Twenty years after the Windhoek Declaration on press freedom

However, not all journalists echoed
such sentiments. A business journalist
from <strong>the</strong> Accra Daily Mail
commented that “every African has
a duty to promote Nepad”. He continued:
“So it is right to say that it
is <strong>the</strong> role and responsibility of journalists
in Africa to promote a concept
designed by African leaders. If
we as journalists in Africa don’t publicise
Nepad, we can’t expect European
journalists to do it for us.” He
took <strong>the</strong> issue into a fur<strong>the</strong>r realm
by asserting that this was not about
supporting Nepad simply because
one was an African and a journalist,
but ra<strong>the</strong>r it was about “patriotism”
and “nationalism”.
That last example in particular is of
a journalist negotiating a complex
configuration out of <strong>the</strong> pull of different
options, in seeking to define
who he is in terms of <strong>the</strong> broader
role he identifies with (Africanity)
and <strong>the</strong> reasons for this identification
(nationality). It is his way of
seeking to align himself within a
context with competing identities
linked to nationality, profession and
Africanity. Even when <strong>the</strong> outcomes
are different, all African journalists
perform <strong>the</strong>se kinds of negotiations
of identity so as to give meaning to
what <strong>the</strong>y do within a specific context.
Often, <strong>the</strong> negotiations seem to involve
explicit efforts by <strong>the</strong> individuals
concerned to separate <strong>the</strong>mselves
as neutral-oriented journalists from
<strong>the</strong> challenges of development in <strong>the</strong>
African societies to which <strong>the</strong>y belong.
This can be read as a strategic
attempt to downplay any suggestion
that <strong>the</strong>y lack commitment to <strong>the</strong>
dominant neutral-objectivist-watchdog
professional model of journalism.
Some of <strong>the</strong>m come across as
thinking <strong>the</strong>y have to make a clear
choice between neutral journalism,
on <strong>the</strong> one hand, and a commitment
to Africa, on <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r.
Many still associate “development
140 | Media in Africa - 2011
journalism” with African government
attempts to avoid criticism and curb
media freedoms. Accepting <strong>the</strong>
attached and developmentist role
could, for adherents of this view,
lead to government interference
and <strong>the</strong> loss of autonomy and
independence.
“Even when <strong>the</strong>
outcomes are
different, all African
journalists perform
<strong>the</strong>se kinds of
negotiations of
identity so as to give
meaning to what <strong>the</strong>y
do within a specific
context.”
But many journalists in Africa
have adopted certain of <strong>the</strong> ideals
from <strong>the</strong> neutral-objectivist model
of Western journalism, often
adapted to <strong>the</strong>ir domestic context.
In this way, <strong>the</strong>y see professional
independence and <strong>the</strong> role of being
neutral information disseminators
as amounting to <strong>the</strong> most
re-sponsible response to social and
political challenges at national and
continent-wide levels.
REFERENCES:
Kanyegirire A (2007). Journalists’
perceptions of <strong>the</strong>ir roles and
identities with regard to Nepad.
Rhodes University: School of
Journalism and Media Studies (Phd
Thesis). Retrieved from <strong>the</strong> web:
http://eprints.ru.ac.za/1566/1/
Kanyegirire-TR08-182.pdf on
27/6/2011.
Nepad (2009). The Vaal Consensus.
Retrieved from <strong>the</strong> web:
http://www.nepad.org/nepad/
k n o w l e d g e / d o c / 1 8 3 3 / v a a l -
consensus-partnering-mediaafrica%E2%80%99s-development
on 28/6/2011.
Nepad (2011). The Maseru <strong>Declaration</strong>:
in support of <strong>the</strong> African media
for development. Retrieved from
<strong>the</strong> web: http://www.nepad.org/fr/
nepad/news/2314/maseru-declaration
on 28/6/2011.