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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critical to journalism as well as<br />
to citizens and groups striving<br />
for transparency and openness. It<br />
is essential to good governance,<br />
accountable internati<strong>on</strong>al relati<strong>on</strong>s,<br />
h<strong>on</strong>est business practices and<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>mental c<strong>on</strong>cerns, am<strong>on</strong>gst<br />
o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>rs. The earlier demands in<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Windhoek</str<strong>on</strong>g> were that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> state<br />
should permit <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> right to free<br />
ex<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong> through <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>press</strong><br />
and subsequently broadcasting,<br />
and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se issues understandably<br />
dominated <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> flavour of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> two<br />
decades <str<strong>on</strong>g>after</str<strong>on</strong>g> 1991. Today, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> o<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r<br />
side of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> coin is for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> state to not<br />
just stay out of unwarranted c<strong>on</strong>trol<br />
of informati<strong>on</strong> in society, but to<br />
also open up its own informati<strong>on</strong><br />
resources for public inspecti<strong>on</strong> and<br />
c<strong>on</strong>trol. That requires governments<br />
practice transparency and also<br />
proactively empower citizens to<br />
access public informati<strong>on</strong>, such as by<br />
using (and promoting <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> spread of)<br />
Informati<strong>on</strong> and Communicati<strong>on</strong>s<br />
Technologies (ICTs).<br />
The schema above lays out how<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Windhoek</str<strong>on</strong>g> prompted <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> evoluti<strong>on</strong><br />
of African standards appropriate<br />
to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> ideal of journalism. It also<br />
points us to investigating in more<br />
depth how actual practice compares<br />
to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se standards over <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> past 20<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>years</str<strong>on</strong>g>. Accordingly, this brings us<br />
to an assessment of progress since<br />
1991 in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>diti<strong>on</strong>s for African<br />
journalism, including <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> wider<br />
envir<strong>on</strong>ment of free ex<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong> and<br />
media <strong>freedom</strong>. Also relevant is an<br />
assessment of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> state of access<br />
to informati<strong>on</strong>. The verdict, as<br />
elaborated below, is that <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re have<br />
been major improvements in regard<br />
to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> visi<strong>on</strong> for a free print media,<br />
partial progress in broadcasting, but<br />
still a lot of work needed in regard<br />
to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> right to informati<strong>on</strong>. Warning<br />
lights need to flash, however, in<br />
relati<strong>on</strong> to a general retrogressive<br />
trend in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> past decade. The terrain<br />
for journalism is still far from<br />
optimum, and new issues are also<br />
arising in relati<strong>on</strong> to <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> spread of<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> Internet. All of this is explored<br />
below.<br />
3. What we’re looking at:<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Windhoek</str<strong>on</strong>g> 1991 set out several ideal<br />
standards for African journalism to<br />
flourish, and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>se can be grouped<br />
into in four broad categories. They<br />
are: <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> c<strong>on</strong>text, capital, capacity<br />
and knowledge needed for African<br />
journalism to c<strong>on</strong>tribute fully to<br />
democracy and development <strong>on</strong> <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
c<strong>on</strong>tinent.<br />
C<strong>on</strong>textual standards – political,<br />
legal, social:<br />
a) A society should have free and<br />
diverse media instituti<strong>on</strong>s: As<br />
a standard, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>re should be <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
establishment, maintenance<br />
and fostering of an independent,<br />
pluralistic and free <strong>press</strong>.<br />
This aspirati<strong>on</strong> was fur<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g>r<br />
elaborated in <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <str<strong>on</strong>g>Declarati<strong>on</strong></str<strong>on</strong>g>:<br />
(i) independence was from<br />
governmental, political or<br />
ec<strong>on</strong>omic c<strong>on</strong>trol; (ii) <strong>freedom</strong><br />
was from government c<strong>on</strong>trol<br />
of materials and infrastructure<br />
essential for producti<strong>on</strong> and<br />
disseminati<strong>on</strong>; (iii) pluralism<br />
was specified as being an end<br />
to m<strong>on</strong>opolies and ensuring,<br />
instead, <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> widest range of<br />
media outlets and opini<strong>on</strong>s.<br />
b) There should be professi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
and ec<strong>on</strong>omic <strong>freedom</strong>s: This<br />
standard requires <strong>freedom</strong> for<br />
jailed and exiled journalists;<br />
an end to re<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong> against<br />
individual journalists; and<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> lifting of restricti<strong>on</strong>s (eg.<br />
<strong>on</strong> newsprint and licensing<br />
systems) that c<strong>on</strong>strain <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
opportunity to publish and<br />
to circulate media within and<br />
across nati<strong>on</strong>al borders.<br />
Overview<br />
Tanzania: What’s new in Zanzibar?<br />
A buyer is spoilt for choice as he<br />
scans <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> plurality of titles available<br />
in St<strong>on</strong>e Town, in 2008. (Photo by<br />
Alessio Rinella, http://www.flickr.<br />
com/photos/rinhello/)<br />
Capital:<br />
a) There should be support:<br />
<str<strong>on</strong>g>Windhoek</str<strong>on</strong>g> urged direct d<strong>on</strong>or<br />
funding for n<strong>on</strong>-governmental<br />
publicati<strong>on</strong>s, with <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> limitati<strong>on</strong><br />
that any external support<br />
for state-owned media should<br />
be <strong>on</strong>ly “where authorities<br />
guarantee a c<strong>on</strong>stituti<strong>on</strong>al and<br />
effective <strong>freedom</strong> of informati<strong>on</strong><br />
and ex<strong>press</strong>i<strong>on</strong> and <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
independence of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> <strong>press</strong>”.<br />
b) Collaborati<strong>on</strong> is needed:<br />
The standard to be striven for<br />
here is cooperati<strong>on</strong> between<br />
publishers within Africa, and<br />
between publishers of <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g><br />
North and South, and support<br />
for <str<strong>on</strong>g>the</str<strong>on</strong>g> creati<strong>on</strong> of regi<strong>on</strong>al<br />
African <strong>press</strong> enterprises.<br />
Media in Africa - 2011 | 17