Waging Peace: Bolivia

Strengthening the Media Sector To Promote Peace and Stability

In Bolivia, private media outlets play a key role in informing the public. There are approximately 150 television channels, between 900-1,200 radio stations, 30 print publications, 12 news agencies, 300 community radio stations, and a large number of online blogs and websites. There are also two state-owned radio stations, one television channel, one news agency, one newspaper, and a network of rural radio stations.

The relationship between President Morales and the media has grown increasingly tense since his election in 2005.  This relationship was exacerbated by the enactment of an anti-racism law that proposes controversial sanctions for the media if material deemed racist is published or disseminated.  The media were found to report sensationalized versions of political developments, sometimes interpreting statistics to support news reports with a bias.  Thus, there is a clear need for the media to improve its practices to inform the public about relevant developments in a constructive and professional manner to prevent the emergence and escalation of conflicts and to promote peace and stability in Bolivia.

To address this need, between November 2009 and November 2010, a Carter Center project established a network of media associations in Bolivia and helped foster professionalization in the field. Supported by funding from the European Union, the project consisted of three stages.  In the first stage, The Carter Center, in partnership with Gallup International, conducted a baseline survey to determine the status of the Bolivian media at the start of the project and to determine the development needs of journalists.  The second stage of the project consisted of capacity building through training initiatives. Workshops were held once a month for 11 months.  The third and final stage consisted of appraising the results and impact of the project within the Bolivian media sector.

Following the conclusion of the final in-country workshop, representatives from all of the Bolivian media associations affiliated with the project broadly expressed their satisfaction, underscored their desire to continue working with The Carter Center, and highlighted the need for Bolivia to professionalize its journalism sector and strengthen the role of the media in promoting peace and stability.

In response to this interest, The Carter Center implemented, with the financial support of the government of Denmark, a second phase of the project, "The Role of Media in Promoting Peace and Stability in Bolivia," which began in June 2011. Continuing through March 2012, this phase of the project is aimed at media representatives from secondary cities in each department in an effort to go beyond main urban centers and reach a broader number of journalists. This focus also allows for the inclusion of journalists from community radio stations, which are media outlets with the deepest, multilayered, and multilingual reach in the countryside of Bolivia.