Sierra Leone's Independent Media Commission (IMC) is under pressure to act tough against the increasingly compromised media in the country. While media advocates across the world lament the situation journalists face in the hands of powerful ‘predators’, in Sierra Leone the journalists seem to be the predators. The country boasts of one of the freest press in Africa, but a closer look reveals a complicated reality. The media is divided along political and regional-tribal lines. And the battle between the divergent interests gets worse by the day.

Many blame the situation on the supposed ‘freedom’ the press enjoys. But the factors are numerous, and they are so entrenched that it worries the leadership of the Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), which is also under mounting pressure to act against its members.“The fragility of our country’s politics is worrisome. The reckless practice by some of our journalists is dreadful,” lamented SLAJ president Umaru Fofana during his World Press Freedom Day message on May 3.[more]

The World Press Freedom Day ushered in AMI’s newest and decidedly ambitious project -- Leadership Guiding Principles for African Media Owners and Managers --which it launched in Tanzania in collaboration with the country’s media sector.[more]

They listened with rapt attention. And the stories of how journalists in Britain, United States of America, Canada and other climes became instant superstars by invoking Freedom of Information (FOI) Law to dig up corrupt practices within the system are not only pleasing, participants at the one-day seminar in Lagos last Thursday were really motivated to begin to activate the FOI Act for similar objectives in Nigeria.

With Can the FoI Act Ensure A Corruption-Free Society? as theme, the seminar was a collaborative effort between the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Lagos State chapter and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) Foundation.[more]

As Africa’s economies grow, an insidious attack on press freedom is under way. Independent African journalists covering the continent’s development are now frequently persecuted for critical reporting on the misuse of public finances, corruption and the activities of foreign investors.

Why this disturbing trend? In the West, cynicism about African democracy has led governments to narrow their development priorities to poverty reduction and stability; individual liberties like press freedom have dropped off the agenda, making it easier for authoritarian rulers to go after journalists more aggressively. In the 1990s, leaders like Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia were praised by the West as political and social reformers. Today, the West extols these men for achieving growth and maintaining stability, which they do largely with a nearly absolute grip over all national institutions and the press. [more]

If it were passed, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) would give ordinary people access to government information. The FOI Bill that was recently presented to Parliament by the Gaborone Central Member of Parliament, Dumelang Saleshando, was hailed by an Australian professor as having a number of very positive measures in upgrading Botswana’s approach to the management of public information.

Before it was drafted, Saleshando and a number of people and institutions, including eminent lawyers and the Media Institute of Southern Africa- Botswana Chapter, had travelled to South Africa to learn about that country’s FOIA; thereafter a consultative conference was held at the Maharajah Conference Centre that was attended by various interested groups including civil society, opposition political parties, academics, lawyers and the media. After many years’ discussion and abortive attempts to prod government into passing a FOIA, it appeared that at last a step was being taken towards passing a law that would enable the public to access government information.[more]

Rights groups and activists are warning of a rapidly deteriorating political climate in Angola following a police raid on a private newspaper and a violent crackdown on anti-government protests.

On the morning of Mar. 12, 20 computers were seized from the offices of the outspoken Folha 8, one of Angola’s few remaining private publications that is critical of the government, under a warrant investigating "crimes of outrage against the state" and violations of press freedom.

The marches had been convened to protest about irregularities in the electoral process including the appointment of a member of the ruling party to run the National Electoral Commission.

Although only a few dozen people gathered in each city, neither protest was allowed to go ahead.[more]

Journalists in the traditional media dealt with their ethics through a set of established rules and practices. We should not accept gifts or freebies, or allow a conflict of interest in stories we cover. We should be immunised from the influence of advertisers. We should separate commentary and news reporting and convey the views of all parties to a story.

The watchwords were objectivity and fairness, and these values were reflected in codes of conduct and newsroom rituals.

Such rules were developed in the pre-internet age, when there were far fewer media outlets and they tended to carry weight and authority, even though this was sometimes illusory. There was a daily news cycle and much more time to verify the facts, speak to all the parties and “complete” a story before publication or broadcast.[more]

The continent's future is tied to its media. Free open media promises much for flourishing democracies and economic growth, but authoritarian states will struggle to let go of controls.

2012 is upon us after being the subject of much superstition, with beliefs ranging from this year being a time of transformation to more apocalyptic myths that the world's going to end because of indications contained in the Mesoamerican Long Count, or Mayan calendar.

A mixed bag for media in Africa

These madly divergent high and low road 'scenarios' are about as mixed as the media's fortunes in Africa. 2012 offers massive opportunity for the continent's media, but there's also great peril.[more]

Journalism isn't a profession you get into if you want an easy ride. This has certainly proven true for journalists covering Africa in 2011, many of whom paid with their lives. Challenges in 2012 include covering ongoing conflict zones, election periods, and continuing the fight for access to information.

As another new year rolls around, it's back to the grindstone – for the employed among us anyway. But for some people returning to work the stakes are higher than others. There are the obvious jobs that involve occupational hazards: soldier, policeman, spy, to name just a few. You can add “journalist” to that list. Journalists in Africa (and throughout the world) increasingly risk censure, intimidation, jail time, and even being killed – simply for doing their jobs.

2011 was a turbulent year for Africa's journalists – and not all of them escaped with their lives. According to research by the Committee to Protect Journalists, 12 journalists in Africa were killed last year: five in Libya, including Anton Hammerl; two in Egypt; two in Somalia; and one in each of Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, and Tunisia. In addition, three media workers were killed: in Somalia, Libya, and Côte d'Ivoire. And the true figure could well be higher. CPJ only includes in its tally journalists who have been killed in cross fire, while covering dangerous stories, or deliberately taken out as a result of their work, and the organisation is currently investigating the deaths of three more journalists – Charles Ingabire in Uganda; and two others in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.

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A year after the start of democratic uprisings in the Arab world, Reporters Without Borders takes stock of censorship and violations of free speech during the “Arab Spring”. Journalists, especially photographers, have paid a heavy price.
Eleven media workers have been killed in the performance of their duty, among them several internationally known photojournalists. However, most of the victims were local journalists.
Reporters Without Borders takes a look at the methods used by the authorities to strangle the flow of information during the popular uprisings in six countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Syria and Yemen) up to mid-November 2011.
It all began in Tunisia on 17 December last year when Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in front of the offices of the Sidi Bouzid governorate. His death set off a wave of demonstrations calling for democratic change which forced President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali out of office on 14 January and quickly spread to other countries in the region.

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