Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

governed by deadlines, scoops and
new ideas in <strong>the</strong> quest to win <strong>the</strong>
largest market share, which leaves
<strong>the</strong>m little time to meet toge<strong>the</strong>r as
people of <strong>the</strong> same profession.
This became evident during <strong>the</strong>
formation of <strong>the</strong> Kenya Editors’ Guild
in 1997. The idea was to establish a
professional organisation of editors
which could meet every month with
key policy makers, including <strong>the</strong>
president, and become part of <strong>the</strong>
discourse in Kenya.
At first <strong>the</strong> idea was treated with
apprehension and suspicion, while
o<strong>the</strong>rs questioned <strong>the</strong> practicability
of bringing toge<strong>the</strong>r <strong>the</strong> more than
50 editors ranging from editorial
directors, managing editors, deputy
managing editors, news editors, associate
editors and senior journalists.
Having had <strong>the</strong> privilege of coordinating
<strong>the</strong> activities of <strong>the</strong> Kenya
Editors’ Guild as <strong>the</strong> Secretary, I have
been able to identify <strong>the</strong> numerous
challenges which have faced <strong>the</strong>
guild since its inception.
Because many people see <strong>the</strong> media
as private and profitable organisations,
no donor was willing to support
<strong>the</strong> guild and many argued that
<strong>the</strong> media itself should put money
aside to streng<strong>the</strong>n professionalism
in <strong>the</strong> same way <strong>the</strong> journalists who
belong to unions pay <strong>the</strong>ir monthly
subscriptions.
The o<strong>the</strong>r challenge was to identify
<strong>the</strong> right time and day to meet, appropriate
to <strong>the</strong> majority of editors.
Since editors are <strong>the</strong> gatekeepers,
<strong>the</strong>y are required to be in <strong>the</strong>ir media
houses early in <strong>the</strong> morning and
<strong>the</strong>y leave late in <strong>the</strong> night. In order
to get <strong>the</strong> majority, a 7.30am breakfast
meeting once a month was
agreed on and this has worked well
apart from a few occasions.
The various categories of editors
– daily editors, weekend editors
and magazine editors – meant we
needed to find a suitable day in <strong>the</strong>
126 | Media in Africa - 2011
week when most editors would be
available. They <strong>the</strong>refore agreed to
meet on a Wednesday unless <strong>the</strong>re
was an emergency which required a
different day and time.
Over <strong>the</strong> 14 <strong>years</strong> since <strong>the</strong> first editors’
guild meeting in Kenya, <strong>the</strong> association
has faced numerous challenges,
like a high turnover of active
editors, limited resources, political
interference, different ideologies,
competing interests among media
houses and government interference.
But <strong>the</strong> Kenya Editors’ Guild
is now a formidable professional
association with office bearers in
place. Its role especially during <strong>the</strong>
political transitions of 1997, 2002
and 2008 was instrumental in shaping
<strong>the</strong> political destiny of Kenya.
“Despite <strong>the</strong> huge
challenges that media
and journalists face
every day, editors
determine how <strong>the</strong>
continent is perceived.”
The challenges that Kenyan editors
face are similar to what The African
Editors’ Forum (Taef) has been going
through. Founding chair Mathatha
Tsedu, who initiated <strong>the</strong> forum in
2003, once said that when editors
from all over <strong>the</strong> continent met
for <strong>the</strong> first time to look at <strong>the</strong>ir
role and responsibility, <strong>the</strong>y had a
dream to tell <strong>the</strong> African story – but
<strong>the</strong> practical challenge was how to
streng<strong>the</strong>n national editors’ guilds.
Taef itself was to meet every two
<strong>years</strong>, based on regional offices from
all five regions of Africa.
Two <strong>years</strong> <strong>after</strong> that, a meeting of
editors from all over <strong>the</strong> continent
discussed <strong>the</strong> fact that news from
within Africa was being told by <strong>the</strong>
Western media, and that <strong>the</strong> fundamental
ingredient that made democracy
and development possible
was <strong>the</strong> free flow of information.
The main concern for <strong>the</strong> editors
<strong>the</strong>n, and still, is that news from
poor communities rarely makes
headlines and when it does it is
nearly always bad news.
Armed with <strong>the</strong> new dream and zeal,
Taef had an objective of defending
and promoting media freedom and
independence in order to enable
African media to tell and share
stories without hindrance. It formed
four regional bodies, viz. Sou<strong>the</strong>rn
region, West region, Central region
and East region.
Almost eight <strong>years</strong> later, despite <strong>the</strong>
challenges, Taef has made its presence
felt by defending media freedom
and independence. It has successfully
engaged with presidents
such as Jacob Zuma and with <strong>the</strong>
African Union Secretary General. It
has written numerous petitions to
countries where press freedom is
being abused.
One challenge which Taef faces is
that regional chapters have become
moribund, partly because of a lack
of resources which has also affected
national editors’ forums. For example
<strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rn Africa Editors’ Forum
which used to be very active is
no longer active. The Central African
Editors’ Forum took <strong>years</strong> to take
off due to resource limitations and
political interference. The East African
Editors’ Forum although strong
does not have sustained resources
to realise its activities, and <strong>the</strong> same
applies to <strong>the</strong> West Africa Editors’
Forum. The North Africa Editors’
Forum has never been formed even
though individual editors from <strong>the</strong>
region attend Taef’s meetings and
subscribe to its objectives.
Unless <strong>the</strong>se and o<strong>the</strong>r challenges
are addressed, <strong>the</strong> role of Taef in
streng<strong>the</strong>ning media freedom, independence
and access to information
in Africa could be jeopardised.