MDLF clients provide news to 32 million people

The Media Development Impact Dashboard 2009 reveals that more than 32 million people got their news from MDLF clients in 2008 and that after five years of working with us news businesses on average increased sales by 370%.

Each year we carry out a detailed assessment of the impact our work has on the financial sustainability of clients. Every month we collect detailed information on client performance and by analysing this data over the length of our relationship, usually five to seven years, we produce an intimate portrait of the development of each news outlet - and through it, an indication of the impact of our work.

We use three metrics to measure impact: sales, reach and financial viability. The key findings of the Media Development Impact Dashboard 2009 include:
• In 2008, more than 32 million people in developing democracies got their news from 37 MDLF clients, an increase of almost 3.5 million from 2007.
• After 5 years with MDLF, current clients on average have increased their sales by 370%.
• In 2008, 29 clients generated more than $150 million in sales, a fall of nearly 10% from 2007 mainly due to the declining value of local currencies against the US dollar.
• After five years with MDLF, current clients on average have increased their readers, listeners or viewers by 49%.
• In 2008, each dollar invested by MDLF leveraged $4.11 in client sales, compared to $2.49 in 1999.
• For every $10,000 invested in 2008, MDLF supported access to independent news for 8,789 readers, listeners and viewers, more than double the 1999 level of 4,238.

Over the coming year, we will examine whether we can analyse the data more effectively and whether it might be possible to measure clients' qualitative output.

Read the full Media Development Impact Dashboard and our detailed methodology here.