournalismandsobemorelikelytousetheirlearning.Thestudentjournalistsabsorbedsignificanttutortimeincoveringsomeofthebasicsofjournalism.Inadditiontwooftheparticipantswhohadbeenstudentsonthecourseandwhowereinterviewedintheevaluationhadleftjournalismforothercareers.AsaresultMRGreducedplacesforstudentswhoformedasignificantproportionofplacesintheearlyrounds.

Table1:Courseparticipantsbycountry2

Activepromotion,participantreferralsandthedirectmeetingswitheditorsweremosteffectiveinpromotingapplicationstothecourse.Projectpartnermetwitheditorstoexplainpotentialbenefitsofthecourse.InparticularlymakingthecaseoftheeconomicrelevanceofdevelopmenttoEuropeprovedsuccessfulindiscussionswitheditorsasdidreferralsfromearliercourseparticipantstocolleagues.InparticularthepotentialofasponsoredvisittoAfricaorAsiawasanincentivebothforjournalistsandalsofor

2"Other"includesfourparticipantswhowerefromandbasedinBangladesh,Kenya,NewZealandandSwitzerland.TheywereacceptedonroundswhentherewerestillplacesafterallsuitableEU-nationalsapplicantshadbeenconsidered.

05101520253035404550


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editorsbecauseitwouldproducecontenttheywouldnotsecureelsewhere.Someadaptationsweremadeduringthecoursewhichhelpedsupportparticipantstocompleteit.Inparticularthenumberofassignmentsthatwererequiredforcertificationwasreducedtoone.

Participationrates

Theoverallsuccessrateonthecoursewasjudgedtobeveryhigh.Theoverallcompletionrateofthecourse(andthusthosereceivingcertificates)at60%isextremelyhighforanonlinecourse.Itisnoticeablethatanumberofjournalistswhowerenotabletocompletethecourseinoneroundundertookitagainindicatingapositiveviewofthecourse.Tutorsandjournalistscommentedthatthepotentialcountryvisitwasamajorincentiveforcourseparticipation(includingintheonlineforum)andcompletion.Theflexiblenatureandalsoforsome,theinteractivenatureofthecoursewasalsoanattraction.Theselectionoftutorswasalsogood.Participantsnotedtheiraccessibilityandsupport.WhileMRGhadponderedtheviabilityofthecoursebeinginEnglishonlywithtutorswhodidnotspeaklocallanguages,itseemstheexperienceofthetutorswasthemoreimportantfactorforjournalistsratherthanlocallanguagesthoughthiswouldhavebeenabonusandhavehelpedsomeparticipants.

Participationintheonlineforumwasrelativelygoodwithpracticalquestionsandissuesclosetohomeprovokinghighestlevelsofparticipation.Theonlinecoursetutorstookonaconstructiveroletopromotediscussionontheforumwithopeningquestionsandcommentstokeepdiscussiongoing.CertainsubjectsprovokedparticularlyhighnumbersofpostsparticularlythoserelatingtominoritiesinEuropeincludingtheRomawhoareasharedminoritycommunityacrossmanyoftheprojectcountries.Discussionsaboutminoritywomeninthemediaandthosewithafocusonpracticalsubjectssuchashowtopitchadevelopmentstorytoaneditorornamingofminoritiesalsogeneratedhighlevelsofinterest(27ormorepostsperroundinsomecases).However,MRGmonitoringdatashowsageneraltailingoffofpostswithmuchmoreactivityinweeks1and2thanlaterinthecourseandintendedtargetsforproportionofparticipantstakingpartintheforumwerenotreached.

Itisnoticeablethatparticipationratesvariedbetweenmodulesandaspectsofthecourse.Asignificantproportionofstudentsinallroundsdidnotcompleteanyassignments(between40-50%ofeachround).Thisnumberdoesnotseemtoadjustinlinewiththechangemadeonthecoursetoreducethetotalnumberofassignmentsrequired.ThefinalassignmentcausedparticulardifficultieswhichrequiredinterviewswithorganisationsworkingwithminoritycommunitiesinAfricaandAsia.MRGprovidedcontactdetailsbutjournalistsandtutorsreportedthatthesewereoftenextremelydifficulttocontact.ThisisanareathatneedsattentionparticularlygivenMRG'sinteresttobethe"go-to"placeforjournalistsasasourceofcontacts.ItmaybethatmorepreparationisneededwiththelocalorganisationstoincreasetheirresponsivenesstorequestsfromjournalistsorthatMRGneedstotakenonamorepro-activeroleinsettingupthecontactsbutalsowouldneedtobereadytorespondfastoftenonthesamethedaythatjournalistsneedtocompletethestory.

Somemorevarietytoformatscouldbeintroduced.Forexample,eachcomponentofthecourseincludedaquizdesignedtoreinforcelearning.Completionofthequizzeshadaslightlyhigherparticipationratethanassignments(around45-55%).MRGprogrammestaffandtutorsindicatedthattheywereveryeasy.Itwasalsoreflectedthatamorevariedapproachtothequizcouldhavebeenbeneficialinsustaininginterestincompletingthem.Ahigherbudgetforcontentcreationwouldhavehelped.


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Webinarswereundoubtedlythemostsuccessfulinteractiveaspectofthecourseaswellasdirecttutorengagement.Thesewereanadditiontothecourseandcoveredsubjectssuchasreportingonaidanddevelopmentandalsocoveringminoritiesanddevelopment.Experiencedjournalistssharedtheirownexperiencewiththecourseparticipantsandinteractedwiththeminresponsetoquestions.Themodelofthecoursetutoractingasamoderatororchairpersonworkedwell.Participationratestendedtobeover50%.EvaluationinterviewsconfirmedMRGteamownobservationsthatparticipantsratedthesehighly.Participantsvaluedtwoaspectsinparticular:firstly,thatwebinarsgavemorecontactwithjournalistswhoweremakingaviablelivingfromreportingdevelopmentissueswhichisnotthecaseformanyifanyjournalistinfocuscountriesandb)theyprovidedanopportunitytodiscusspracticalquestionssuchaswhethertochargeforarticleswhentheyaresupportedbyMRGorothersandhowtomanagerelationshipswithlocalNGOswhocanbehelpfulinmakingcontactswithcommunitiesbutmayalsohaveanagenda.

Skillsandcontactsdevelopment

Themostsignificantachievementhasbeenthesuccessfulbuildingofjournalistawarenessofdevelopmentandminorityissuesaswellasskillstoreportthem.AtypicalquoteisthisfromaSlovakfemalejournalistwhosaid"IamfarmorecriticalandcarefulaboutwhatIsayorwrite-Iconsiderdifferentanglesandtryandincludethepointofviewofminoritieswheneveritfeelsrelevantatall,andpossible.I’mnotsayingIalways

getitperfectlyrightbutit’saworkinprogress,andIfeelthatthiscourse,andespeciallytheimmersionvisit,haveprovidedaninitialnudgeintherightdirection".Interviewswithtutorsindicatedthattheysawjournalistsdevelopduringthecourseparticularlythosewhobothhadsomesolidjournalismexperienceandwerealsocommittedtothesubjectandtolearning.Journalistsrepeatedlymentionedthevalueofthesupportofthetutorsandinparticularfoundtheirfeedbackonassignmentshighlyvaluable.Thetutorsstruckagoodbalancebetweenprovidingacritiqueofworkwithpracticalsuggestionsofhowtoimprovearticles.Theyalsoprovidedappropriateflexibilitytothejournalistswhowereworkingintheirsecondlanguagesoitwastheirapproachtoastory,journalisticskillsandwayofdealingwithminorityissuesratherthanfluidityinEnglishthatwereassessed.Thetutorstriedtomakeallowanceforthefactthatjournalistscamefromarangeofmediaincludingradio,TVandonlineaswellasprintandanumberweremulti-media.However,onthewholealljournaliststendedtocompleteassignmentsduringthecourseinwrittenformratherthanbroadcastorvideo.

ThetutorsnotedthedifferenceinskillsandstandardsofparticipatingjournalistsfromEasternEuropeparticularlyinrelationtothedistinctiontheymake,ordonotmakebetweenopinionpieceandjournalism.Participants,particularlythoseatearlierstagesintheircareernotedtheirappreciationofthisbeingdiscussed.

Theimmersionvisitswereasignificantopportunityforjournalistskillsdevelopment.Thejournalistsverymuchvaluedtheirtimeincommunities,thefreedomtheyhadtoaskquestionsandgoodpreparationbyMRGandlocalpartnersinsettingtheseup.Manyfeltthattheface-to-facetraininginAfricaandAsiatendedtobearepeatoflearningtheyhadalreadydoneonlineandinresponseMRGreducedthistogivemoretimeatcommunitylevel.However,tutorsjudgedsomeofthetrainingtobestillneedede.g.regardingculturalissuesofinterviewsatcommunitylevelwhichwereincorporatedintomoreinformalsessionsdiscussingculturaldosanddon'tswhichwasvaluedbyparticipants.Journalistsvaluedmeetingtheircounterpartsinlocalmediaaswellasthecommunityvisits.Someparticipantshavemaintainedcontactswithotherjournalistsandsometimesthelocalpartnerforfuturestories.


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EvaluationinterviewswithjournalistsconfirmedMRGownmonitoringwhichconsistentlyshowsjournalistsjudgetheirownskillsinreportingonminorityissuestohavedeveloped..MRGEgatheredfeedbackfromjournalistssixmonthsafteroftheircoursecompletionandalsoattheendoftheirimmersionvisits(onlyAsiadatawasavailableforvisits).Therewasnobaselinedatatobeabletovalidatethisself-assessmentbuttutorcommentswerealsopositiveaboutthemajorityofparticipants'progress.Inaddition,externalstakeholderssuchasthoserunningnationalplatformsfordevelopmentcommentedonthedepthtothequestioningof"MRGjournalists"whohadcompletedthecoursecomparedtootherjournalistsintheircountry.

Theevaluationfoundthatcourseparticipants'abilitytoapplythenewknowledgeandskillshasvarieddependinglargelyontheirpositioninthemediaandeditorialprioritiesoftheoutletsinwhichtheywork.ManyhavebeenusingtheirnewskillsinreportingonminorityissuesinEuropeparticularlyasthemigrationcrisishascontinuedacrossEurope.Evidencesuggestsatrendwithmoreseniorstaffabletoapplytheskillsmoreeffectivelyandtheycontinuetowriteaboutminorityissuesmorethanjuniorstaff.Freelancersorotherswritinginonlineresourcesalsohavemorepoweroverthestoriestheychoosetoproduceandhavecontinuedtousethenewskills.Therewasasmallnumberofjournalistsofthoseinterviewedwhoreportedtheyhadnothadopportunitytousethenewskillsorcontactsbecauseoftheirroleandmediaoutlet'spriorities.Theroleofeditorsandtheirsupport,orlackofwaskeyinthis.Oneofthekeyimpedimentshasbeeneditors’viewsthatreadersarenotinterestedinthesestoriesparticularlywhentheydonothavetheaddedattractionofstoriesgathereddirectlyfromthegroundwhichisthecaseoncetheimmersionvisitisover.

Akeybenefitofthecoursethatparticipantsreportedwastheirabilitytopitchstoriestoeditorsmoreeffectivelyaswellassustainedbenefitssuchasnewcontacts.Mostjournalistshavemaintainedtheresources,areusingtipsaboutsourcesofdataandcontactsmadeparticularlyduringcountryvisitsarebeingsustained.Furthermore,journalistswhohadtravelledwereoftenincontactwitheachotherandappreciatedthisexpansionoftheirnetworkwithinEurope.

4.1.3ConclusionTheprojectcreatedanimpressiveinteractive,onlinetrainingresourcewhichachievedverygoodresultsintermsofjournalistrecruitment,successfulcoursecompletionandinparticularinbuildingjournalistawarenessandskillsinreportingondevelopmentandminorityissues.TheabilityofjournalisttoapplytheirnewlearningandskillsvariedsignificantlythoughwasconsistentlyusedbymostinreportingonminoritiesinEurope.Thosewhowereinmoreseniorpositionsorfreelanceandwithmorecontrolonwhattheychoosetoreporthadhigherlevelsofuse.

4.2Result2Thesecondintendedresultoftheprojectisthatjournalists,mediaprofessionals,MRGandpartnersstaffgenerateadditionalstoriesaboutdevelopment/minoritiesinthemedia.Resultsagainsttargetsareshownbelowandthendiscussed.

4.2.1TargetsandresultsJournalists/mediaprofessionals/MRGandpartnersstaffgenerateadditionalstoriesaboutdevelopment/minoritiesIndicatorsandtarget Achieved


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Journalists/mediaprofessionals/MRGandpartnersstaffgenerateadditionalstoriesaboutdevelopment/minorities.Target900accurateandsensitivementionsonminorityanddevelopmentissuesarisingfromthisprojectinmediareachingEU

Journalistsparticipatingonthecoursegeneratedatleast316storiesprintedorbroadcastinthemediaThetotalnumberofmentionsofminorityorminoritiesintheEUmedialinkedtotrainees’andMRGstaffeffortseachyearis:Year1212Year2380Year3335Totalof927-exceedingtargetAnalysisofaselectionofarticlesproducedbycourseparticipantsshowthemtobesensitive.

4.2.2AchievementsandlearningTheprojectachieveditstargetwhichwastogenerate900accurateandsensitivementionsonminorityanddevelopmentissuesinmediareachingtheEU.MRGI'sownmonitoringidentified927EUmentionsofminoritiesintheEUmedialinkedtotrainees’andMRGstaffeffortsintheprojecttimeperiod.MRGE'smonitoringofthecourseparticipantsidentifiedatleast316articles,interviewsorbroadcastsbythecourseparticipantsinthemediainthistimeperiod.Asthetablebelowshows,countryvisitsbyjournalistswhohadcompletedthecourse,whichhadarequirementtoproduceandpublishorbroadcastthreeoutputs,wasamajorcatalystfornewoutput.Theonlinecoursealonebycontrastgeneratedonly47articles.However,itshouldbenotedthatthecourseparticipantnumbersmaywellunder-estimatetheoveralloutputofjournalistsgiventhattherearealsosomesocialmediaoutputsnotcoveredandalsonotalljournalistsormonitoringmechanismsreport100%ofmediacoverage.

Table2:Articlespublished/broadcastbycourseparticipants

Year Training BulgariaCzechRepublic Greece Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland Slovakia SUM

2016

Face-to-face2016 10 3 1 6 2 8 6 2 38Onlinetraining 0

2015

Face-to-face2015 19 9 6 12 6 37 18 30 137Onlinetraining 8 8

2014

Face-to-face2014 37 3 0 19 0 23 14 3 99Onlinetraining 5 1 9 1 6 2 10 34

79 15 8 46 9 74 40 45 316


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Evaluationanalysisofthemediaoutletsthatpublishedtheoutputsshowthatsomereachhighnumbersofreadersandviewersandspanarangeofpoliticalperspectives.MediaoutletsincludingcoverageincludePravdainSlovakia,TrudinBulgaria,BulgarianNationalTelevision,LithuanianNationalRadioandHIrTVinHungary.Interestingly,somejournalistsandMRGEpointedtoatactictoovercomesomenewseditors'resistancetoincludedevelopmentandnewscoveragebyapproachingothertypesofoutletsuchaswomenandtravelpageswhichhadsomesuccess.WhilethejournalistswerelinkedwithsomeofthemediaoutletswithlargerreachitmustbenotedthatreadernumbersforprintoutletshavebeensignificantlyhitinthepastdecadewithforinstancethenewspaperNepszabasaginHungarydroppingto40,000readersfromahighof70,000inearlieryears.Manyofthejournalistsintervieweddidnothaveaclearideaofthereachorreadershipoftheironlineoutlets.Foranyfutureprogrammeitwouldbeusefultogatherthistypeofdatafromjournalists.Furthermore,giventhemorefragmentednatureofthemedianowitisimportanttoreachahighnumberofoutletstoreachhighnumbersofaudience.Thisprojectdidengagewithalargenumberandwiderangeofoutletsfromacrossthemediaparticularlyinthecountrieswithhighnumbersofparticipants.

Themostsuccessfulcatalystsforadditionalmediacontentweretheimmersionvisitsincludingthebursaries.Itwasarequirementofthesponsoredcountrytripthateachjournalistproducethreeoutputsupontheirreturn.Allthosewhowereinterviewedhadachievedpublicationandbroadcastofatleasttwo.MRG'sownmonitoringshowedthatthemajorityofjournalistsdidproducetherequiredoutputthoughtherewereexceptions.Somejournalistswereveryactiveontheirreturnandinadditiontotheirownarticlesandprogrammesparticipatedinradioandtelevisioninterviews,gavetalksateventsandtherewasoneexampleofajournalistfund-raisingforthecommunityshevisitedindicatingtheimpactthevisithadonher.TheoccurrenceofEUYearofInternationalDevelopmentin2015helpedtosupporttheseactivitieswithotherNGOsandthePlatformsforInternationalDevelopmentbeingactiveinpromotingawarenessofdevelopmentnotablyinLithuaniaandSlovakia.

Thecontentproducedhasoftenbeenveryhighquality.ThisisillustratedbytheawardswonbyjournalistsfortheircontentsuchaBulgarianTVawardandalsobyfeedbackgeneratedbythearticlesandbroadcasts.ABulgarianmalejournalistcommented" IhavewrittenseveralarticlesregardingthegeneralpoliticaldevelopmentsinThailandwhilehighlightingtheminorityrightsanglebutnotasmuchasIwouldlike.Theyweresuccessfulinthesensethattheygatheredsignificantviewershipovertheinternetanddidraiseasmalldebateinthecommentsectionbelow.Thishappensrarely."ALithuanianradiojournalistcommented"Itwasexcellenttobeabletorecordthesoundsoflifeinthejungle,birds,childrenplaying,pigsrunningacrossroad!Itmadethestoriesveryrich.WealsointerviewedontheFridayshowanotherLithuanianjournalistwhotravelledwithMRGonatrip."Thebursariesprovidedtoselectedjournalistsprovedparticularlybeneficialherewithjournalistscommentingthattheextratimeprovidedenabledthemtoproducetheneededcontent.SomejournalistsalsocommentedonthevalueofthebursarytoenablethemtoexperiencefindingstoriesthemselveswithoutMRGsupport.

Keyelementstosuccessincludedthejournalist'sowncommitmenttothesubject,theirlinkstomediaoutletswhetherasastaffmemberorfreelancerandtheirabilitytocreatestoriesthatcouldbelinkedsomehowtotheirhomecountry.OnefemaleCzechjournalist,followingthevisittoKenyacommented"IcansayIhavebeenmoreactiveconcerningsearchingtopicsaboutminorities–youlearnhowtoattractively

bringtheissuetotheaudienceaswellastotheeditorialoffice.Thearticlesgotverygoodfeedbackandwereconsideredanexclusivematerial.Ithasalsoprovedtotheeditorialofficethatitispossibletobringattractivestoriesevenaboutminoritiesfromadifferentcontinent".ALithuanianjournalistalsocommented"It


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increasedmyunderstandinganditmeansIcanlookattopicsbetterbutalsobetterequippedwhentalkingwithmybosstoconvincethemtocoverthese.NowIamstrongerinwhatIcansay".

Somejournalistsfacedchallengesingettingtheirarticlespublishedandalsoincoveringaminoritiesangle.Despitesomeattentiontothesubjectofpitchingstoriestoeditors,acommonchallengejournalistsfacedwasinconvincingeditorstoincludeinternationalnews.Oneparticipantsaid,reflectingpointsanumberofjournalistsmade,"Iamstillintheprocessofsellingarticlesfromtheimmersionvisit.Itisnotalwayseasy,

becausesomeeditorsinsistonfindingaLithuanianperspectivewhenthereisnone.TheODAperspectivedoesn'thelpinthiscasebecauseLithuanianbilateralODAisconcentratedinCaucasusandEasternEurope." Alsodifficultforsomewastofindaminorityangletoadevelopmentcommunity,particularlyconsideringtheirreadersoftenlimitedknowledgeofthecountriestheywerewritingon.APolishjournalistcommentedthat:"Africaisgenerallyunderreported.Weneedtobeabletoshowaconnectionandinparticularwhataretheconsequencesofthestoryforus-Europeansarequiteselfish.Ididthatwith[astorycovering]LGBT

rightsusingstatsandcommentsontrendsherebutit'smoredifficultwithBatwa-Ijustputinsomethingtocomparewhatwethinkweneedandtheirproblemsi.e.cleanwateretc.PeoplehavenotheardofBatwabefore."

Inlinewiththefundedplans,MRGproducedanumberofhighqualityresourcestosupportmediacoverageonminorityrightsindevelopment.Resourcesincludefivebriefings,threeinformationpacks(anewformatofanonlineresource),threeannualStateoftheWorld'sMinority'sReports,11podcasts,29E-bulletinsandawebsitePeopleUnderThreatupdatedannuallywiththestatisticsfromtheSWM.Fourfilmshavealsobeenproducedandaredealtwithinthefollowingsection.Theproductsareallproducedtoanextremelyhighqualitywithgoodqualityassurancesystemsincludingpeerreviewbyexternalreviewersandrigorousinternalprocessestocheckforaccuracyofcontent

TheMRGresourceshadmixedresultsindirectlycatalysingmediacoveragewithreportsaccompaniedbylaunchevents,thosewithstatisticsandcountrytablesachievinghighernumbersofmediahits.AnalysisshowthehighestfigureswereforthelaunchoftheannualStateoftheWorld'sMinorityreports.AcombinationoflauncheventsinEurope,theavailabilityofintervieweesandtargetedmailingofhardcopieswerecombinedtogoodeffect.Inparticular,afocusontheprojectcountries'interestsinthereportssupportedEuropeancoveragee.g.theSWMfocusonHateCrimewhichwasinformedbytheexperienceofBulgariaandotherEUcountrieswhichwerefirstconfrontedwiththemigrationcrisis,alsotheinclusionofchaptersfocusedonEUcountrieshelpedgeneratecoverage.MRGI,whichleadstheproductionoftheSWMreportedthatthepartnerswereincreasinglybroughtintotheeditorialprocessfortheSWM.Theevidencesuggeststhiswasbeneficialtoincreasingmediacoverageinthefocuscountries.JournalistsandMRGEintervieweesreportedthattheinclusionoftablesandrankingmadeiteasiertomakeadirectlinktotheirowncountry,somethingwhichsomeoftheireditorsinsistonandreadersoftenwant.

ThePeopleunderThreatwebsitethoughdelayedandsignificantlymissingitstargetnumberofvisitorshasseensignificantinterestinitwhenitispromotedandtherehasbeengoodmediacoverageofitsmessages3.TheprojectaimedtoestablishanannuallyupdatedwebsitebasedonMRG'sregularSWMreport.SincethePUTwebsitelaunchon29April2014usageforthesitehasspikedeachyearonthereleaseofthenewannualdata.MRGalsoactivelypromotesthesiteatthistime.Pageswhichattractedmostvisitswerethehomepage,pageswithoveralldataandcountrypagesonRussiaFederation,Syria,SomaliaandPakistan.Therehavebeenonaverage55mediamentionsofthesiteeachyearwhichismorethanother3ThePeopleUnderThreatwebsiteisdiscussedherethoughitiscitedasanindicatorforresult1.


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resources.Othercitationse.g.byacademicshavenotbeentracked.However,thewebsitehashadfarfewerusersandvisitsthananticipated.Eventakingthedelayedlaunchdateintoaccountthenumberofvisitswasmuchlowerthananticipatedwithjustunder20,000visitsratherthan60,000planned.Thiswasfromjustover16,000usersindicatingthatonly13%ofusersreturnedtothesite.OftheprojectfocuscountriesinEasternEuropeonlyHungary,SlovakiaandPolanddoregisterinthetop30countriesgeneratingusersat25,25and27thrankingrespectively.Experiencetodateindicatesthatmoreactivityisneededtodrivepeopletothesiteonaregularbasis.MRGisstartingtolinktoitnowinotherpressreleasesandsocialmediapromotionwhichmaybeofbenefit.Thisshouldbemonitored.

TheinclusionofindividualstorieswithinMRGresourcesseemstohavelimitedimpactonmediacoverage.Staffreflectedthattheytrytoincludeindividualstoriesinbriefingswhichdoesworkwelltocommunicatethehumanexperienceoftheminoritygroupbeingcovered.However,thestorieswithinresourcesareoftenquitedatedbythetimeofpublicationsorarelypickedupbyjournalists.Journalistsinterviewedbytheevaluationsaidthattheywouldrarelyuseapublicationasasourceforastorypreferringtofindtheirown.ThissuggeststhatausefulroleforMRGistobeevenmoreactiveinprovidingintervieweesfromtheminoritycommunitiesforinterviewindifferentcountrieswhenpromotingtheresources.

ParticipantsonthecoursehadmadeverylimiteduseoftherangeofresourcesMRGhadproducedduringthecourse.SomewereawareofandreferredtoMRGresources.TheywereawareofbeingsentupdatesregularlybytheMRGofficeswhichpromotethese.However,therewasasurprisinglylowlevelofuseofMRGresourcesbyjournalistssincetheycompletedthecourseorcountryvisit.Thismaybepartlyduetoanumberoftheresourcesnotbeingproduceduntilaftertheonlinecourseended.Forsome,Englishisoff-puttingparticularlyforlongreportsorbriefings.ButsomesaidtheydidnotreallythinkoflookingattheMRGsitewhencoveringaninternationalstory.SomewhohadlookedsaidtheyfoundthatresourceswerenotrelevanttothemormaybedatedandalsothattheywhendidasearchonaparticularcountryorcommunityMRGdidnotcomeupinthesearchresults.TheremaybelearninghereforMRGregardingthepromotiononlineoftheirresourcestoensuretheyhaveahighrankingforgoogleandothersearches.Ontheotherhand,MRGstaffreportedthatwhentheycommentviatwitterandFacebookinresponsetocurrenteventsandreferringtoexistingpublicationsinthesecommunicationsseemstohavehadmoreresults.BlogssuchasthatontheHazarasinPakistanseemtoachievehighrankingsatleastonGoogle.Itwouldbeusefultotrackthesemorecloselytoseewhopicksupblogsandtweetsandwithwhatresult.

Thereweredifferentviewswithintheteamregardingthepurposeofsomeoftheresourcesandwhethertheyareintendedforimmediateuptakebythemedia.Theevidencetodatesuggeststheyaremoreusefulasbackgroundresources.

Anumberofpromotionalapproachesseemedtohavemoresuccessorweresuggestedbyjournalistsandpotentiallybeneficial.Theseinclude:

- promotionviasocialmediainresponsetocurrentevents- in-countryeventswithspeakersavailableforinterviewfromthecommunityin-country- supporttojournaliststomakethelinktoshowtherelevanceofthestorytotheirhomeenvironment- provisionofintervieweesfromthecountrythatissubjectofthereport

Thenewinformationresourceshavetheadvantageofbeingmoreflexiblethantheold-stylebriefingswhichwereasetdocument.Theonlineresourcecanbeupdatedregularlybutthisneedsresourcingtoo.


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4.2.3ConclusionAsignificantincreaseinmediacontentofminorityissueshasbeenachievedthroughtheproductionofstoriesbyjournalistsparticipatingonthecourseandtosomeextentsupportedbythehighqualityMRGresourcesproduced.ThecountryvisitsgeneratedexcellentmediacoverageintheEUmedia.TheMRGproductsproducedsomecoveragewhentherewasaplantolinkthemtoEUcountriesintheircontentandpromotion.But,thetwostrandsofthecourseandproductionofresourcestopromotemediacoverageofminorityissueshaverunsomewhatinparallelattimes.Theywouldbenefitfromamoreintegratedplan.Morecouldbedonetopromotetheseresourcestojournalistswhohavecompletedtheonlinecourseandtosupporttheircoverageifmoreresourcesandtimeareallocatedtopromotionevenifthatisatacosttothenumberofproductsproduced.

4.3Result3Thethirdintendedresultoftheprojectisitachievesincreasedvisibilityofdevelopmentandminorityissuesintelevisionandfilmoutputsintargetcountries.

4.3.1TargetsandresultsResultsagainsttargetsareshownbelowandthendiscussed.

IncreasedvisibilityofdevelopmentandminorityissuesinTVandfilmoutputsintargetcountriesIndicatorsandtarget AchievedIncreasedvisibilityofdevelopmentandminorityissuesinTVandfilmoutputsintargetcountries-target20nationaltelevisionbroadcasts

FourfilmsproducedbyMRGandthreelaunched:• UptheHills,DowntheValley-HIVaffectedwomeninethnicminorityareaofThailand.3screeningsincluding1inUkraineand2inAsia.

• ShaheedaTunKahanHo-ExperienceofdiscriminationofHazarapeopleinPakistan.9screeningsincluding4onHungarianTV.

• Noun-detailstheexperienceofChristianIraqisincludingunderISIS.Over14festivalsand15screenings.Awards.

• Sukenya-Maasaistrugglesforconservationinfaceofcorporatetourism.Notyetreleasedforscreenings.

CourseparticipantsfromTVproducedsignificantadditionaltelevisionbroadcasts(over19)throughtheiroutput.

4.3.2AchievementsandlearningTheprojectsuccessfullyproducedthefourplannedhighqualityfilmsonminorityissuesandexperiencesinVietnam,Iraq,PakistanandTanzania.Threehavebeenlaunched.MRGrecruitedestablishedfilm-makers


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withasolidtrackrecordwhichhasprovedtobeasuccessfulstrategythoughitwasattheexpenseofrecruitingEasternEuropeanfilm-makerswhoappliedbutwhoseproposalswereofaalowerstandard.ThesubjectsofthefilmswereselectedwithsomeconsiderationofthetargetEUaudiences.ForexampleissuesbasedinTanzaniaandVietnamwereanticipatedbytheprojectteamtobeofinterestduetoEuropeantourismtothemandalsotheirsocialistpast.IntervieweesincentralandeasternEuropesuggestedthatamoreexplicitlinktofocuscountriesmaybeneeded,particularlyiftheissueisoutsideofthecurrentnewsagendaandforinstancecouldincludeintervieweesfromCentralandEasternEuropeinthefilms.Thefourfilmsusedavarietyofmethodstocreatethefilmtoensureaccessandvoiceisgiventominoritycommunitiese.g.byworkingwithcommunityfilmmakersinTanzaniaandpartneringwithalocalfilmmakerinVietnam.ThefourfilmsareofhighqualitythoughthestylesarenoticeablydifferentwiththeIraqfilminparticularbeingveryhard-hitting.Otherfilmsshowtheminoritycommunitytakingmorecontrolorfightingagainstdiscriminationaswellastheirexperienceofdiscriminationandinsomecasesviolencee.g.theHazarainPakistan.Film-makerscommentedonthechallengespresentedbynothavingadevelopmentbudgetwithintheirfundingtoidentifyastoryinresponsetotheMRGbrief.

Successinpromotionoffilmshasbeenvariable.MRGpromotedthefilmsatfestivalsandalsotheiruptakebytelevisionchannelsintheEU.Eachfilmalsohadashorttrailer.MRGEreporteditwasextremelydifficulttosecureTVinterestinscreeningtheprogrammes.AgoodMRGEcontactledtothescreeningofthePakistanfilmatfourdifferenttimesonHungarianTV.Wherethefilm-makerhasbeenactivetherehasbeenanoticeablyhigherlevelofsuccessinentriestofilmfestivalsandscreenings.Thereislimiteddataavailableonaudiencenumbersatscreeningsandfeedbackfromthem.ScreeningsheldinEuropedirectlyorganisedbyMRGpartnershavebeenrelativelywellattended.Journalistsattendingthemappreciatedtheopportunitytointerviewthefilm-makerorthepresenceofotherswithdirectexperienceofthecountrybeingdiscussed.Socialandonlinemediahavebeenkeychannelsforviewerstoaccessthefilms.ForexamplethefilmNoundetailingpersecutionofChristiansinIraqhasatraileronYouTubewhichhad4759playsinadditiontothoseviaMinorityRightsGroupwhichregistered7534playings.Onthefilm-maker'sFacebookpagethetrailerreached57619clicks.

Therewassomeconfusionregardingresponsibilitiesforpromotion.Afilm-makerreportedthatMRGIhadsaidtheywouldtakeontheroleofpromotingthefilmsandhadabudgetforthisbutenteredfilmstoadisappointingnumberoffestivals.Inonecasethefilmdirectornowhastakenbacktheinitiativetopromotethefilmhimselfwithhisownresourcesandsubmittedto25festivals.Anotherfilm-makercommentedontherangeofpeopleinMRGtheyhadtocooperatewith,ratherthanasinglefocalpointwhichcouldwastetimeonoccasion.Theevidencesuggeststhatfilm-makersactiveinvolvementinfilms'promotionismosteffective.

ThefilmsconcernedwithPakistanandparticularlyIraqhaveachievednoticeablymorecoverageonTVandatfilmfestivalsandthroughscreeningsthantheVietnamfilm.ThisinterestislikelytobelinkedtothecurrentnewsagendawithconflictintheMiddleEastandPakistanhighprofileaswellasimpactingmoredirectlyontheEUwiththemigrationcrisis.TheIraqifilm,NounhasbeenawardedprizesincludingattheMuscatFilmFestivalwhichgeneratedalotofmediacoverage. "Noun"wasoriginallyexcludedin2015bytheLocarnoFilmFestivalinSwitzerland,sparkingcontroversy.ThefilmwasthenscreenedinLocarnoandwasahitwiththepublicwhichledtoitsscreeningatMuscat.WhatisclearisthattheIraqifilmdirectoractivityhashelpedincreasetheextenttowhichthefilmhasgeneratedinterestandpublicawareness.Shehasactivelypromoteditandbeenavailableforinterviewsattendingallfilmfestivalswherethefilmhasbeen


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screenedwithherownresources.Othershavesoughttopromotetheirfilmsatleastintheirhomecountriesbuthavemorelimitedresourcesforthis.

Analysisofthebudgetshowsaverylowlevelofresourcesallocatedtopromotionofthefilms.Giventhatthereisatwoyearlifespanformostfilmsofthisnaturethenmoreresourcingandmonitoringoffilmspromotionandaudienceresponsewouldbebeneficial.Somecostshavebeentakenonbythefilm-makers.

Theprojecthasproducedothertelevisionoutputsnotablyfromtheonlinecourseparticipants'immersionvisitswhichhaveresultedinatleast19televisionbroadcastsintheprojectfocuscountries.Somecourseparticipantsproduced6-8productsifinterviewswiththemonTVabouttheirexperiencee.g.offilm-makingtheMaasaiinKenyaareincluded.Theseproductshadarelativelyswiftjourneytobeingbroadcasttonationalaudienceswitheditorspleasedtohaveuniquecontent.

4.3.3ConclusionTheprojecthasproducedhighqualityfilmsreachingarangeofaudiencesinandoutsideoftheEU.ThedocumentaryfilmscommissionedbyMRGIareofhighqualityandinsomeinstancespromotedrecognitionanddebateonminoritiesinternationally.Giventhedifficultyofsecuringscreeningsinfocuscountriestelevisionchannelsgreaterclarityandfocusontheseaudiencesmaybebeneficialiftheyaretheintendedprimaryaudience.Alternatively,morefundingforamuchlargernumberofin-countryscreeningshostedbypartnersandothersmaybeproductive.Whenthereareresources,activepromotionandacommittedfilm-makeravailable,andresourced,topromotethefilmsthishaseffectparticularlywhenrelevanttocurrenthighprofilenewsevents.Thefullimpactofthefilmsisnotyetknowngiventhattheretendstobeatwoyearlifespanfortheirpromotionandtheyarestillbeingenteredtonewfestivalsbythefilm-makers.

TelevisioncontentproducedbyTVjournalistsparticipatingonthecourseproducedfeatureswhichhadadirectandquickroutetobeingbroadcastnationally.ThesuccessofthesponsoredvisitssuggestedthatmorecontactwithEuropeanbroadcastersbeforecommissioningisbeneficialtoensurebroadcast.

5.ImpactlevelTheoverallintendedaimsoftheprojectfocusontheEUpublicandonpolicymakers.Itisintendedtheprojectcontributesto:

a) ImprovedandincreasedEUpublic'sunderstandingofthecomplexityofdevelopmentinterventionsandoutcomesbyimprovingandincreasingtheportrayalofminoritycommunitiesdevelopmentprogressandproblemsinmediacoverageand

b) Increasedawarenessamongdevelopmentpolicy-makersofthespecificneedsofminorityandindigenouscommunitiesindevelopmentcountriesviaincreasedandimprovedmediacoverageinthecontextofdiscussionsonasuccessorframeworkto2015MDGsinthemidstofongoingEuropeaneconomiccrisis.

Thetimeframeistooshorttoseeand/orattributeanysignificantchangeinpublicattitudesbasedonprimarydataofsocialattitudesurveysorsimilarandbutthereisanecdotalevidencethattheprojecthascontributedtopublicandpolicy-makersunderstanding.ThisisparticularlysignificantduringatimewhensomeattitudesarehardeningagainstminoritiesandtheinternationalroleoftheEU.Thereissomeevidenceofdebatebeingstimulatedbythecoverage.Forexample,thefilmonthepersecutionofChristiansinIraq


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promotedwidecoverageinthefilm-maker'shomecountryofSwitzerlandwhenitwasnotshowninalocalfilmfestivalandlaterinternationallywhenitwonawards.JournalistswhoparticipatedonthecoursereportedthattheyreceivedpositivefeedbackfromthepublicontheirarticlesandparticularlyonTVbroadcastsandradioshowscoveringthesesubjects.FurthermoreoneintervieweecitedanexampleofalocalNGOreceiving50newsubscriptionsfromthepublicasaresultoftheoutputtheyproduced.Theseexamplessupporttheaccuracyoftheassumptionsunderlyingtheprojectthatcoverageinmediaoutletscommonlyaccessedcanpromotepublicunderstanding.Therangeofoutletsreachedbytheprojectisapositiveresultandincreasesthechancesofreachingnewaudiences.IntermsofreachingpolicymakersMRGcomplementaryadvocacyactivityhadsomeimpactattheinternationallevel.ThekeyresourcewastheannualStateoftheWorld'sMinorities'report.Itisdistributedinhardcopytoaround700peopleeachyearincludingtargeteddevelopmentofficials,diplomats,UNhumanrightsmechanismsandNGOpartnersidentifiedduetotheirlinkagewiththesubjectoftheyear'sthemeaswellaspotentialtoinfluenceinternationallegislationandactionforminorities.In2014EUofficialswereinvitedtothelauncheventinSofiaheldintheEUoffice.The2015reportwhichwasoncitieswasalsousedbyMRGstaffinadvocacyincludingwiththeAustrianMinistryforForeignAffairs’humanrightsunitimportantbecausetheAustrianmissionistheleadmissionontheUNHumanRightsCouncilannualresolutiononminorityissues.TheresourceshelpedMRGadvocacyeffortswhichsecuredMRGaplaceatthetheUNOpenWorkingGrouponSustainableDevelopmentatwhichtheissueofeffectiveminorityparticipationindevelopmentplanningwasraisedwiththeUNHighCommissionerforHumanRights.ThisisbelievedbyMRGtohavecontributedtotheinclusionofsomeconsiderationofminorityissuesintheSDGswhichmakedirectreferencetoindigenouspeopleinGoal10oftheSDGswhichisconcernedwithreducinginequality.Akeyfortheprojecttocontributefurthertoinfluencingpublicandpolicy-makersviewswillbethesustainabilityofjournalists'capacitiestoreportondevelopmentissuesandminorityconcerns.Thisisdiscussedinthefollowingsection.

6.Themesandcross-cuttingissues

6.1CommunitybenefitsRepresentativesoflocalpartnercommunityorganisationswhofacilitatedMRGjournalistvisitstominoritycommunityvisitswereverypositiveabouttheirexperienceparticularlywhentheycouldidentifysomedirectbenefit.IntervieweescommentedonMRG'sefficientorganisationofthevisits,goodcommunicationwiththemandgoodpreparationofthejournalists.ThecommunityorganisationsappreciatedtheopportunitytosharetheirexperienceswithEuropeanmedia.Onelocalorganisationparticularlyappreciatedthatonejournalistmadeashortfilmthattheycoulduseforpromotionalreasons.Giventhatthereisnodirectorimmediatebenefitforthecommunitiesofhostingthesevisitssuchagesturewasparticularlyappreciated.However,communityorganisationshadoftennotseenthearticlesproducedbythejournalistsandiftheyhadbeensharedwiththem,theycouldnotaccessthembecausetheywereinthelocallanguageofthejournalist.Articleswerenotsharedwiththecommunitiesthemselvesbythepartners.Itwouldbegoodpracticetosharearticles,translatedwherenecessaryforaccess.Thereispotentialalsoforcontinuedworkwiththepartners,particularlythosethatarenewpartnersofMRGtopromotetheirlinks


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withthejournaliststheyhostedformoremediacoveragee.g.tosupporttheminsendingpressreleases,preparinginterviewees.

6.2GenderGenderelementsoftheprojectwerewellcoveredintheonlinecoursewithitbeingafactorconsideredinrelationtoparticipants,coursecontentandpartnerselection.Genderdynamicsinthemediainthefocuscountriesareinterestingwith,atleastinBulgariathemediadominatedbyfemalejournaliststhoughnotatseniorlevels.Intervieweesexplainedthatreportingondevelopmentisalsogendered;whereitisseentobeasocialissuethenwomentendtohavethebriefbutinrelationtoeconomicissuesamanismorelikelytofocusonit.AnargumentusedbyMRGEtopersuadeeditorstosupporttheirmediaoutlet'sparticipationintheprojectwastheeconomicimportanceofAfricaandparticularlyAsiaforEurope.MRGmadegoodeffortstoaddressgenderissuesinmanypartsoftheprojectforinstanceworkingwithapartnerwithspecificgenderexpertise,theGenderProjectforBulgariaFoundation.Alsosomelocalpartnersforcountryvisitsfocusedonwomen'sissues.Thecompositionofcourseparticipantswasheavilydominatedbywomen(over60%)butthemoreseniorparticipantstendedtobemale,reflectingtrendsinthemediainprojectcountries.Women'sissueswerehighlightedincountryvisitse.g.withvisitstowomen'sgroups(oneworkingonshelterinThailand;aFGMcampaigngroupinUganda/Kenya_.Ontheonlinecoursetherewerediscussionsregardingminoritywomeninthemediaandgenderwasasubjectraisedbythetutorsoccasionally.

Analysisoftheresourcesproducedaspartoftheprojectfoundastrongapproachtogenderinsomeresourcesbutatendencyinsometofocusonlyonwomen'sissuesandinparticulartheirexperienceofdiscriminationratherthanalsotheiragency.ThefilmsandtheSWMreportsinparticularhighlightwomen'sissueswithabalanceinthephotographsused,somechapterswithspecificfocusonwomen'sissuesandafocusinthefilms'stories.ThefilmsandphotographsintheSWMgenerallyhadastrongapproachincludingcontentshowingtheagencyofwomeninaddressingsomeoftheirchallengesaswellasthemultipledifficultiestheyfacee.g.intheVietnamfilmswherewomenwithHIVsetupselfhelpgroups.However,someofthespecificbriefingsdonotreallytouchongenderissuesinanydepth.Furthermore,theapproachtogendertendedtobereducedtowomen'sissuesratherthanthedifferentialexperiencesofwomenandgirlsfrommenandboyswhomayalsofaceparticularissues.Inadditionwomeninthebriefingswereoftenreferredtoonlyinrelationtosomeofthechallengestheyfaceincludingmultiplediscriminationratherthantheirproactiveroles.

6.3ValueformoneyTheprojectproducedanimpressivenumberofnumberofhighqualityoutputswithintheagreedbudgetandtimeframewhichdemonstratesagoodlevelofefficiencyandeconomy.Delaysthatwereexperiencedwerelargelyoutsideofthecontroloftheprojectthoughthescaleofoutputswasambitiousforathreeyearproject.Analysisofactualexpenditureagainstthebudgetshowsveryfewsignificantdeviationsfromthebudgetwiththemainissuebeinganunder-budgetingofcostsinAfricaandforwebdevelopment.Theoutputsbudgetwhichtotalsaround240,000Eurosgivesaveryhighnumberofoutputs(partlyachievedthroughadditionalfunding)forthetotalprogrammebudget.

Anareawhichsufferedduetolowresourceallocationinthebudgetwasresourcingofpromotionofresourceswhichseemstohavebeenattheexpenseofproducingahighernumberofoutputs.Therewasasmallbudgetforevents,forsubmissionoffilmstofestivals,forpromotionofMRGhighqualityresourcesalsoforpromotionalactivitiesbyauthorsorfilm-makers.ThisislikelytohavelimitedtheextentofmediauptakeforMRGresourcesinEuropethoughitshouldbenotedthatthesmallteamworkingon


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communicationdoesthisveryactivelyinthetimeavailable.Whiletheprojectperformswellintermsofeconomybyproducingalargenumberofoutputsforasmallbudget,itsoveralleffectivenessisconstrainedbythelimitedfundingforactivitieswhichmakemoreofthoseoutputs.

Ontheotherhand,thebudgetforthetrainingofjournalistsgivesextremelygoodvalueformoneyonallaspectsofeconomy,efficiencyandeffectiveness.Takingtheoverallbudgetthenthecostperjournalisttrainedis4,690Eurosperparticipatingjournalist(277)or7780Eurosforeachjournalistwhosuccessfullycompletedthecourse(167).WhenthecostsforMRGoutputsisremoved,giventhatmuchofthesustainablecapacitycouldhavebeenachievedwithoutthese,itisevenbettervalueformoneyas3600europerparticipatingjournalist.

6.4PartnershipmodelTherewasacleardivisionoflabourbetweenMRGofficesbutsomeotherrolesandrelationshipswerelessclearandcouldhaveachievedmore.TheplannedassociatepartnerswerenotactivewiththeexceptionoftheUniversityofSofiajournalismschoolwhichpromotedtheprojecttotheirstudents.Theseassociatepartnersreceivednofundingfromtheprojectandtheirrolewasnotformalisedthroughanyagreement.

ThekeypartnerwithafundedrolewastheGenderProjectforBulgariaFoundationwhichworkedwellthoughsharedaimsandinterestsofMRGandGPFtobuildtheirindividualmedianetworkscouldbebetterapproached.GPFtookonaroleinpromotingthecourse,helpingtorecruitjournalistsandpromoteMRGoutputsinBulgaria.Intheearlierroundsoftheproject,GPFtookonamuchmoreactiveroleforinstance,bringingtogetherjournalistsinBulgariaparticipatingintheproject,arrangingbriefingsforthosevisitingVietnamattheVietnameseembassyandsettingupaFacebookgrouptoenableongoingcommunicationtoandwithinthegroup.GPFhascontinuedtoshareinformationondevelopmentissueswiththegroup.However,thepartnerreportedthatitwouldhaveappreciatedamoreequalroleintheprojectandmoremeasurestosupportasustainedrelationshipwiththeBulgarianparticipantsonthecourse.Forexample,thepartnerfoundthatthedirectrelationshipbetweenMRGEandthejournalistse.g.intheirselection,intermsofawardingcertificates,insendingoutMRGresourcesandintheirselectionforcountryvisitsmadeitmoredifficultforGPFtocreateadynamicnetworkofjournalistswithinBulgariaconnectedtoGPF.Indeedthepartnerdidnothaveinformationonwhohadsuccessfullycompletedthecourse.

ThecentralroletakenbyMRGEintheseactivitiesdidachievetightprojectmanagementandthecompletionofallactivitiestoatightschedulebutpossiblyatsomecosttolonger-termbenefitsatanationallevel.Thereisroomforimprovementincommunicationbetweenthepartnersandinparticularforclarifyingrolesandplanningfortheongoingconnectionsbetweenthedifferentpartnersandthemedia.Amoreactiveroleforthenationallevelpartnerwouldallowitbuildastrongnationalnetworkforthefuture.Thisviewwasalsoechoedbyorganisationsthatwerenotformalpartnersbutsoughttoworkcloselywiththetrainedjournalists,notablythePlatformsforDevelopmentinsomecountries.ItisclearthatbothMRGandnationalpartnershavedistinctandcomplementaryinterestsinbuildingmedianetworks.Adialoguebetweenpartnerstoworkouthowtoworktogethertosupporttheaimsofbothwillbeimportantinthefuture.


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6.5SustainabilityThekeyfactorfortheprojecttohavelongerterminfluenceonthepublicandpolicy-makersisthesustainabilityofjournalistskillsinreportingminorityrightsanddevelopmentissuesandabilitytoapplytheseinmediareachingtheEUaudiences.Strongearlyindicationsarethattheonlinecourseandparticularlythecountryvisitsestablishedsustainablecapacityinthemedia.Thecourseincreasedjournalistsawareness,contacts,interestandjournalismskillsinreportingtheseissues.Asignificantproportionofthejournalistsinterviewedintendedtocontinuetoreportontheseissues.However,monitoringbytheLithuaniaPlatformfoundthemediacoverageofdevelopmenthadrapidlydecreasedin2016aftertheendofthe2015EUYearofInternationalDevelopment.Itseemsjournalistswillneedsupporttosustaintheircoverage.Tohaveimpactonpublicopinion,sustainedcoverageisneeded.Thereareanumberofchallengestosustainability.Theseinclude:

• Editorsongoinglackofunderstandingaboutinternationaldevelopmentandviewthattheirreadersandviewersarenotinterestedinitmakingincommercialunviableandsotheirreluctancetoprovidespaceandresourcesforsucharticles

• Lackofresourcesforjournaliststotravelorformediatoemployforeigncorrespondentstogatherfirsthandstories

• Everincreasingpressureonjournalists'abilitytomakealivingfromjournalismandincreasedriskinesstoallocatetimetodevelopingstoriesthatmaynotbepublished(andthustheyarenotpaid).Asmallnumber(3)ofintervieweeshadorwereabouttomovefromjournalismtomorelucrativecareers,oneofwhichwascleaningintheUK

• Increasingpublichostilityinsomecountriestominoritiesintheirowncountriesaswellasmigrantsandrefugees.

However,therearesomekeyaspectsoftheprojectwhichhelptosustainthecapacityanditsimpact.Theseinclude:

• Increasedcapacityofjournaliststopitchastoryonminorities.Thiswasnotanexplicitaimoftheprojectbutisonethatinterviewedjournalistsreferredtoasveryimportant.ThiscanbefurthersupportedbyMRGtootosustainpressureonthemediatocoverinternationaldevelopmentandminorityissues.

• TheapproachtakenintheprojectmadewasthatitdidNOTpayforpaperortelevisionspaceorairtime.Journalistshadtoarguefortheirinclusiononthemeritofthearticleorprogramme.Thisprovidesamoresolidfoundationforthefuturethanapay-to-playapproachtakenbysomeNGOs.

• JournalistsmadecontactswithnewcolleaguesparticularlyduringthecountryvisitswhichhascreatedastrongnetworkofinformedandcommittedjournalistsforMRGandotherorganisationstoworkwithinandoutsideofEurope.

• Akeycontributionmadebytheprojecthasbeentoincreasejournalists'knowledgeoftheirownstate'scontributiontoaid.Manydidnotknowaboutthisbeforeparticipatingonthecourseandsowerenotinapositiontoquestionshowthefundingisused.Thisraisedawarenesscanbebuiltontoincreaseaccountabilityandpublicawareness.


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Someexternalfactorsalsocontributetoapositiveenvironmentforsustainablechange.Theseinclude:• ThecontinuedimpactonEuropeofcrisesinotherpartsoftheworldmakesiteasiertoargue

therelevanceofthesestoriestohomecommunities• Theinterestofsomeeditorstocoverinternationalstoriesaspartoffulfillingtheirroleand

responsibilities.ThesearepotentialalliesforMRGfutureactivities.Thisisillustratedbytwoeditorsinterviewedquotedbelow."WehaveonlyforeigncorrespondentsinEuropeandoneintheUS.Wewanttoshowstoriesfromotherareasandlifefromotherareas–wehaveadutytodothisbutnobudget.His[MRGcourseparticipant]filmshowedtherearerefugeesinotherplaces-anissuewearecopingwith

here.PeopleinBulgariawanttohelp–wehadsomequeriesonFacebookpageafterthebroadcastaskinghowtheycouldhelptheserefugees......Otherforeignnewswegetthroughexchangeagreementsandsomestringers-Bulgariansworkingabroad...butnotreallyabout

everydaylife"BulgarianNationalTelevisionnewseditor"Itkeepsus,amediaoutletintouchwithinternationalprocessesinmediabecauseotherwise

webecomejustaprovincialpaper,outoftouchandwouldbeleftinthedark"aHungariannationalnewspapereditor

• TheinterestoftheNGOPlatformsforDevelopmentinanumberofthefocuscountriestocooperatewiththejournalists.TheseplatformswhichprovideaforumforNGOsin-countryworkingondevelopmentissueswerevaluablealliesduringtheprojectandhaveaninterestinmaintaininglinkswiththejournalists.

• TheSDGsplaceastrongeremphasisonequalitywithinandbetweencountrieswhichmaybesupportivetoattentiontominoritygroupsaswellasthespecificreferencetominorities.

7.Conclusionandrecommendations

Theprojectcreatedanexcellentonlinetrainingcoursewhichhasachievedsignificantresults.Itachievedverygoodresultsintermsofjournalistrecruitment,successfulcoursecompletionratesandinparticularinbuildingjournalistawarenessandskillsinreportingondevelopmentandminorityissues.TheabilityofjournaliststoapplytheirnewlearningandskillsvariedsignificantlythoughwasconsistentlyusedinreportingonminoritiesinEurope.Asignificantnumberofthoseinterviewedcontinuetowriteaboutinternationalissuesandconsiderminorityanglesmorefrequentlybutjournalists'opportunitiesforthiswaslimitedbylackofopportunityfordirectcontactwithminoritycommunitiestosourceastoryandeditorialconstraints.Moreseniorjournalistsinestablishedmediahousesandfreelancejournalistsactiveonlinehadmostpotentialtopursueproductionofdevelopmentstories.

Theprojectachievedthemediacoverageitaimedforwithsupportedcountryvisitsforjournalistsmosteffectiveatcatalysingnewcontent.Journalistsproducedhighqualityarticlesandprogrammesontheirreturnstimulatingresponsesfromaudiencesandinterestfromtheireditorsinsomecases.MRGresources


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stimulatedmediacoverageintheEUwhentheywereactivelypromotede.g.throughin-countryevents,hadrelevantcontenttoEUcountriessuchasrankingtablesandparticularlywhentheywererelevanttocurrenteventssuchastheconflictintheMiddleEastandmigrationcrisis.Moreintegrationoftheresourceswiththetrainingcoursee.g.throughmorein-countryeventsandcontentlinkedtotheEUcountries,byensuringtheyallreachformercourseparticipantsandinparticulargreaterresourcingofthepromotionofoutputscouldincreasetheeffectivenessoftheseresourcesingeneratingmediacontent.

TheprojecthasproducedhighqualityfilmsreachingarangeofaudiencesinandoutsideoftheEU.ThesponsoredcountryvisitsfornationalTVjournalistswhoparticipatedontheonlinecourseproducedoutputsmorequicklyforhomeaudiences.Internationalfilmmakersproducedhighqualityfilmsforbroaderdistributionwhichinsomeinstancespromotedrecognitionanddebateonminoritiesinternationally.ThesuccessofthesponsoredvisitssuggeststhatmorecontactwithEuropeanbroadcastersbeforecommissioningisbeneficialiftheyarethetargettoscreenthemandalsomorecontentwithspecificlinkstothetargetaudiences.Furthermore,moretimeandresourcingofpromotionofthefilms,primarilybythefilmmakerswithMRGsupportappearstobemostsuccessful.Thefullimpactofthefilmsisnotyetknowngiventhattheretendstobeatwoyearlifespanfortheirpromotion.

MRGandpartnershavecreatedanextremelystrongmodelforbuildingcapacityandmediacoverage.Theprojecthasachievedsomeimpactonpublicandpolicymakerawarenessofdevelopmentandminorityissues.WithsomeadditionalsupporttheincreasedjournalistcapacityandinterestestablishedbytheprojectcanbesustainedforongoingmediacoverageofminorityrightsandinternationaldevelopmentintheEUmedia.MRGhasestablishedasuccessfulmodelwhichshouldnowbefurtherexpandedandbuildupon.

Itisrecommendedfutureactivitiesconsiderthefollowing:

ð Increasetheproportionofresourcingallocatedtothepromotionofinformationresourcesandmediaproductstoenablesustainedmarketing,abilitytoberesponsivetounfoldingeventsandthatproductsarekeptuptodateandrelevant.

ð Increasetheresourcingoffilmstoincludeadevelopmentbudget,morefundsforpromotionandadaptationofthefilmsintomultipleformats.

ð Considerfollow-upawardsforjournalistswhohaveshownanongoingcommitmenttoreportonminorityissuesindevelopmentfollowingcompletionofthecourse.Ensurejournalistsareawareofthisfutureopportunitytoprovideanincentivetosustaintheircommitmentandreporting.

ð Buildoncurrentrelationshipsandengagefurtherwitheditorsinprojectfocuscountries.Workwiththosewhoaresupportiveandcommittedtothemedia'sresponsibilitytobuildunderstandingofinternationalissuesintheEUtopromotethisagendatotheirpeers.ConsiderinvolvementwiththeNationalPlatformsforDevelopmentintheserelationships.

ð Explorewaystoshowthecommercialviabilityofinternationalcoveragee.g.consideralternativestonewscoveragee.g.buildonMRG'sothersuccessinstreettheatreandinthisprojectinworkingwitharts,women'sandtravelsectionsandoutlets.ConsideroutputsthatlinktothecurrenttrendsinthemediaforcelebritynewsandEuropeanlinks.ExperiencesintheUKandothercountrieswhererealityshowssuchasAfricaSchool4andBloodSweatandT-shirts5engagedsuccessfullywithyouthaudiencesmaybeusefulmodelstoconsider.Followupoverthemediumtermwithjournalists

4http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00s8zzj5http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00b0xsh


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producingcontentonlinetoestablishthenumberofreadersandviewerstheyreachwiththeirongoingcontent.

ð Clarifywithpartnersinfutureprojectshowtheinterestsofboth/allpartnerssuchasinbuildingsustainablelinkswithmediacontactscanbebuiltintotheprojectdesign.

ð Infutureprojectsbuildinwaystocollectdataonfilmscreeningse.g.MRGmonitortoattendandinterviewviewersandonthereachofmediacontente.g.askjournaliststoreportthecirculationandviewer/listenernumbersfortheoutletstheyaresuccessfulinaccessing.


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Annexes

Annex1 Termsofreference

Minority Realities in the News - March 2013 to March 2016

Final Evaluation – Terms of Reference and call for Expressions of Interest

1. Background on the project

This primarily EU funded programme built the capacity of journalists in new EU member states to engage with minority communities in the global south and report on development issues in their stories including minority elements of development stories. The project used an online training methodology supported by physical facilitated visits of journalists to minority communities in the global south, bursaries, online materials and publications. The project was implemented by three partners: Minority Rights Group International, (operating from London, Thailand and Uganda), MRG Europe (operating from Hungary) and GenderProjectforBulgariaFoundation(operatingfromBulgaria).TargetstatesfortheprojectwereEUwidebutwithaparticularfocusonBulgaria,CzechRepublic,Greece,Hungary,Latvia,Lithuania,Poland&Slovakia.MediacoveragewillalsobeactivelysoughtinFrance,Spain&theUKinordertogeneratecoverageinnewmemberstatesalso.

Project goals/objectives/strategies

The results originally foreseen for the project were as follows (in each case followed by relevant indicators):

1) Journalists report having and using new tools, skills, methods and contacts that enable them to report more effectively on minority, or indigenous development issues

1.1 250 Journalists/media professionals complete online course and report gaining skills, tools, methods and/or contacts

1.2 200 Journalists/ media professionals report six months later that they are using skills

1.3 200 Journalists/media professionals participate at least 3 times each in online forum

1.4 60,000 unique visits to online interactive map of concern website

2. Journalists/media professionals/MRG and partners staff generate additional stories about development/minorities

2.1 At least 900 accurate and sensitive media mentions on minority and development issues arising from this project in media reaching EU audiences. (At least 450 of these are accessed by audiences in EC12 states)

3) Increased visibility of development and minoriy issues in TV and film output in target countries

3.1 20 EU national television broadcasts/film festival screenings of films.


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See also logframe available on request. The project documentation also includes a detailed list of foreseen outputs.

2. Evaluation Objectives

The evaluation should focus on learning, efficiency, effectiveness and where possible impact.

There is no pre-set format for this evaluation although MRG and partners are particularly interested to learn from it lessons that we can apply in designing and running work with similar objectives in the future. The evaluator will need to be independent of MRG and project partners, its donors, the project targets and participants and will need to demonstrate that no perceived or actual conflict of interests would arise during the evaluation. The evaluator will need to work within the time frames outlined below. The evaluation will need to satisfy all the requirement of the European Union and evaluation guidelines issued by them.

Key evaluation questions

Referring to the project documentation, did we complete all of the activities as planned to a reasonably high quality? What problems were encountered at this level? How did any problems affect the activities and to what extent were they overcome?

Outcome level

Where completed as planned, did the activities contribute to the planned results? Where this was so, refer to evidence. Where not so, what factors intervened and explain how they impacted. Suggest ways that MRG and partners tried to overcome any problems and how successful this was (or not). Document any changes in the external environment that may have helped or hindered the project. If there were any unplanned results (positive or negative) explain what these were and how they came about.

Impact level

If at all possible, make an assessment as to whether the results achieved are likely, over the longer term to achieve or contribute to the achievement of the specific objective of the project:Journalists/media professionals serving EU audiences (mainly in 8 target states) are better equipped with the necessary tools and skills to shape public & decision maker opinions in new ways through achieving high quality, well informed, analytical & sensitive stories concerning the specific development needs, progress & problems of minority & indigenous communities in the global South.

If it is unlikely that all or part of the specific objective will be achieved, why is this and is this something that could have been foreseen or overcome?

The evaluation should review and comment on the mainstreaming of gender in the project and its outcomes and impacts as well as other cross cutting and intersectional discrimination issues.

Additional evaluation questions:

1. Wasthejournalists’trainingcoursesuitableforthetargetaudienceenvisioned?Whatmorecouldhavebeendonetoachievehighercompletionratesamongparticipants?

2. Wastheonlinemapausefuladditionalresourceforjournalists?Whatmorecouldwehavedonetodrivevisitorstothissite?

3. Were the films produced in this project timely and relevant? Were they of an appropriate quality? Were


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they appropriate for intended audiences?

3. Evaluation Methodology/key deliverables.

The evaluator/evaluation team should specify the range of methods they plan to use in their work in a short proposal.

As a minimum, MRG and partners will expect the evaluator or evaluation team to:

- Seek the views of project partners, beneficiaries, media targets and independent experts on the project and its outcomes and impacts. (MRG will supply a contact list of those who participated in or who were reached by the project but will expect the evaluator/evaluation team to also contact others not suggested by MRG.)

- Seek out opinions on the project, attribution and impact. - Report in English with an assessment of the effectiveness and impact of the programme and on lessons that

MRG, partners and others can learn for the future in similar initiatives. This should include an executive summary of around 2 pages.

- MRG will expect the evaluator to be available to be interviewed and recorded for publication on our website about the evaluation process and outcomes and the result will be uploaded to make the evaluation findings more accessible to a wider audience.

4. Experience and Expertise required

We expect that the evaluator or evaluation team selected will have extensive knowledge and experience of working on minority rights, media, influencing, publications and films, (including in our target states) and should be familiar with and able to comply with all EU requirements. The person or team selected would also be expected to have a track record of evaluations carried out on similar or analogous projects.

5. Report submission, timetable and budget

The evaluation should be carried out between March 14th and 30th July 2016. The project team will hold a final review meeting in London in the week commencing 14th March (probably 15th March) and the evaluator should be available to attend and should include costs in the budget to join that meeting.

A draft evaluation report including a 2 page executive summary should be submitted to MRG no later than 30th June 2016. MRG and partners will submit comments in response within 10 working days and a final report that takes into account the comments should be submitted no later than 25th July 2016.

The budget for this piece of work including the evaluators’ fee, all travel, communication and other costs is in the region of €5,000-€8,000 (partially depending on the level of international travel anticipated by the evaluator/evaluation team.)

6. How to apply

If you are interested in being considered for this opportunity, please send the following to [email protected] to arrive by 23.00hrs (London time) on Monday 22nd February 2016.

- Cover letter – indicating relevant experience and knowledge and how you or the team meet the candidate requirements

- Suggested methodology, schedule, budget for the evaluation including brief assessment of security context and plans for country visit. (This does not need to exceed 2-3 pages)

- Brief CV(s) of key personnel


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MRG will endeavour to shortlist potentially strong candidates and teams on or by Thursday 25th 2016 and hopes to have made an appointment by Monday 29th February 2016.


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Annex2 EvaluationparticipantsininterviewsandgroupdiscussionsProjectpartnersstaff

• BernadetteSebaly MediaCommunicationsandOutreachofficer,MRGE• CarlSoderburgh DirectorofPolicyandCommunications,MRGI• DimitarSotirov Mediacoordinator,GenderProjectforBulgariaFoundation• EmmaEastwood Pressoffice,MRGI• JasminQureshi Communicationsofficer,MRGI• MohamedMatovu Africaprogrammecoordinator,MRGI• NicoleGirard Thaiprogrammecoordinator,MRGI• StanmiraHadjimitova Director,GenderProjectforBulgariaFoundation• ZsofiaFarkas Director,MRGE

Coursetutorsandwebdesign(contracted)

• BrentGregston Onlinecoursetutor• MartinAtkins Onlinecoursetutor• TomazTrplan Independentconsultant-websitedesigner

Localpartnershostedvisits

• AnneMayonne Localpartner,EnatitotiWomen’sCoalition• KittisakRattankrajansri IndigenousPeoplesFoundationforEducationand

Environment• PenninahZaninka UnitedOrganisationsforBatwa,Uganda

Filmmakers

• GigiBeradi Filmmaker• AidaSchlaepfer Filmmaker• MohammedWaseem Filmmaker

Courseparticipants

Bulgaria

• VesselinaFoteva Ex“Dnevnik”newspaper,freelancernow;• RuslanTrad Blogger• Mrs.IrinaVeleva, Ex“Standard”newspaper,freelancernow• Mrs.VelinaBarova, Blulink,visitedUganda• Mr.AsenGeorgiev BTA-BulgarianTelegraphAgency


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CzeckRepublic

• IvanaMilenkovicova HeadofforeignNewsdeskatiDENES,Czechrepublic

Lithuania

• DaivaRepeckaite Lithuaniafreelancejournalist• VitaLiaLicyte LithuaniaNationalRadio• ZivileKropaite Radioreporter

Slovakia

• AlexandraDemetrianova Freelancejournalist• LuciaHraskova Freelancejournalist• PeterIvanic SlovakNGDOplatformandcourseparticipant

Hungary

• BarbaraMajsa Hungarianjournalist• BenedictNagy HirTV• DeatteBelicza Hungarianjournalist• DóraVeres WorldsectionofNépszabadság• ImreKeresztes WorldsectionofHVG• RobertNemeth TV2• VeraKiss Hungaryjournalist• ZoltánHujder RTLKlub

Poland

• EwelinaKawcynska Freelancejournalist

MediaanddevelopmentNGOstakeholders-external

• MarielaDragolova, BulgarianNationalTVExecutiveproducerinNews Department

• HorvathGabor ForeignEditor,Nepszbasag,Hungary• JoseMariaArraiza NorwegianRefugeeCouncil,Myanmar• MartaCubajevaite ExecutiveDirector,NationalNGODevelopmentCooperation • PetrankaFileva SofiaUniversity,FacultyofJournalism,Associatepartner


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Annex3 Documentsreviewed

Generalprojectproposalandreports

• ProjectproposaltoEUandannexes• InterimreportstoEU• ReporttoCAFODonStateoftheWorld'sMinority2013and2015finalreport• FinancialreportstoEUandinternal

Africafacetofacetrainingandimmersionvisits:

• Selectedapplicationsandworkplansofjournalistsforface-to-facetrainingandimmersionvisit-TomasLinder;BenedekNagy;IvanaMelenkovicove;Velianna;PeterIvanic;BertaTlmantaite,VeeraDora

• Planningdocuments-schedule;profileoftrainer;workplanfortraining;timeline

Projectmaterials

• Pressconference• Launcheventsdetailsandpressreleases• Projectplans• Coordinationmeetingminutes

Asiafacetofacetrainingandimmersionvisits:

• Collatedevaluationsofallparticipants• Narrativereports(5)• Sampleworkplans(8)• Trainingagendas(5)• Participantsprofiles(5profilesofallparticipants)

Othercoursedocumentation

• Applicationforms• Awards• Tutorscommentsonparticipants'assessment(2tutors;8participantseach)• TutorsCVs

Monitoringdata

• 6monthfollowupforms(completed)• Journalistfeedback• Mediamentions-EU-collectedbyBudapestoffice• Films-Festivaldata-applications,filmscreenings;• Mediadata-meltwaterdata;additionaldatacollectedbyLondonandBudapestofficesofmedia

mentions• Participatingjournalistdetails


32

Annex4 SummaryanalysisofOutputsforMinorityRealitiesintheNewsOutputandtypeandlaunchdate

Dataonupdate Genderconsidered Othercommentsinclhooksaimedat;partner.

1.LifeattheMargins:TheChallengesofMultipleDiscrimination(infopack)–launchedon8March2016InformationPackhttp://stories.minorityrigh

ts.org/lifeatthemargins/h

ome/

Pressrelease8.3.16

Totalwebstatsforinfopackandpressrelease

fromlaunchdateuntilpresent:3,657page

views

Mediahits:

http://oneworld.org/2016/03/07/challenges-

for-minorities-within-minorities/

Socialmedia:

Twitter

11Retweets

Facebook

Reach–1.3K

Postclicks:41

Postengagement:14

Wholefocusislookingat

multiple

factors/discrimination

includingability,age,

gender.Specialsectionon

women.

Focusongenderinpress

release.

Pressrelease-pictureofawoman.

Hook-LaunchonIntWomen'sDay.

InterviewsofferedfromMRG’spartnersin

Philippines,Mexico,India,NewZealandorKenya.

[potentialtohavefromcountriesinCEwherefocus]

2.Stillinvisible–thestigmatizationofShi’aandotherreligiousminoritiesinSaudiArabiahttp://minorityrights.org/

publications/still-invisible-

the-stigmatization-of-shia-

and-other-religious-

minorities-in-saudi-

arabia/

Briefing

Pressrelease1.12.15

Totalwebstatsforreportandpressrelease


views

Mediahits:

0

Socialmedia:

Twitter

0.7%Engagementrate

40Retweets

32linkclicks

Facebook(4postsinall)

Reach–738+573+628+714

Photoforpressreleaseof

Shiawomen.

Nogenderanglebut

womeninpressrelease

photo

Hook-Pressreleasetohighprofilepotential

beheadingsinthenewsupcoming-"Thisrepression

includesdeathsentencesagainstShi’aactivists,

includingtheprominentShi’acleric,SheikhNimr

BaqirAl-Nimr,andhisnephew,AliMohammedBaqir

Al-Nimr,whofacesbeheadingandcrucifixion,

despitebeingonly17yearsoldatthetimeofhis

allegedoffences."

InterviewcontactviaEmma


33

Postclicks:60+30+14+13

Postengagement:9+10+9+5

3.CentralAfricanRepublicontheEveofElections:FromCrisistoReconciliation(briefing)–launched9December2015http://minorityrights.org/

wp-

content/uploads/2015/12

/MRG_Brief_CAR_Dec15-

2.pdf

8.12.15

Totalwebstatsforbriefingandpressrelease


views

Mediahits:

http://oneworld.org/2015/12/08/fair-

election-needed-in-car-to-prevent-more-

conflict-says-report/

Socialmedia:

Twitter

0.9%Engagementrate

40Retweets

21linkclicks

Facebook

Reach–167

Postclicks:0

Postengagement:2

Somereferencetogender

basedviolencebutlimited

analysis.Mostfiguresnot

disaggregatedby

men/womenorissuesto

particularto

men/women/girls/boys

considered.

PRpic-manandwoman

Interviewspossiblevia:

AgnesKabajuni,MinorityRightsGroup

International’sManagerAfricaOffice,Kampala,

Uganda(English).

JosephBindoumi,PrésidentdelaLIGUE

CENTRAFRICAINEDESDROITSDEL’HOMME,Central

AfricanRepublic(French)

Specificstory-headingintoreferendumondraft

constitution13dec

4.Afro-Descendants:AGlobalPicture(infopack)–launched3November2015



views

Mediahits:

0

Socialmedia:

Twitter

1%Engagementrate

10Retweets

26linkclicks

Facebook

Goodmixofpictures.

Little[any?]analysisofany

differencesbetweenmen

andwomen'sexperiences.

Timedtocoincidewithinternationaldecadefor

peopleofAfricanDescent.

QuotesinPRfromchairofMRGint'ladvisory

committeewhowillspeakattheeventandalso

frommaninNetherlands-Jerryx

InterviewsviaLondon


34

Reach–314

Postclicks:10

Postengagement:9

5.Minorities,indigenouspeoplesandthepost-2015framework(infopack)–launched23September2015http://minorityrights.org/

publications/minorities-

indigenous-peoples-and-

the-post-2015-

framework/

Pressrelease23.9.15


fromlaunchdateuntilpresent:918page

views

Mediahits:

0

Socialmedia:

Twitter

0.5%Engagementrate

6Retweets

6linkclicks

Facebook(2posts)

Reach–702+2.1K

Postclicks:66+11

Postengagement:8+70

Photoofwomen.

Onesectionongender-

Dalitwomenin

Ahmedebadandalsoa

chapteronimproving

menstrualhygiene.

Alsoconsideredintextand

analysisthroughout-albeit

seeingtheSDGshave

takenonboardgenderand

hadspecificindicatorsfor

thatbutnotminorities.But

doesalsohighlight

throughoutthatwomen

aremorebadlyaffectedin

manywaysbybeingpart

ofaminoritye.g.interms

ofwages.

InterviewsviaLondon

PressreleaserefertoDalitwomenandalso

educationinKenya.

TimedtorespondtonewSDGs[notsupposedtobe

before?]

Picofreport

6.Theleavesofonetree:ReligiousminoritiesinLebanon(briefing)–launched10December2014http://minorityrights.org/

publications/the-leaves-

of-one-tree-religious-

minorities-in-lebanon-

december-2014/

10.12.14



views

Mediahits:

0

Socialmedia:

Twitter

0.5%Engagementrate

6Retweets

6linkclicks

Menandwomen

interviewees-quotes

thoughsomequotesdo

notspecifiysexorageof

person-wouldbegoodto

doso.

Heavypresspage-showsbriefing-heavytext

Nopic-

InterviewwithMarkLoffered-CEOMRG

Noparticularhook


35

Facebook(2posts)

Reach–702+2.1K

Postclicks:66+11

Postengagement:8+70

7.Everythinghasshattered’–risinglevelsofviolenceagainstShi’ainPakistan(briefing)–launched12June2014Link:

http://minorityrights.org/

publications/everything-

has-shattered-rising-

levels-of-violence-against-

shia-in-pakistan/

12.6.14



views

Mediahits:6

Socialmedia:

Twitter

Figuresnotavailable

Facebook

Reach–466

Postclicks:17

Postengagement:13

Somefocusonwomen's

experienceintext.

Notclearifanyofthe

activitistsorindeedallare

women-nodifferencein

theirexperienceofbeing

anactivist?

Nogenderangle

Strangegiventhesituation

thatnorecommendations

specificallyforwomen-

thoughtheywouldbe

includedinthetextbutits

notexplicit.

Heavypagealso-pageoftextisthepicture.

Hook-referstoattackkilling30pilgrimin

BaluchastanandattackatKarachiairportprevious

Sunday-hadbeenintheheadlines

MoreoutspokencriticismofPakistangovt"woefully

inadequate"

Interviewoffers-CarlandviaMRGAsiaoffice

8.Suddenlywehavenomorepower’:OildrillingonMayaandGarifunalandinBelize(briefing)–launched11September2013Link:http://minorityrights.org/

publications/suddenly-

we-have-no-more-power-

oil-drilling-on-maya-and-

garifuna-land-in-belize-



views

Mediahits:

http://news.trust.org//item/2013091210594

5-vc65a

http://www.plustvbelize.com/news/satiim-

boosted-by-report-demanding-stop-to-oil-

exploration/

KremTV/Radio(nolink)

http://kitekinto.hu/latin-

Someinclusionofwomen

beingmorediscriminated

against.andbarriersto

justicewhenvictimsof

violence.

Discussion/referenceto

inter-americancourtof

humanrighswhich

highlightneedforwomen

tobeincludedindecision

making,.

Includesaphotostory.

Moreattractivewebpagewithpictures.

Namedorganisations

InterviewsofferedwithMRG,withauthorofreport

andwithNGOactivistquotedinPR.

Privatecompanynamedanditsfailures.Alsoclear

callstogovtinBelize.


36

september-2013/

11.9.13

amerika/2013/09/22/belize_olajfuras_az_si_

maja_foldeken/#.UkHBu2dbySp

Socialmedia:

Twitter

Figuresnotavailable

Facebook

Figuresnotavailable

SWM2013–FocusonHealthLink:


publications/state-of-the-

worlds-minorities-and-

indigenous-peoples-2013-

september-2013/

Pressrelease:


2013/09/25/minorities-

and-indigenous-peoples-

suffer-more-ill-health-

and-poorer-quality-of-

care-new-global-report-

launched-as-un-meets-to-

follow-up-on-mdgs/

25.9.13

Totalwebstatsforpublicationandpress

releasefromlaunchdateuntilpresent:7,338

pageviews

Distributed741papercopies.

Mediahits:

38hits–seefileQ:\Shared\MEDIA\news

coverage\SWM

Socialmedia:

SignificantTwitterretweets/mentionsetc

from(seefileQ:\Shared\MEDIA\news

coverage\SWM):

Facebook

Figuresnotavailable

Carlquotesoundssimilartootheronesusedinother

launches.

Genderissueshighlight-maternalmortalityin

Baluchistan,HIVinKenya

Children

ReferencetoRomachildreninEurope

Goodmisxpix-video-reftoGreece;moepositive

storiesinclstreettheatrepix

Interviewsoffered

Interviewopportunities-MRGLondon,Authors,

NGOS-Kenya,Hungary,SouthAsia:

Podcast(Carlandauthor)andvideo(Emma

voiceover-inclclipsofCarlandalsoauthorforAsia

section)

Launchevent

SWM2014–FreedomfromHateLink:



releasefromlaunchdateuntilpresent:

12,199pageviews

Interviewopps-MRGLondonandAfrica,NGOSin

SouthSudan,DRC,CAR,Kenya.

Video-goodmixpix


37



indigenous-peoples-2014-

july-2014/

Pressrelease:


2014/07/03/annual-

survey-warns-of-serious-

consequences-of-

ignoring-hate-crime-

towards-minorities-and-

indigenous-peoples-in-

africa/

3.7.14

Mediahits:

93hits-seefileQ:\Shared\MEDIA\news

coverage\SWM

Socialmedia:



coverage\SWM):

Facebook(3postsintotal)

Reach–4.3K+417+273

Postclicks:398+21+17

Postengagement:151+9+5

Quotelengthy

Launchevent:

SWM2015–FocusonCitiesLink:




indigenous-peoples-2015/

Pressrelease:


2015/07/02/cities-can-

provide-opportunities-for-

many-but-minorities-and-

migrants-in-europe-often-

left-out-mrg-annual-

report/

2.7.15


releasefromlaunchdateuntilpresent:

2,619pageviews

Distributed619papercopies.

Mediahits:

54seefileQ:\Shared\MEDIA\news

coverage\SWM

Socialmedia:



coverage\SWM):


Reach–367+446+309+2.4K+1.9K+2K+

953

Postclicks:1+3+1+162+49+52+95

o CarlSoderbergh,MRG’sDirectorof

PolicyandCommunication

o MinorityrightsactivistsfromRussia,

Syria,Iraq,Ukraine,Bulgaria,

Hungary,Georgia,SouthSudan,

Kenya,DRC,Pakistan,Indonesia,

Philippines,China

PressreleasefocusonEurope-Casestudy/chapters

fromEuropeinit.

Launchevent:


38

Postengagement:4+13+10+72+57+52

+29

PeopleUnderThreat

websiteY2,inOctober

2014and6monthsafter

launch=

Launchdate24.4.14

Oct2014After6months

7,700views/3,200users.

After1year

Mediahits:

55Hits–seeQ:\Shared\MEDIA\news

coverage\PeoplesUnderThreat

Socialmedia:

SignificantTwitterretweetsandmentions


Reach–7.8K

Postclicks:713

Postengagement:1212

PeopleUnderThreatPressreleasefor2015

8.5.15

Totalwebstatsforpublication,onlinemap

andpressreleasefromlaunchdateuntil

present:=24,313views/12,499users

Mediahits:

56hits-seeQ:\Shared\MEDIA\news

coverage\PeoplesUnderThreat

Socialmedia:

SignificantTwitterretweetsandmentions


PRfocusonISIS.HighlightalsoUkraineassignificant

riseraswellasSyria-lotofinterestinthesetoo.


39

Reach–3K

Postclicks:95

Postengagement:30

Podcasts-11intotal Downloaddatanotavailablefromitunes.

MRGtwitter 6975followers(23.5.16-MRGisfollowing

2297)


40

Annex5 EvaluationTools

Annex5.1EvaluationmatrixEvaluationquestion Evaluationcriteria MethodPurposelevel

• Wereallactivitiescarriedoutasplanned

toareasonablyhighquality?

• Whatproblemswereencountered?

• Howdidtheyaffectactivities;werethey

overcome

• Numberofoutputsachieved

• Implementationvplan

• Expenditurevbudget[costperjournalist;costof

outputs-seemvcheap]

• Journalistsatisfactionwithtraining

• Extentofmediacoverage

• Communitysatisfactionwithcoverage

• Extenttowhichobstaclesforeseen,plannedforand

howwelldealtwith

• Analysisoflogicalframeworkandproject

reportsandotherdocumentation

• Interviewswithstaffinprojectpartners

• Constructprojecttimelinewithplan,

actualactivitiesandoutputsand

contextualkeyeventsandtrends(both

inhibitorsandenablingevents)

OutcomelevelDidactivitiescontributetotheplannedresults?

Whatevidenceisthere?Whatfactors

intervened?Identifyunplannedresultsandalso

changesintheexternalenvironment

Thereviewwillconsidertheintendedresults:

a) Journalistsreporthavingandusingnew

tools,skills,methodsandcontactsthat

enablethemtoreportmoreeffectively

onminorityorindigenousdevelopment

issues

b) Journalists/mediaprofessionals/MRG

andpartnersstaffgenerateadditional

storiesaboutdevelopment/minorities

c) Increasedvisibilityofdevelopmentand

minorityissuesinTVandfilmoutputsin

targetcountries

• A1.Numberofjournalists/mediaprofessionals

completecourseANDreportgainingskills,tools,

methods,contacts(target250)

• A2.NumberJournalistsreporthavingandusingnew

tools,skills,methodsandcontactsthatenablethem

toreportmoreeffectivelyonminorityorindigenous

developmentissues-(target200)

• A3-Numberofjournalistswhoparticipateatleast3x

eachinonlineforum(target200)

• A4-Numberofuniquevisitstoonlineinteractivemap

(60000)

• b1-Journalists/mediaprofessionals/MRGand

• Analysisofmonitoringdataincluding

Googleanalyticsdataonwebsite,

meltwaterstats,projectdata

• Onlinesurveyofalljournalistswho

participatedintheonlinetrainingcourse

• Followupinterviewswithasampleofup

to15journalistsandfilmmakers

includingthosewhoproducedarticles,

oneswhodroppedout(ifpossible).

ThereispotentialtouseMostSignificant

Changestructuretointerviewswith

thosewhohavesustainedskillsand

reportingonminorityanddevelopment

issues.

• Interviewmediamanagersofoutlets

where(some)journalistsemployed

• Viewingofsampleoffilms(5minimum

outof20)

• Interviewswithasampleof


41

partnersstaffgenerateadditionalstoriesabout

development/minorities-target900accurateand

sensitivementionsonminorityanddevelopment

issuesarisingfromthisprojectinmediareachingEU

• C3-Increasedvisibilityofdevelopmentandminority

issuesinTVandfilmoutputsintargetcountries-

target20nationaltelevisionbroadcasts

representativesofcommunitiesvisited

byjournalistsonbursaries(approx.5)

• InterviewswithprojectstaffofMRGI,

partnersandpossiblyassociatedpartners

• Potentialfocusgroupdiscussionwith

journalistsinBudapest/Bulgaria

ImpactlevelAssesswhethertheresultswereachievedor

likelytocontributeoverthelongertermto

projectspecificobjective“Journalists/media

professionalsservingaudiences(mainlyinthe

target8states)arebetterequippedwiththe

necessarytoolsandskillstoshapepublicand

decision-makersopinionsinnewwaysthrough

achievinghighquality,wellinformed,analytical

andsensitivestoresconcerningthespecific

developmentneeds,progressandproblemsof

minorityandindigenouscommunitiesinthe

globalSouth”.

• Journalistconfidencetouseskillsandcontactsand

alsotoovercomeobstaclestheyreport.

• Journalistreportedabilitytogetcontentintomedia

andovercomeobstacles.

• Extenttowhichcontentbroadenough.

• Editorfeedbackonwhethercontentoftypethey

wouldinclude.

• Extenttowhichmediareachedalsoreached

decision-makers.

• Qualityofmediacontentgeneratedi.e.highquality,

wellinformed,analyticalandsensitive.

Interviewswithjournalistsandeditors

NotrequestedinToRbutinthelogframe-overallobjectivesare:1.ImproveandincreasedEUpublic's

understandingofthecomplexityofdevelopment

interventionsandoutcomesbyimprovingand

increasingtheportrayalofminoritycommunities

developmentprogressandproblemsinmedia

coverage.

2.Increasedawarenessamongdevelopment

policy-makersofthespecificneedsofminority

• Editor/journalistknowledgeofwhethercontent

generatedanysocialmediamention,letters,blog.

• Evidenceofpublicattitudes.i.e.awarenessof

humanrightsandcommunitiesatrisk.

• Keydevelopmentdecisionmakersreportgreater

awarenessofminoritiesandindigenouspeoplesand

changepoliticstoensurethattheirneedsare

addressed.EUproposalsonasuccessorframework

totheMDSmakesmentionsofparticularneedsof

minoritiesandindigenouspeoples.

• MRGanecdotalfeedbackback

Asabovewithadditionofinterviewswith

upto5policymakersand/oradvisersto

exploreanyimpactofmediacoverageon

recentdecisions;alsoreviewofsurveys

suchastheEurobarometerandstudies

suchasODI2012reviewandanyupdates

onpublicattitudestointernational

developmentandminorities6

andPew

Centreresearchonglobalattitudes7

.

6

www.ippr.org/files/images/media/files/publication/2012/06/public-attitudes-aid-development_June2012_9297.pdf?noredirect=1

7

http://www.pewglobal.org/


42

andindigenouscommunitiesindevelopment

countriesviaincreasedandimprovedmedia

coverageinthecontextofdiscussionsona

successorframeworkto2015MDGsinthemidst

ofongoingEuropeaneconomiccrisis.

• TextsofEIUproposalsandnegotiations.


43

Annex5.2InterviewchecklistsCommunitypartners-Discussionchecklist

1. Pleasetellmeaboutyourorganisationanditsworkonminorityissues.2. Whatareyourviewsonmediacoverageofdevelopmentandofminorityissuesin

particular?(inregion/Europe)3. Whatpreviouscontacthaveyouhadwitha)MinorityRightsGroupandb)media(European).4. Whatwasyourroleintheprojectminorityrealitiesinthenews?5. Whatwentwell-experienceofhostingthejournalists?6. Whatwerethechallenges?Howwerethesemanaged?Whatlearningisthereforthe

future?7. Didyougetanyfeedbackfromthecommunitiesoftheirexperience?8. Haveyouseenthemediacontent/articlesjournalistsproducedasaresultoftheirfigure?

Reflectionsonthem?9. Haveyouhadanyfurthercontactwiththejournalistssincetheycompletedthecourse?10. Isthereanythingadditionalthatwouldhavehelpedtoprepareyou,thejournalistor

communitiesforthevisit?11. Doyouhaveanyrecommendationsforanysimilarprogrammeinthefuture.

Interviewchecklists-Mediaoutputs

• MediacoverageinEUofdevelopmentandminorityissues-whattrendshaveyouobservedoverthepastfewyears?howdothesevarybycountry?

• WhathavebeenMRG'smainstrategiestoincreasecoverage(beyondthisproject)?Whoelseisworkingonthis?

• PleasedescribeyourroleintheMinorityrealitiesinthenewsproject?Howwereyouconnectedtothejournalistsinvolvedinthetrainingprogramme?

• Whathavebeenthekeyachievementsintheareasyouwereinvolvedwith?• Wereallprojectsactivitiescarriedoutasplannedtoareasonablyhighquality?• Whatproblemswereencountered?• Howdidtheyaffectactivities;weretheyovercome• Canyoutalkmethroughthevariousoutputs-films,mediabriefings,podcasts,PUTreportand

website.Howhavetheybeenpromoted?Whathasworkedwell?Whathasnot?• Doyouhaveaviewonwherecoveragehasbeenmostprominent?Anyunexpectedplaces?• Whathavecontributedtomaindifferencese.g.seemtobemorementionsin2015comingfrom

face-to-facetrainingthanotheryears?• HowdoestheprojectanditsoutputslinkwithotherMRGactivities?Anysynergies?Whatlinkage

withNewsroom?• Howhastheprojectbeenreactivetothenewsagenda?Whatlearningisthereforgettingabalance

betweentryingtosetandreactingtotheagenda?• Stats-pleasetalkmethroughwhatisavailable.Isthereanyanalysisofthenon-meltwaterstats?

Whataboutmeltwaterstats?Pleasetalkmethroughthespreadsheetsshared-festivalsscreeningsTV;Festivalsspreadsheet;Pakistanscreeningsandfestival.

• Overallintheproject,whathasworkedwell?Whathasnot?


44

• WhatrecommendationswouldyoumakeifMRGrepeatsorbuildsonthisprojectonwhattoinclude/excludetoincreaseitseffectiveness?

• Anyrecommendationsonwhotointerview?

Tutors

1. Howdidyoubecomeinvolvedintheprogramme?Pleasedescribeyourrole?Whatappealedtoyouabouttherole?Whatwasnewtoyou?

2. Howdidyourroleevolveovertime?DidyouorMRGmakechanges?3. Howdidyoulinkwiththeprogrammecoordinator(Carl/Bernadette/other?).4. Whatwentwellwiththetraining?5. Whatwerethedifficulties?6. Whatareyourcommentsonthecoursecontent?Whatwasthebalancebetweensubjectcontent

i.e.oninternationaldevelopmentandminoritiesvjournalismandhowtocreateastoryonthesubject?

7. Canyoucommentonstudents'progress.Whatseemedtomakemostdifference?Whatweredifficultiesbeyondthereachofthecourse?

8. Whatdidyoufindwerecommonchallengesthatthejournalists'facedinproducingcoverageoninternationaldevelopmentandminorities?Whataresomewaystoovercomethis?

9. Howwasgenderaddressedinthecourse(subjectmatterandstudents)?10. Howdidyoulinkwithotheraspectsofthecourseandprogrammei.e.webinars?MRGproducts-

mediaguides,films,other?Facetofacetrainingandimmersionvisits?Whatareyourcommentsontheirrelevance?

11. WhatrecommendationswouldyoumaketoMRGtoconsidertomaketheprocessmoreeffectiveiftheyrepeattheprogramme?Isthereanyadditionalsupportthatwouldhavebeenusefulforyoue.g.insubjectmatter;onlinetutoring;otherIwillbeinterviewinganumberofthejournalistswhotookpartintheprogramme.Doyouhaveanyrecommendationsonwhotocontact?

Interviewchecklist-MRG

Media

1. ChangesanddevelopmentsinIssuesaffectingmediaespeciallyinpastthreeyears.2. Gender-menandwomeninthemedia,changes,trends,other3. Internationalcoverage-trends,development,minoritiesinEUandoutside.

Theproject

1. Recruitmentandselection-Whatwerethemosteffectiverecruitmentmethods?Whatareyourviewsonwhethertotargetstudents,earlycareerormoreadvancedjournaliststocourse.MartinandBrenthadviews.


45

Numbersoncourse-belowtargetwhichhad275registerand250certify.Actualachievementsare277registered;167certified(though14fromoutsidetargetcountry).Reflections-overambitioustargetornowwithexperienceisitsufficient?Whatarethechallengestosuchnumbers?Reflectionsonquantityvquality.Anygenderdifferenceinnumberscompleting/certified.ofthosecertified157arewomen.Whysohigh?Isitimportanttodomoretorecruitmen?

2. LinkagesinMRGactivities-Didthejournalistscometoscreeningsandotherevents.Whynot?Isthereanylinksbetweenthejournalists/outletspickinguponlaunchofPUTandSWM?OrwithMRGmoregenerally?Whattrendsdoyounotice.Whataboutthee-bulletin?WhattrendshaveyouseenaboutMRGpublicationsgeneratingcoverage?Howhavetheselinkedwiththe"students"?Anylinktobriefingsandinforesources?Hardtoseeapatterninwhatgetscoverage-noteventhatmuchcorrelationwithin-countryevents(some).Bute.g.Slovakiadidaloton2014SWMeventhoughnoeventbutlittleon2015.Subjectmatter.

3. Countryandpartners-Howdidtheexperiencevarybetweencountries-lookslikemoredifficultinGreece,Romania.WhatactivitiesdoesMRGhaveinthesecountries?PerspectiveonactivitiesinBulgariai.e.todevelopnetworkofjournalists.Reflectionsonpartners/associates.Whatcouldmakethemmoreeffective/active.

4. WestEuropelinks-ThereisanassumptionintheprogrammethatmediacoverageinFrance,SpainandUKresultsinstoriespickeduponEasternEurope.Isthereanyevidencetosupportthis?

5. Mediacontentgeneration-yourreflections;Towhatextentdidthecoverageconsiderminoritiesratherthanbroaderdevelopment(bothofinteresttoEU)Pakistanfilmwasbroadcastforthreedaysrunningfollowingthescreening(checkcorrectunderstanding)-whatmotivation;shouldIspeaktopersonresponsible.Whattypeofcoveragedoesthisoutletget?

6. Onlinetrainingparticipants-generatesmuchlesscoverage-unsurprisingly.Doesithaveadifferentaimdoyouthink?Giventhelimiteddatafromevaluationsfromthiscrowdwhatisyourexperienceoftheirinvolvementindevelopmentissuessincetheyfinished?Cantheonlinecoursegeneratesuccessonitsown?

7. Largerimpact-Anyevidencethatthisincreasedmediacoveragemakesanydifference?

8. Whatarethebroaderchallengesthattheprojectcannotaddresse.g.ononcoverage-anythingadditionalthatcouldbedoneinfuture?

BenefitsforMRG

• PleasedescribeMRG'scurrentnetworkwiththemedia-strenghts,trend,challenges


46

• Howhasthenetworkdeveloped-whatdifferencehasthecoursemade.• Whatisnecessarytosustainit.

Dataavailability

Doyouhavedatathatisaccessibleon:

- Collectdataonallparticipants-notjustcertified.- DoyouhaveatablewithdetailofwhowentonF2Fandwhogotbursary.• JOurnalistsreportincreasedskills-istheredataonthisnow?• Sixmonthfollowupevaluations-morefromimmersionvisitpeople(notsurprisingly).Anymoreto

come.Allin2015butsixmonthfollowupshouldbe2014?• Isthereanyanalysisofapplications?

16.Recommendationsfora)ifdoagainorb)howtobuildonthis.

Journalists

1. Tellmeabouthowyourmediaoutletcoversinternationalnewsusually?Howmuchspace?

2. Please tell me about your experience of covering international development before the MRGtraining?Whattypeofstorieshaveyoucovered?

3. Whathavebeenthebenefitsforyouofthetraining?Whatwasnew?Whatwasuseful?Whatwerevaluablefeaturesofthecoursee.g.webinars,tutorcontact,other?

4. Whatwerethechallenges?Whatwasnotuseful?Howcouldthesebeimproved?

5. Didyouproducearticles/othercontentasaresultofthecourse.Whatwerethestories?Howdidthecoursehelp?

6. Whatwastheresponseofyoureditors?

7. AreyoufamiliarwiththeMRGa)filmsb)PUTwebsitec)Reportd)Briefingse)MRGpodcastsf)MRGe-bulleting)MRGnewsroomh)otheroutputs.Haveyouusedthem-pleasegiveexamples. Ifnot,whynot?Whatwouldencourageyoutousethem?

8. DoyoureadFrance,SpainandUKmediaassource?

9. Tellmeabouthowyoufindastory.


47

10. Tellmeaboutwritingaboutminorities inEurope(asopposedtodevelopingcountries).What isofinterestandwhatisnot?

11. What about international development. What would make if of interest? And of stories ofminorities?

12. Whathasbeenthemostsignificantchangeforyouasaresultofyourparticipationintheproject.

13. Anyotheroverallreflectionsonthecourse?

14. If MRG was running a similar programme in the future what would you recommend they dodifferentlytoincreasemediacoverageofminorityissues?Whatshouldtheykeep?Editors1. Whathavebeenthemajorchangesinthepastfiveyearsforyourpaper?Howhasthisaffected

newscoverage?2. Whatareyourcirculationnumbers?Howarethesechanging?3. Whatisyouroutletsapproachtocoveringinternationalnews?4. HowdidyouhearabouttheMRGprogramme?Whatareyourreflectionsonit?5. Whathavebeenthebenefitsforthepaperofjournalistsparticipatingonit?6. Werethereanychallengesforyou?7. Whatistheoutlookforhowinternationalnewswillbecoveredinthenext5years?Whatare

thenewopportunities/constraints?8. Howdootheroutletscoverinternationalnews-whicharebest?9. What recommendations would you make to MRG for how it can best support coverage of

international development issues and of minorities? Are there any practical steps yourecommendtheytake?