Team
MOM Team
Lisa-Maria Kretschmer works as a project manager for the "Media Ownership Monitor", mainly responsible for methodology design and the project implementation in Cambodia. Previously, she has worked in the field of human rights and resilience, amongst others for the German Development Agency (giz) and a Member of the German Parliament. In 2011, she supported an international research project on the role of media in conflict at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich. This experience now contributes to her work for MOM as much as her previous positions in communications departments & agencies (profit & non-profit) for creating public awareness for human rights concerns. She studied political communication, journalism and economics in Germany (LMU Munich, FU Berlin), The Netherlands, Denmark and Israel.
Clothilde Le Coz worked as Senior Researcher for the “Media Ownership Monitor” in Cambodia and as Project Manager for MOM Morocco. She has been working as an independent journalist in Cambodia for the past 3 years and worked with CCIM, as a media development consultant, as she just arrived in the country. She previously worked as the Washington D.C. director for Reporters Without Borders, where she primarily worked on online transparency and journalism safety issues. She holds an M.A. in international relations and journalism and B.As. in political science & philosophy. She studied in France, Canada and the US.
Sothoeuth Ith works as a research assistant for the "Media Ownership Monitor" in Cambodia. He is a graduate from Royal University of Phnom Penh’s Department of Media and Communication. Now Sothoeuth is an online news editor at Voice of Democracy (VOD), a media outlet of Cambodian Center for Independent Media. Before joining CCIM, he had worked as a media and public relations officer at a non-profit organization in Thailand for three years.
Chenda Kun works as a Content Management System (CMS) assistant for “Media Ownership Monitor” in Cambodia. He is an outstanding media graduate in Media and Communication from Royal University of PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA. Chenda is now a TV producer/news editor at Voice of Democracy (VOD), a media outlet operated by Cambodian Center for Independent Media (CCIM). Before joining CCIM, he had worked as a media officer at World Vision Cambodia, video journalist at VOA Khmer, and an independent filmmaker. Chenda also works as a freelance media consultant.
Sok Som Oeun, Esq.
Olaf Steenfadt heads the "Media Ownership Monitor" project and the "Journalism Trust Initiative" at the press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, RSF. For many years, he has been engaged as a consultant and coach in media development cooperation. Mandates of international organizations and NGOs lead him primarily to Southeast Europe and the Arab world. He previously worked for national German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF in various roles, including as a radio and TV presenter, investigative reporter, domestic and foreign correspondent, as well as in format development and corporate communication. Olaf is a member of the "High-level Expert Group on Fake News and Online Disinformation" of the European Commission and of the "Committee of Experts on Quality of Journalism in the Digital Age" at the Council of Europe. He teaches frequently at universities in Germany and Europe.
CCIM
The Cambodian Center for Independent Media was founded in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) in 2007. It is registered with the Ministry of Interior as a non-governmental organization. Its mission is to promote democratic governance and human rights enforcement in Cambodia through the development of a pluralistic and independent media environment. CCIM is directed by Pa Nguon Teang, the former deputy director of the Cambodian Centre for Human Rights.
CCIM is the legal entity of VOD Radio, which originally began airing in January 2003 under the supervision of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR). In October 2008, the Center began operating its own radio station, Sarika FM, by hiring its license from Chay Chanrithy Solida, a Cambodian business woman. Sarika first mainly broadcasted educational and informative programs to the Cambodian airwaves. VOD Radio started to operate in 2009 on Sarika airwaves. CCIM has been applying for a radio license at the Ministry of Information, which was never granted. At the end of the first quarter of 2009, CCIM began operating another radio station in Siem Reap, and by 2009, Sarika FM had a combined coverage area of 14 out of 24 provinces and municipalities, with a potential listenership of 8.5 million of Cambodia’s total 14 million population.
Amid a sprawling government clampdown on independent media in August 2017, VOD has been taken off the airwaves in what its director on Friday derided as a politically motivated move ahead of the 2018 general election. CCIM said in a statement that the NGO’s radio station partners stopped broadcasting its radio shows this week “without clear reasons.”
Thus, CCIM had to stop its multimedia approaches to produce and disseminate content by:
Using VOD as its radio-program production house;
Operating Sarika FM as the radio broadcasting network.
They are still
Developing www.vodhotnews.com for online production and dissemination;
Laying groundwork for a TV/video production team.
CCIM considers that media development plays a critical role in improving democratic governance and enforcement of human rights in Cambodia. The combination of
(I) media’s independence from government and other outside influences,
(II) promotion of freedom of expression and access to information,
(III) representation of the public’s needs to decision-makers and
(IV) improvement of the quality of the produced news, is the media development CCIM wants for the country. In turn, by maintaining a free-flow of information, independent and accurate media keep duty bearers transparent and hold them to account. Such transparency and accountability provide citizens with the information they need to make the critical decisions that impact them at the individual, family, community and national levels.
You can read more about CCIM values and professionalism principles here.
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (Reporter Sans Frontières, RSF) was founded in Montpellier (France) in 1985 by four journalists. It is is registered in France as a non-profit organization and has consultant status at the United Nations and UNESCO. RSF advocates for media freedom, supports independent media and protects endangered journalists worldwide. Its missions are
- To continuously monitor attacks on freedom of information worldwide;
- To denounce any such attacks in the media;
- To act in cooperation with governments to fight censorship and laws aimed at restricting freedom of information;
- To morally and financially assist persecuted journalists, as well as their families.
- To offer material assistance to war correspondents in order to enhance their safety.
Since 1994, the German section is active in Berlin. Although the German section works closely with the International Secretariat in Paris to research and evaluate media freedom worldwide, it is organizationally and financially independent. In that role, it has applied for a grant at the federal German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development – in order to finance the Media Ownership Monitor project.
Global Media Registry
The Global Media Registry (GMR) collects, compiles and provides – either publicly available or self-reported – datasets and contextual information on media outlets around the world.
In doing so, the objective is to enhance transparency, accountability and responsibility in the information space. Thus, the GMR facilitates better choices and decision making, both algorithmic and human, of all stakeholders. These may include every citizen and consumer, regulators and donors, as well as the private sector – for example advertisers and intermediaries (a. k. a. platforms and distributors).
By providing this public service as a social enterprise, the Global Media Registry contributes to the advancement of the freedoms of information and expression at large.
It was founded as a spin-off from the Media Ownership Monitor project, which it now operates as a non-for-profit LLC registered under German law.