[Open Research partner: Communicating the Arts]
The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) is an independent Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) that has been monitoring the South African media since 1993.
Mission
The MMP aims to promote the development of a free, fair, ethical and critical media culture in South Africa and the rest of the continent.
Objectives
The core objectives of the organisation are as follows:
To be the pre-eminent media 'watchdog' in Africa.
To inform and engage media professionals and other key stakeholders to improve the quality and ethics of news reporting in Africa.
To influence the development of robust and effective communication legislation and media codes of conduct in Africa.
Activities
The MMP offers a wide range of services to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), media, government and NGOs in South Africa and other African countries, including:
Reviewing and analysing the content, selection process and presentation of news reporting to monitor the quality and ethical practices of broadcast, print and online media.
Distributing regular reports on research findings and highlighting infringements to media duties and responsibilities
Conducting in depth-research on specific issues (commissioned reports).
Developing training materials, tools and best practices on ethical and fair media reporting.
Submitting proposals and other material for the development or amendment of policies and laws.
The MMP applies internationally recognised, state of the art monitoring and research methodologies.
The MMP is the only independent outfit in South Africa that monitors the representation of human rights issues in the media, and the only organisation that conducts in-depth qualitative and comparative research in this field. Its expertise is widely acknowledged by the parties at stake, and MMP is regularly invited to provide comments and presentations on the subject.
