Media development organisations

Nigeria’s media development segment can be broadly categorised into three subgroups.

The first consists of non-governmental organisations: Foundations owned by local media organisations and international media development organisations that work in collaboration with local media organisations. This first group also establishes advocacy groups for HIV, human rights, democratic advancement and good governance. Some of the organisations in this category include: the Development Communications Network (DevCOM), the African Media Support Initiative, the Multimedia Centre for Democracy, the Centre for Development Communication (CDD), the Nigerian Popular Theatre Alliance (NPTA), the African Radio Drama Association (ARDA), the National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), the Centre for Free Speech (CFS), the Media Rights Agenda (MRA), the International Press Centre, Media Career Services (MCS), Media Information and Narrative Development (MIND) and Africa Media Development Foundation (AMDF). Among these, DevCOM, African Media Support Initiative, Multimedia Centre for Democracy, CDD, NPTA, ARDA and NAWOJ are largely focused on issues such as reproductive health, HIV/AIDS, human rights, democracy and good governance; while CFS, MCS, IPC, MIND and AMDF are primarily focused on capacity building and ICT, advocacy for freedom of expression, training, publications and research.

The second group is comprised of media foundations owned by local media organisations, including The Cable Foundation, The Daily Trust Foundation and Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism. These foundations are owned by local media organisations such as The Cable newspaper, Daily Trust newspaper and Premium Times newspaper. The Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) and The Cable Newspaper Foundation (CNF) could be considered the most active in this category and both are owned by two of Nigeria’s largest online newspapers: Premium Times and Cable Newspaper. The PTCIJ promotes a “truly independent media through investigative journalism, open data and civic technology” while CNF employs journalism as a platform to “advance transparency and accountability in government.” The Daily Trust Foundation is supported by the MacArthur Foundation in Nigeria.

The third group comprises international media development organisations such as FES Media, Internews Nigeria, and BBC Media World Service Trust. These organisations work in collaboration with local media houses towards capacity building for journalists and freedom of expression.