Final report : evaluation of the Central American journalism project

Interim evaluation covers the period 3/88-12/90. This important and well planned project, which could easily have been seen as another attempt to impose North American ideas on Central America, has been enthusiastically received, thanks in no small measure to the tact and professional reputations of its staff. The project has also taken extreme care to avoid the appearance of competing with Central American institutions engaged in journalism/communications education. As a result, it is viewed not as a competitor but as a resource for enriching and augmenting journalism training in the region. Also, given early allegations of the likelihood of CIA involvement in the program, and the proclivity in Central America to think in those terms, the continued independence of the project in participant selection and other key operations is essential. Participants and their superiors generally regard the cursillos as useful, well-taught, and relevant to their needs. Without exception, they regard the contacts with colleagues from other Central American countries to be one of the most positive aspects of the program. The present cursillos are right on target, and all have included sessions on press ethics and the role of the press in a democracy. It is recommended that room be found for cursillos in economics/business reporting and in science/ecology/technology reporting. The arrangement to use the radio facilities of the Inter-American Institute of Agricultural Sciences (IICA) for training purposes is imaginative and provides welcome evidence that project staff have a broad "get-the-job-done" perspective rather than a narrow, bureaucratic one. Some essential elements of financial planning and management are not yet in place. Filling in these gaps should be made a management priority and should include, inter alia: preparing, as soon as possible, a budget for the remainder of the project; giving staff clear guidelines and assumptions regarding costing and timing of activities; and comparing actual with budgeted expenditures in quarterly reports to A.I.D. With respect to the proposed Central American media training center, a detailed study should be carried out before proceeding any further than site selection. It is recommended that A.I.D. examine the history of its establishment of two successful and now self-sustaining Central American institutions, INCAE and CATIE/IICA, to which A.I.D. provided direct budget support for between 15 and 20 years. A continuation of the project into Phase III is recommended. More specific recommendations are, inter alia, to: place more emphasis on training of trainers in journalism and mass communications; develop a program (e.g., a project alumni association) for maintaining contact with participants; make greater use of Spanish language textbooks and evaluate English language materials for their comprehensibility to participants; maximize distribution of the magazine Pulso, especially at journalism schools; and determine whether the modern equipment used in training hinders participants' in their work situations or opens up new horizons to them.