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´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action has launched its new podcast, . We’ll hear from journalists around the world as we explore the struggles of independent media to survive and deliver trusted information in an increasingly polarised media landscape.

Maha Taki is ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action’s senior advisor on media development and the voice behind the podcast, which is produced as part of the media development consortium (Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development). She talks to ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action Insight about the questions the podcast will answer, and what she hopes it will accomplish.

Q. What is Brave New Media? Tell us about your format and approach.

Brave New Media is a podcast series about public interest media from around the world, especially in fragile and under-reported countries and regions.

A typical episode focuses on someone determined to challenge the prevailing media climate by providing content and a forum in a way that is not beholden to big power interests, whether state or commercial. Instead, they make the priority the public interest.

Each episode of Brave New Media tells the story of one such media outlet by interviewing its founders, editors or journalists who talk frankly about the challenges they have faced and continue to face, be it how to engage audiences, dealing with censorship, securing funding or managing a team.

We use sound and music to heighten and guide the narrative. The second part of the episode is an interview with a specialist who listens to the story, reflects on it, provides context and analysis, and then suggests practical solutions.

Q. Who are you hoping will listen? What do you hope to achieve?

This podcast is a production for PRIMED, a three-year project aimed at supporting public interest media in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, but the stories we tell don’t necessarily come from these three countries. This is because a big component of the project is learning what works and what doesn’t work in making media more sustainable.

We want these inspirational and instructive stories to inform as many people as possible. For those in the wider aid and development sector, we want them to be aware of what it takes for media organisations working in the public interest to keep doing what they’re doing, and to understand what they need to keep doing it, and do it even better and more effectively.

I also hope that by sharing these stories and possible solutions, others working in the media sector and attempting the same difficult journey, or perhaps just thinking of doing so, will benefit from the lessons to be learnt and will take heart from the real achievements being made.

Each episode of Brave New Media also has the specific aim of connecting its featured media organisation with specialists who understand exactly what it is doing, and the environment in which it is doing it, and who can suggest solutions and strategies to help chart a path to the future.

Q. Where did the idea come from?

It has come from my work over many years with the ´óÏó´«Ã½â€™s international charity, ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action, which is dedicated to supporting public interest media worldwide. We have media partners in just about every corner of the globe, and I have so often been inspired by the way media can have enormous positive impact on people’s lives, despite battling sometimes against overwhelming odds. They may have the most meagre of resources compared to their competitors, they face all sorts of external pressures, including threats and intimidation. They often have the most amazing stories to tell about their struggle to get established and to keep going - stories which deserve a wider audience. And they’re all trying to figure out how they can continue to serve the public in this climate.

They deserve our respect and support. And I think it’s important to note that the media organisations featured in Brave New Media aren’t always partners of ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action, if in fact quite often they aren’t! But that is the source of inspiration for the idea.

Q. Can you tell us who features in current and future episodes?

The first episodes introduce three outlets from different parts of the globe who launched their own media start-ups, determined to bring audiences the stories they would hear nowhere else. We started in my hometown of Beirut with the story of Daraj, an Arabic-language start-up, charting a new path through one of the world’s most captured and censored media landscapes. Diana Moukalled, its founder, tells listeners about the struggle to establish an independent media outlet, evading political entanglements and learning the business acumen required to survive in a tough financial market.

Zaborona in Ukraine has had to turn itself into a war reporting organisation. And in Latin America, El Surti shares how they are connecting with Paraguayan communities by using graphic design and digital approaches, amid tough competition with traditional media outlets and the challenges of fast-changing social media algorithms.

We are still lining up outlets for subsequent episodes -- and I appeal to any likely candidates to get in touch, or for anyone who knows of one to send us their recommendation.

Q. Who can participate?

We want to hear stories of new media around the world, especially in under-reported countries and regions. We’re not looking for the big success stories. We want to hear from outlets – small or large, online or on mainstream channels – that have an instructive story to tell and want to share the lessons they have learnt with others in the sector, while benefiting from expert advice tailored to their organisation.

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Do nominate media organisations and/or specialists you think we should feature in the series by sending your suggestions to Maha Taki: maha.taki@bbc.co.uk

Please title the email ‘podcast contributor’ and describe the media outlet you wish to nominate, including its country of operation, why you think it would make a compelling story, and the angle you think we should cover. Include contact details for the media outlet. If you have suggestions for specialists who can offer solutions to some of the challenges facing media, please email us their contact details with a short description of their area of expertise.

Brave New Media is available on , , and . The first episode dropped on 7 September 2022, all episodes and more information about the podcast can be found .

Produced by Holy Mountain for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action, Brave New Media is part of Protecting Independent Media for Effective Development (PRIMED), a media support consortium led by ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action.

PRIMED is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.