RELEASE: MEDIA INSTITUE OF THE CARIBBEAN SPOTLIGHTS JAMAICA WITH PILOT STUDY OF UNESCO MEDIA VIABILITY INDICATORS

The Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC) recently published its Media Viability Indicators Study on Jamaica as the pilot project for UNESCO. The findings give insight to industry challenges and makes recommendations for media viability which are relevant to both regional and global stakeholders.

Independent Journalism and the State of the Media globally is at the centre of democracies as societies continue to face the challenges of misinformation and disinformation. Adding to those challenges is the issue of Journalism Under Digital Siege which is this year’s World Press Freedom Day theme, stemming from the complications of the digital landscape which has created easy transmission of fake news and cyber security threats to journalists.

The question of media viability must be defined contextually and culturally. As a small island developing state, there is a delicate balance between viability and sustainability. The strategies adopted by media entities in small economies highly dependent on state advertising and who grapple daily with self-censorship complicates the structure of business models.

According to President of MIC, Ms. Kiran Maharaj, “There must be a collaborative stakeholder effort with specific initiatives to ensure media viability. The time is now. This study will be a benchmark and MIC stand ready to support the recommendations in whatever way we can. In addition we are also prepared to help our colleagues regionally and globally to better understand how they can implement the indicators and share our learnings with them

The Media Institute of the Caribbean will hold a stakeholder session in Jamaica in late May with the intention of developing an action plan which can be implemented.

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