Studies on the development of Chinese media often diverge greatly in answering the question of which force will prevail: the government, with its unparalleled capacity to curb free expression, or liberal voices, aided by new media. In CIMA's latest report, "China's New Media Dilemma: The Profit in Online Dissent," Louisa Chiang makes the case that the outcome may be contingent on technological and commercial factors that are now in flux. Drawing from often overlooked sources of evidence, Chiang shows that China's homegrown media platforms have responded to market incentives by subtly shielding users from certain forms of censorship and repression online.
For years, the road to news media financial sustainability was said to be paved with data—digital news outlets were counseled to collect as many details about their readers as possible in order to deliver more relevant content as well as to support more lucrative, targeted adve...
The global effort to promote open and transparent government creates new opportunities to put media development on the political agenda of countries around the world. This report looks in particular at the structures of the Open Government Partnership (OGP), which in its 2016 Par...
In July 2018, the government of Uganda implemented a tax on individual users of social media platforms. In the first three months following the introduction of the tax in the country, internet penetration dropped from 47 percent to 35 percent. Given that a significant amount of n...
The international community is waking up to its responsibility to protect and strengthen independent media around the world. This report puts forward recommendations for how that responsibility can be translated into action, acknowledging the complexity of the crisis facing indep...