Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom
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elow US$ 5-milli<strong>on</strong>. This was<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> minimum amount required to<br />
grow small and medium enterprises<br />
into substantially larger media<br />
businesses.<br />
Fortunately a number of media organisati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
now exist to tackle <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
challenge of media development in<br />
Africa in its purest form — developing<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> business skills of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media.<br />
This is ra<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r than <strong>on</strong>ly addressing<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> media law and policy and journalism<br />
training envir<strong>on</strong>ments.<br />
The best known of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se is <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
Sou<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rn African Media Development<br />
Fund (Samdef) in Botswana<br />
which focuses <strong>on</strong> n<strong>on</strong>-state media<br />
in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> SADC states. Efforts have<br />
been underway for some time to<br />
establish a West African Media<br />
Development Fund (Wamdef), but<br />
progress has again been hampered<br />
by d<strong>on</strong>ors who are reluctant to<br />
make development aid available for<br />
this purpose.<br />
On a pan-African level <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> African<br />
Media Initiative (AMI) was established<br />
in 2008 to streng<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>n <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinent’s private and independent<br />
media sector from an owner<br />
and operator perspective in order<br />
to promote democratic governance,<br />
social development and ec<strong>on</strong>omic<br />
growth.<br />
The Associati<strong>on</strong> of Independent<br />
Publishers of Sou<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rn Africa (AIP-<br />
SA) is ano<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r highly innovative organisati<strong>on</strong><br />
in which small grassroots<br />
media share best practices, business<br />
training and advertising skills.<br />
To make media pluralism effective<br />
and sustainable, in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> interests of<br />
<strong>press</strong> <strong>freedom</strong>, we need more of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se kinds of initiatives.<br />
Secti<strong>on</strong> 3: Independence<br />
Networking editors is key<br />
to media independence<br />
By Rosemary Okello-Orlale<br />
Rosemary Okello-Orlale is <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
executive director of African<br />
Woman and Child Feature<br />
Service (AWC). She is also<br />
secretary to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Kenya Editors’<br />
Guild and treasurer of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
African Editors’ Forum.<br />
“As editors you occupy positi<strong>on</strong>s of<br />
great eminence. You have a voice<br />
and are in c<strong>on</strong>trol of means by which<br />
to make that voice heard. What<br />
you say and do today is <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>refore<br />
<strong>on</strong>e of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> determinants of what<br />
South Africa will be tomorrow.”<br />
This statement was made by Thabo<br />
Mbeki during <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> inaugurati<strong>on</strong> of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> South African Nati<strong>on</strong>al Editors’<br />
Forum <strong>on</strong> 19 October 1996.<br />
The observati<strong>on</strong> by Mbeki, Deputy<br />
President of South Africa at that<br />
time, captures <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> role of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
editors especially within <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> African<br />
c<strong>on</strong>text. Despite <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> huge challenges<br />
that media and journalists face<br />
every day, editors determine how<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>tinent is perceived. As <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
gatekeepers in media houses, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>y<br />
have <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> power to decide what <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
public should read, when and how,<br />
and to an extent <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>y also decide<br />
what <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> public should not know.<br />
Their role in what voices people<br />
hear and what informati<strong>on</strong> people<br />
get is generally managed through<br />
editorial policies, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> use of a code<br />
of ethics and efforts to ensure a<br />
high level of professi<strong>on</strong>alism in<br />
media c<strong>on</strong>tent. Due to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> nature<br />
of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>ir work, editors are always<br />
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