Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

nected machines and a long waiting
line. This made it difficult to verify
stories and to do online research on
issues to be covered. Not having a
dedicated email address was ano<strong>the</strong>r
impediment as emails were lost
or unread because <strong>the</strong>re was more
than one person using <strong>the</strong> email address.
This made it difficult for <strong>the</strong>m
to cover stories in outlying towns,
and difficult for civil society organisations
to establish a relationship
with <strong>the</strong> media.
The cost of connectivity is too high
in some countries while in o<strong>the</strong>rs
<strong>the</strong>re is just no infrastructure.
Communication is also not seen as
a priority by many organisations,
and <strong>the</strong>re is no dedicated person
to deal with related issues. Access
to computers was a problem as
many of <strong>the</strong> people argued that
<strong>the</strong>re were few computers in <strong>the</strong>
workplace and priority was given to
o<strong>the</strong>r work than writing stories.
Beyond pamphlets and brochures,
some organisations do not have
o<strong>the</strong>r ways of sharing and disseminating
information, and <strong>the</strong> media
often struggle to get comments and
articles from organisations. The relationship
between <strong>the</strong> media and
organisations is often adversarial,
making it difficult for each side to
listen.
“Many of <strong>the</strong>se
journalists are
underpaid and do not
have <strong>the</strong> resources to
go outside <strong>the</strong> main
centres.”
One of <strong>the</strong> lessons learnt in
implementing this programme was
<strong>the</strong> importance of understanding
<strong>the</strong> context in which people
operate. New tools and ways of
communicating were introduced
but <strong>the</strong> local conditions did not
always align with <strong>the</strong> strategy.
The approach had to be re-worked
to take local conditions into
consideration.
One example was in Uganda
where <strong>the</strong> interest to write and
share information was great. There
was also a willingness to have at
least one article sent to <strong>the</strong> local
newspaper. But for those who did
have access to a computer, this was
only during working hours and <strong>the</strong>y
did not have <strong>the</strong> time. In <strong>the</strong> end,
audio blogs seemed to be <strong>the</strong> best
option and <strong>the</strong>y worked well. These
also proved useful to <strong>the</strong> media as
<strong>the</strong>re was a lot of information and
<strong>the</strong>y were posted online.
Civil society organisations complain
about <strong>the</strong> media not taking <strong>the</strong>ir
work seriously and not showing up
for events. In many instances, if <strong>the</strong>
organisation is not willing to pay
for <strong>the</strong> journalist’s involvement,
<strong>the</strong>re will be no coverage of <strong>the</strong>
event. Many of <strong>the</strong>se journalists
are underpaid and do not have <strong>the</strong>
resources to go outside <strong>the</strong> main
centres. Some of <strong>the</strong>se journalists
are too junior to understand <strong>the</strong>
relevance of certain issues. The
pressure to meet deadlines also
makes it difficult for journalists
to follow up on stories and issues
outside <strong>the</strong> main centres.
There are no community radio
stations or community media in
some of <strong>the</strong>se communities and
mainstream media has no interest
in community issues (unless it’s a
scandal). There are no libraries and
resource centres that could keep
newspapers for current awareness,
or provide audio and books for
entertainment and education.
The cost of getting articles published
is not affordable to some, as
money has to change hands first.
Journalists want to be paid before
<strong>the</strong>y will write a story. Development
Section 2: Pluralism
issues do not seem to be a priority
in most mainstream media. In many
instances, due to ownership and
bias towards <strong>the</strong> ruling party, some
editors do not publish certain stories.
The o<strong>the</strong>r issue is that certain
discussions are not raised by <strong>the</strong>
media due to legislative challenges,
eg. sexual orientation in Uganda
and Tanzania.
Ano<strong>the</strong>r challenge that needs to
be addressed is equipping <strong>the</strong>
journalists with knowledge and
understanding of specific subjects.
“Many papers and
stations do not have
specialists and as
a result <strong>the</strong> quality
of reporting is
compromised.”
Many papers and stations do not
have specialists and as a result <strong>the</strong>
quality of reporting is compromised.
This is also evident in <strong>the</strong> way
certain issues are reported on or in
lack of content.
A partnership between <strong>the</strong> media
and <strong>the</strong> people on <strong>the</strong> ground will
ensure <strong>the</strong>re is a constant flow of
information from all sides. It will
also streng<strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong> role <strong>the</strong> media
is playing. Organisations which
implement various programmes on
<strong>the</strong> ground will be seen as reliable
sources of information as soon as
<strong>the</strong>y up <strong>the</strong>ir game.
Media in Africa - 2011 | 111