Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

Striving to become self sufficient
By Jeanette Minnie
Jeanette Minnie is a former director of
<strong>the</strong> Media Institute of Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Africa
and today operates <strong>the</strong> consultancy
Zambezi FoX: International Freedom
of Expression.
124 | Media in Africa - 2011
In Africa, an essential strategy in
<strong>the</strong> promotion of free and independent
media is <strong>the</strong> establishment
of as many privately and
community-owned media (i.e.
non-state media) as is possible
and practical. The simple logic is
that in circumstances where oppression
of freedom of speech and
expression continues unabated,
<strong>the</strong> creation of many media outlets
eventually outstrips <strong>the</strong> capacity
of <strong>the</strong> state to close <strong>the</strong>m
down.
This approach is also consistent
with <strong>the</strong> historic 1991 <strong>Declaration</strong>
of <strong>Windhoek</strong> on Promoting an
Independent and Pluralistic African
Press. At least four of <strong>the</strong> 10
“Initiatives and Projects” identified
in an Annex to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Declaration</strong>
directly refer to issues of financial
sustainability of <strong>the</strong> press and
ano<strong>the</strong>r three call for <strong>the</strong> creation
of national and regional unions for
publishers, editors and journalists.
Naturally <strong>the</strong> <strong>Windhoek</strong> <strong>Declaration</strong>
also refers to important
complementary strategies for <strong>the</strong>
promotion of a free and independent
media including <strong>the</strong> removal
of anti-media freedom laws, <strong>the</strong>
safety and protection of journalists,
and education in ethical journalism
amongst o<strong>the</strong>rs.
Despite <strong>the</strong> recommendations and
<strong>the</strong> strategic nature of establishing
non-state media in Africa, <strong>the</strong>
establishment (and business development
support) of such entities
has been one of <strong>the</strong> most neglected
areas of media development from a
funding and financing point of view.
As an example, consider when <strong>the</strong>
existence of a tiny handful of surviving
non-state newspapers in Zimbabwe
hung in <strong>the</strong> balance in 2008
during <strong>the</strong> worst hyperinflationary
environment in <strong>the</strong> world — coupled
to some of <strong>the</strong> most oppressive media
legislation in <strong>the</strong> world. Only a
tiny handful of donors were willing
to contribute modest funds to help
<strong>the</strong>m continue publishing through
ano<strong>the</strong>r violent and controversial
election during which open political
debate hardly existed.
The argument cited was that donor
aid could not be used in support
of private enterprise. But those
of us who believe that freedom of
information is a fundamental human
right also know that selling media is
not <strong>the</strong> exactly same thing as selling
shoe polish. Although some media
may indeed fall into that category,
most media carries content that
plays a role in developing and
maintaining democracy.
In countries where circumstances
are not so dire, a lack of financial
resources and media business skills
means that media have too little
reach to generate <strong>the</strong> necessary
critical mass of audience in order
to hold governments to account for
<strong>the</strong>ir policies and actions. Research
conducted for <strong>the</strong> African Media
Initiative (AMI) in 2008 showed
a severe shortage of available
loan or equity capital at levels