Capturing stories of change: Evaluating media practices of Papua New Guinean journalists during and after media attachment in Australia

In recent years, there has been an increased recognition of the value of developing the professional capacity of journalists in developing countries and emerging democracies, and of evaluating these developments more effectively. In addition to the quantitative assessment of the media training programs along pre-defined indicators, this article argues for a participatory evaluation approach to assessing donor-funded media capacity building program to capture stories of change from the perspectives of the participants. Drawing on a case study of an evaluation of a media attachment program, ‘MDI Social Journalism Award’, it highlights the most significant change stories from the perspectives of two journalists from Papua New Guinea. The article outlines the outcomes and impacts of the program for the participating journalists, along with the facilitators and barriers that can influence the success of such media capacity building programs.