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ONLINE MEDIA LEGAL RESOURCE CENTER |
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STRENGTHENING FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
Building an online Media Resource Center
Oct 2005 - Mar 2007 |
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Internews is working to strengthen freedom of expression in Pakistan by building a substantial online Media Resource Center that monitors violations against the media and also provides journalists with knowledge and expertise on legal coverage.
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The Media Legal Resource Center (MLRC) will serve journalists with a range of law-related expertise. The Center will monitor violations against the media and provide legal resources to journalists under threat, while also providing advice and expertise to journalists covering legal issues.
The Center will provide a base for journalists and researchers. The Center will have several specific elements and functions:
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Base of knowledge
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Located in Islamabad, the Center has physical resources for journalists, researchers, and students interested in media and the rule of law, including computers and Internet access, reading materials, and case studies
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Web Resource |
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The online resource center will the archive and disseminator of the Center’s materials and perform the following functions:
- The site provides an active link for interested mass media across Pakistan and abroad, allowing them to obtain advice and expertise on legal stories, find articles and reference materials, and study the analysis of relevant journalism by their peers.
- The site also provides information on media defense issues such as regular monitoring of the state of the media to record the chronology of media violations; tracking progress on media-related court cases and legislation; and compiling an interactive directory of Pakistani journalists and media organizations. These tasks aim to improve research on Pakistani media and inter-media communication and support efforts to defend freedom of expression.
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Media Stipends |
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The Center will provide small 50 stipends (ranging between $50-$100) to print and electronic media journalists to produce investigative reports/features on rule of law issues, to provide expertise to journalists working on specific stories and in need of assistance, and to help mass media outlets design better legal coverage. Stipends may also be used as travel grants to enable reporters to research specific topics that require travel to outlying areas. Internews has a transparent mechanism for individuals wishing to apply for these resources. To ensure quality and quantity of investigative reports after the stipends run out, Internews aims to train journalists employed with media organizations, as opposed to freelancers, so that the capacity for investigative journalism is institutionalized.
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Resource Outreach
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The Center reaches out to other Pakistani institutions in the field, including media outlets, educational institutions, research centers, government agencies and regulators, and legislators. The Center focuses on specific areas of concern, such as defamation, media law and policy, and the relationship between mass media and the courts. The Center is also a point of contact for other rule of law projects that have no mass media component. One such project would be model courts that emphasize transparency of court procedure, which could benefit from public exposure.
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Output
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A legal resource center and website for media and researchers |
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Anticipated Outcomes
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- Practicing reporters and journalism students have greater access to information about case law and legal issues of public importance
- Stipends support increased publication and dissemination of articles and programs on legal issues, media law, the court system, important cases, and the rule of law in Pakistan
- Journalists and media managers routinely turn to the website for background on legal issues
- Journalists, institutions and the public have greater access to information, opinions and discussions of legal issues
- Violations of media freedoms chronicled
- Case studies to improve understanding of threats to freedom of expression
- Directory of practicing journalists and media organizations to determine realistic size of Pakistani media
- Baseline data on journalists to improve union memberships
- Media capacity to defend media freedoms enhanced
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| Project Background |
Internews is implementing a $1.3m media development program funded by DRL and spread over October 2005-March-2007 (18 months) across Pakistan to train journalists to cover critical human rights, rule of law, and election issues facing the country through practical training, support for innovative TV and radio programming, and a legal resource center to provide expert advice and small grants.
- The project will also expand the capacity of independent media in Pakistan through expert advice and advocacy in media law and regulation, and monitoring of freedom of expression issues by Internews and its local broadcast and university partners. Proposed activities will accomplish the following:
- Help Pakistan 's most courageous broadcaster – Geo TV – to create Pakistan 's first-ever TV program focused on rule of law, human rights, and legal education;
- Train journalists in legal and political reporting to improve journalistic coverage and public knowledge on political and legal issues, with a focus on coverage of elections, courts, and the legislative process;
- Train journalists at nongovernmental radio stations in human rights, rule of law issues, investigative journalism, and supporting local programming on those topics;
- Support the women's production studio and program, Meri Awaz Suno (Hear My Voice), to produce radio programming on socio-economic and women's issues;
- Train journalists and journalism students from Tribal Areas to produce radio news programs, together with Peshawar University;
- Create a resource center that supports rule of law reporting with expertise and small grants, and serves as a monitor and source of expertise on media rights and media development.
The project supports the following DRL goals in Pakistan :
1) Build capacity of independent media through a focus on investigative journalism;
2) Promote rule of law through support for human rights and legal aid activities and clinics with civil society organizations, including media, political parties, and rights organizations; and
3) Strengthen freedom of expression by monitoring media freedoms and their violations.
For additional details on the project please contact:
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Adnan Rehmat
Country Director
adnan@internews.org
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Manisha Aryal
Resident Journalism Advisor
manisha@internews.org
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