Preparing Independent Russian Media for the 21'' Century:

Final Report on Cooperative Agreement 118-A-00-97-00274-00, December 2000
2.5 Summary of Results
page 14
"I think it would not be an exaggeratzon to say that the [MI] Press
Center played a big role zn the budding of democi-atzc czvll soclety zn
Russza "
Elena Bonner, head of the Andre1 Sakharov Foundation
"The result of our participatzon in the [NPI] program is the exzstence
in the newspaper market of a major zndustnal center such as
Novokuznetsk of n newspaper independent of the authorztzes,
independent of capital, and supportmg itselfthrough the ruble of the
subscribers and its own work in the advertising market "
Margarita Stakhovich, deputy editor, Kuznetsky Rabochy
Evaluating media assistance work is inherently problematic, inasmuch as its
results are typically either difficult to quantify (e.g., improved coverage of certain issues,
improved professional ethics) or visible only in the medium-to-long-term. Moreover,
Russia's fluid political and economic circumstances often undermine past achievements
and present new roadblocks to further progress.
Nevertheless, NPI can point to a number of key indicators that demonstrate the
nature of its work during the Cooperative Agreement period and further evidence (often
anecdotal) that shows its impact.
NPI in Figures
The following numbers reflect NPI's activities throughout Russia during the
programmatic phase of the Cooperative Agreement (October 1997 - June 2000):
Over 270 training seminars and roundtables on journalism, media management, and
media technologies attended by over 5200 media professionals.
Legal consultations to 250 media organizations in 55 Russian cities, training of 150
more media professionals, and establishment of a network of 120 media lawyers
throughout the country.
Intensive, on-site management consulting for 84 newspapers.
Aggregate attendance of over 57,000 journalists at approximately 2300 briefings
and press conferences.
65 publications for journalists, including translated newspaper management
manuals, original handbooks, special newspaper management inserts, books on
nuclear weapons systems, a journal on new media applications, an election
reporting manual, and bulletins on nuclear reporting issues.
Center for War, Peace, and the News Media -New York University
Chapter 2: Introduction