Where We Work

Eurasia

Building on its history working in Moscow to produce the “spacebridge” TV programs that connected Soviet and American citizens in the 1980s, in 1992 Internews began a program of multifaceted support to the independent media of Eurasia that continues to this day. Responding to the increasingly different environments and needs in each country, Internews currently works in eight former Soviet republics, supporting TV and radio broadcasters, print and Internet media, associations and legal professionals. Internews projects in Eurasia support the creation of an environment where diverse, high-quality media that serve the public interest can flourish and an open, affordable Internet can grow for the benefit of all of society. In all countries of the regions, Internews Network partners with local NGOs, including but not limited to those that are registered locally as Internews and are members of Internews International.

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RUSSIA

Since 1992, Internews Russia has worked with Russia’s private TV industry, and more recently with radio, print, and the Internet, to improve professionalism and to improve coverage on social issues and legal reform projects. Russian broadcasters come to Internews not just for training and advice but because it is a place where professional solidarity overcomes politics, business and local rivalries. Ongoing projects include training, both in-person and using distance education, in management, marketing, television design, journalism, and media and NGOs; an Internet-based broadcast-quality video exchange mechanism; Internet policy work; and several REGIONS: Internews in Eurasia June 06 projects on media law. As Russian television becomes more financially successful, Internews Russia’s It’s Time to Act regional TV competition focuses on socially responsible journalism and encourages journalists to examine taboo subjects.

In April 2007, the Educated Media Foundation (EMF, formerly known as Internews Russia) was forced to suspend its work following an eleven-hour raid on its Moscow headquarters. (More information)

UKRAINE

Internews Network has been working in Ukraine since 1993 to support the development of free, empowered and pluralistic mass media. In 2003, Internews launched the 5-year U-Media Project, aimed at strengthening independent media, with support from USAID and in partnership with the local NGO Internews Ukraine, IREX, the International Renaissance Foundation, the Ukrainian Association of Press Publishers, the Independent Association of Broadcasters, Telekritika and the Media Law Institute.

Internews Network and partners provide technical and training support to non-governmental media, media organizations and journalists throughout Ukraine, focusing on reforming the legal environment, strengthening financial sustainability of media outlets and increasing the availability and quality of locally relevant news and information. U-Media partners played a critical role during the extraordinary 2004 presidential election year, when Ukrainian media stood up for their rights and the democratic principles of the election process. A more open, professional media environment played a key role in the free and fair 2006 parliamentary elections, but there is still much to be done to ensure that positive changes are permanent.

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CENTRAL ASIA

Since 1995, Internews has worked in Central Asia to improve the quality of journalism and the capacity of media to manage themselves effectively as businesses. In addition to extensive training programs, including a partnership with the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), Internews collaborates with local journalists to produce public interest television programming, including Open Asia, a regional weekly TV magazine program. In Kazakhstan, the News Factory project provides local media with an Internet-based information exchange that allows them to share information from across the country. In the Kyrgyz Republic, Internews Kyrgyzstan’s Media Commissioner Institute (MCI) protects the rights of independent mass media, provides legal support to the growing mass media in the country, and is working to support the process of transforming state TV into a public service broadcaster. In Tajikistan, Internews is working with local stakeholders in six locations to create community radio stations. In 2005, Internews was forced to close its office in Uzbekistan on the orders of the Uzbek government, as part of an apparent campaign against civil society NGOs.

SOUTH CAUCASUS

In Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, Internews has worked since 1995 to support local media and to promote tolerance and peaceful resolution of conflict. The local NGOs Internews Georgia, Internews Armenia and Internews Azerbaijan work together to produce two unique regional TV programs, broadcast in the three countries. Crossroads is a weekly Russian-language TV magazine that brings citizens of the region news and features about their neighbors in the voice of local journalists rather than filtered through national or Russian broadcasters. Kids Crossroads is a youth-produced weekly program, with versions in the Georgian, Azeri and Armenian languages, that provides teenagers with a chance to compare life in neighboring countries, including those commonly labeled as “the enemy.” Each local Internews also has numerous other projects to improve the media environment in its own country.