The World Bank describes media infrastructure as follows:
A functioning media infrastructure is the basic underpinning for the rest of the media sector. This does not necessarily mean a host of sophisticated broadcasting or other media systems. Vibrant media sectors exist even in the least developed countries; indeed, in some developing countries that lack traditional telecommunications infrastructure, cell phone infrastructure has enabled people to ‘catch up’ with the information age more quickly. Infrastructure is not limited to the traditional media components of broadcast and print; it may include the transportation system (to deliver print goods), the telecommunications system (which is rapidly converging with broadcast and cable to form the backbone of the digital information era), cable and other networks, radio towers, financial infrastructure, and even social institutions such as literacy and the culture of communication in a country.
Even in environments where sophisticated systems exist, however, people may not be able to access reliable news and information. A comprehensive media development program will first seek to determine the news and information needs of a population, then recommend the infrastructure improvements that will have the greatest effect.[i]
Media infrastructure development can be costly and technically complex. Often governments, aid agencies, and media development agencies assist in in this effort. The World Bank offers the following guidance for this process:
- Take on media infrastructure projects in consultation with (as appropriate) governments, local community groups, the outlets that will use the infrastructure, and others who may be affected.
- Infrastructure can encompass anything from multi-user transmission systems to individual stations and studios. Building a transmission system may require multiple consultations, such as with the national government over law and regulation, with local governments over land use issues, with the intended users of the system, and with the surrounding community (which is the group most frequently left out of consultations).
- Programs to build infrastructure must understand the regulations governing such installations and plan for the resultant effects, including cost and technology issues.
- Infrastructure planning should be predicated on a thorough needs assessment, in which the community is surveyed on key questions. How do people obtain information? What mode of information transmission is most trusted, and why? What type of regulatory environment governs the intended infrastructure? What type of media infrastructure will best serve the needs of the population now and into the future, and what will the community actually use? Planning may sometimes entail skipping older infrastructure (traditional telecom/broadcasting) in favor of digital infrastructure.
- Ensure that local populations/media outlets/institutions will be able to own and operate the infrastructure after the donors leave. Too many media infrastructure projects are built with the assumption that they can be easily transferred when the donors stop maintaining them, but this is often not the case. Donors may need to train key staff and equip them to train others.
- Consider legacy costs of the infrastructure. What are the ongoing operating costs? What upgrades will be required in the future, and what additional capital investment would those require? What future regulatory changes might affect the infrastructure? What is the local availability of service and parts? Be aware that cutting-edge equipment might not stand the test of time.
- Media infrastructure projects can be a vital and necessary step in the media development process.
- However, they should not be viewed as an easy substitute for engaging in the true substance of media development: professional skills development, encouraging sustainability, promoting an enabling environment, and supporting a media-literate civil society. Media infrastructure is not divorced from the political economy of the media system. The factors that affect the independence of the media sector also encompass infrastructure; thus, when possible, encourage nonpartisan ownership and management approaches to infrastructure.
- One or two outlets can sometimes gain a huge advantage based on a donor’s infrastructure investment. While this is not necessarily always a bad thing, donors must thoroughly understand the political and market consequences of their investment.[ii]
[i] Developing Independent Media as an Institution of Accountable Governance; A How-To Guide, (Washington DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, 2011),7 http://issuu.com/world.bank.publications/docs/9780821386293
