Who is the African Media Serving?
It was indeed a dark day for
Since the Black October, the landscape has changed drastically. Members of the media know that as a result of the attainment of freedom, they can virtually articulate their views without fear or favour. You are free to expose the injustices of society, to probe the activities of government, to criticize our actions and yourselves too. And you need not fear the appearance of the police - unless, of course, you haven't paid your taxes or have done something to offend the Scorpions!
The greatest change, of course, has been in the field of electronic publishing and the Internet. These changes can best be described as a revolution, as they are revolutionizing how we work, relax, engage with each other and with the rest of the world.
We have crafted a constitution which, through the Bill of Rights, guarantees the freedom of speech, freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of the press. No-one can doubt that we have become a more open society, thanks to both the new society and impact of the new technology. These two developments - the growing openness of our society, and the information technology revolution which has taken place alongside it - pose the two greatest challenges to the media in the millennium. How the media uses the space provided by democracy and the technology made available through the information revolution will determine its future.
Firstly, we must be clear about the impact of the technological revolution which is sweeping across the world. It has the potential to fundamentally change the power relationships within society and to influence economies, political structures, civil society and corporate destinies. It poses major challenges to all of us - not least of all to those involved in the dissemination of information. As more and more people get access to information, we have to ask ourselves: What will course through those new communications arteries? What content will run through those optic fibers? What agenda will be pursued?
A related question is: by what yardstick will we determine what is newsworthy and what is not? Indeed, who determines what is news? A classical example is the story told by the President of a senior journalist telling him "it is not my duty to report when you build a dam, but it is certainly my responsibility to report when you fail to build the dam."
We would obviously want to see an agenda which empowers the broad mass of Africans by providing them with information they can use. This would include the promotion of socio-economic development, involving communities in development, facilitating internal and external trade, promoting collective self-determination and human rights, and so on.
We would like to see the media using technology to adopt a more probing approach to the world we live in. The media has a critical role to play in using new technology to expose corrupt practices, wherever they are. Computers, electronic databases and the world-wide web allow journalists to more rigorously monitor and scrutinize the activities of those in power. They are powerful resources in the hands of an investigative journalist.
Secondly, there are challenges facing the media in the open society. May this millennium bring with it a new approach to journalism: A commitment to tell the truth; a commitment to balanced reportage, presenting all sides of the story before publication in fairness; a media which acknowledges its responsibility to ensure the deepening of democracy by being constructive, developmental, educational, transforming and generally positive about our future.
May this millennium mark the beginning of the end of poor journalism: An end to single-source reporting; sensationalism for the sake of it; publication of untested allegations from faceless unnamed sources; and reliance on the same tired minority voices at the expense of the majority.
Let it bring with it an end to negative criticism based on the false notion that the relationship between government and the media is necessarily antagonistic. It was proper and correct for the media in the past to join hands with the people in the struggle against apartheid and its government. There needs now to be a paradigm shift in how we perceive the relationship between government and the media is necessarily antagonistic. It was proper and correct for the media in the past to join hands with the people in the struggle against apartheid and its government. There needs now to be a paradigm shift in how we perceive the relationship between the democratic government and the media.
There is a disturbing body of opinion which suggests that black journalists negatively criticize government to earn themselves "positions of authority" in the industry. We need to correct this perception, for if it is true, it belittles the contributions of generations of black writers who have made an enormous contribution to this profession.
This millennium provides an opportunity for a new beginning, and we would encourage the media to commemorate this by itself embarking on a series of "Millennium Projects": Projects within newsrooms to find new sources of information and expertise. We are still not seeing equality in the presentation of the views of women - particularly on issues such as the economy, which remains almost immune to the views of women commentators.
Other millennium projects could include a conscious campaign to involve the people of Africa in a debate around their understanding of media freedom. It is critical debate, and one which should involve the practitioners, the industry and society at large. We would like to hear how ordinary Africans feel about the freedom of the media, and how they perceive its role.
The challenges facing the media are not only confined to those who practice as journalists. The owners of media institutions face even greater challenges as they deal with declining readerships and audiences and struggle to come to terms with the proliferation of new sources and channels of news. To some extent, the solution lies in the industry's own hands.
It would benefit the media to make a conscious, clearly spelt out commitment to the training and development of journalists. This is one of the greatest challenges facing the media right now - to train and retain skilled people from various backgrounds, to ensure the highest quality journalism on radio and television, in our newspapers and magazines, and on the growing numbers of news websites on the internet.
A Millennium Project to ensure this would make an invaluable contribution not just to the media, but to society at large. Such a project would require the commitment of resources and expertise on an unprecedented scale, and would need a genuine commitment to ensure the empowerment of staff. It would require input from staff themselves, and co-determination on the objectives and outcomes. Similarly, the media needs to play a leading role in bringing about greater diversity in the Industry. There is need for accelerated change in ownership structures. New ways need to be found to ensure the survival of emerging media, such as the myriad of fledgling community media stations.
The Media Development and Diversity Agency which is being explored by Government will go some way to ensuring this, but perhaps the industry should be considering its own Millennium Projects to ensure the establishment of new voices for the marginalized, which would greatly enrich our society. It should be taking a lead in diverting its experience and resources into these initiatives - again, both for the sake of the industry and for society at large.
Finally, the challenge for black journalists in general and Africans in particular remains the need to articulate and promote the concept of the rebirth of Africa as a continent and the creation of a better life for all its people. They need to do this not as mere spectators, critics and commentators - but as an integral part of a broader movement for the realization of the African renaissance.
There is therefore a need for those who work in this industry to ensure a balance between their social responsibility of informing the people, playing their watchdog role and the economic interests of its shareholders.
The government, the media and all other sectors should co-operate and form a strong partnership around strengthening democracy and inculcating a culture of right and responsibilities, a new morality and a new patriotism. This is the challenge for all of us as we grapple and reflect on the issues at hand. Our prosperous future is certain, together, with your co-operation and support we can move forward with confidence to ensure that never again shall the state machinery be used to suppress freedom of expression and other aspirations of the people!