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<DIV>A. Sofie Jannusch<BR>Catholic Media Council<BR>P.O.Box 10 21 04<BR>52021 Aachen<BR>Fon: **49-241-70 13 12 12<BR>skype: sofie.jannusch<BR>Fax: **49-241-70 13 12 33<BR>Email: <A href="mailto:sofie.jannusch@cameco.org">sofie.jannusch@cameco.org</A><BR>Internet: <A href="http://www.cameco.org">http://www.cameco.org</A><BR><BR>>>> CIMA <CIMA@ned.org> 02.08.2010 16:26 >>><BR></DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=Default><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 11pt">CIMA is pleased to release a new report, <B><I><U><A href="http://cima.ned.org/reports/evaluating-the-evaluators-media-freedom-indexes-and-what-they-measure.html#more-1979">Evaluating the Evaluators: Media Freedom Indexes and What They Measure</A></U></I></B>, in cooperation with the Center for Global Communication Studies at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication. All over the world, studies that rank countries by media freedom figure prominently in civil liberties debates, aid programming, foreign policy decisions, and academic research. <I>Evaluating the Evaluators: Media Freedom Indexes and What They Measure</I> examines the strengths and shortcomings of existing media freedom indexes and offers recommendations to improve them. In view of the breadth and depth of these studies, the report recommends that organizations that evaluate press freedom continue to refine their methodology by increasing technical sophistication, cultural neutrality, and transparency and that they incorporate digital media into their evaluations. The report, by John Burgess, a former <I>Washington Post</I> reporter and editor who specializes in international affairs and technology, is based on a collection of academic papers on this subject submitted to the Annenberg School for Communication.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal" class=MsoNormal>To request a hard copy of the report, please contact CIMA at <A href="mailto:CIMA@ned.org">CIMA@ned.org</A> or call (202) 378-9532.<BR><B><I><U><BR><A href="http://cima.ned.org/reports/evaluating-the-evaluators-media-freedom-indexes-and-what-they-measure.html#more-1979">Evaluating the Evaluators: Media Freedom Indexes and What They Measure</A></U></I></B> and a short summary of the report are available for download, along with previous CIMA reports and videos of CIMA discussions and events, at <A href="http://cima.ned.org">http://cima.ned.org</A>. Also on the website is a comprehensive <A href="http://geniehost25.inmagic.com/dbtw-wpd/searchMediaBib.html">bibliographic database of media assistance resources</A> with information on more than 800 reports, articles, books, and manuals related to the media assistance field. We welcome suggestions of new resources for this bibliographic database.<O:P></O:P></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal" class=MsoNormal>For more information on the Center for International Media Assistance, please explore our website at <A href="http://cima.ned.org">http://cima.ned.org</A>, or contact us at <A href="mailto:CIMA@ned.org">CIMA@ned.org</A>. <O:P></O:P></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt" class=MsoNormal>Sincerely,<O:P></O:P></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal" class=MsoNormal>Marguerite Sullivan <BR><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt">Senior Director<BR>Center for International Media Assistance<BR>National Endowment for Democracy <O:P></O:P></SPAN></P></BODY></HTML>