Development Journalism

Development journalism involves creating journalism that helps societies to improve their standard of living, particularly in postcolonial developing nations. There are substantively different theories about how journalism can support development, which correlate with different philosophies about development more generally. There is agreement that development journalism involves evaluation and translation of development policies, processes, and outcomes in terms that can be understood by ordinary people. There are radical departures, however, in perspectives about whether development journalists should support nation-building projects, act as government partners, serve as watchdogs of government, or promote empowerment of community members and social change. Each approach to development journalism has limitations, which are often compounded by the economic conditions in developing countries. The spread of the Internet and social media has deepened ...