Title: News and democracy: Foreign assistance to the news media in CambodiaSubmitted by: Judith Clarke, Dept of Journalism, Hong Kong Baptist UniversityFollowing the end of the Cold War, Western aid programmes started to emphasise the promotion of democratic government and human rights. A major element of this effort was the encouragement of a free press. Cambodia, where press freedom was instituted in 1992 after 17 years of Communist-style regimes, has been and is a recipient of such aid. This study, through the collection of information about the amount and use of this kind of aid and through interviews with donors and recipients, finds that aid has boosted the confidence of the news media and facilitated the emergence and survival of opposition publications. There are also several areas of concern: the lack of coordination of aid, resulting in overlaps and inconsistencies; the lack of Khmer-language training, so that the same English-speaking journalists become candidates for training again and again; and the threat of overwhelming Cambodian culture with "Western" ideas. Return to Abstracts menuCarol Burnett Phone: 61 - 3 - 9349 1899 Email: c.burnett@asialink.unimelb.edu.au
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