A Botswanan government minister died suddenly. The Voice’s Daniel Chida reported speculation that the unexpected demise might be connected to the country’s security services. Botswana’s vice president Slumber Tsogwane took exception. He publicly threatened the journalist, suggesting that he was a ‘sub-human’, and speculated that his professional and personal prospects would soon suffer.
The Voice’s editor in chief, Emang Mutapati was impressively robust in her reaction: Tsogwane’s intervention “undermined the critical role of the press in a democratic society and contribute(s) to a culture of distrust and dehumanisation of journalists”, she told her readers. Her sentiments were endorsed by Phillimon Mmenso, president of the Botswana Media Workers Union, when I spoke with him later.
Journalists' issues
Time in the company of union leaders from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, underlined how this was nothing unusual. We had gathered to plan collective action among southern Africa’s journalists’ unions; to agree on an action plan; and to learn about a set of tools known as ‘Media Information and Literacy’. These, we hoped, might advance our ends.
The issues at hand quickly stacked up.
Perfect Hlongwane, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists pointed out that criticism from elected officials was only one side of the coin: “Politicians become owners of media houses, and this presents serious challenges. How then do journalists ensure that they remain ethical, when they have to account to their masters?”
Jemima Beukes of the Namibia Media Professionals Union told us that: “Untrained journalists are placed under undue pressure, and come under attack for what they write. Editors must take more responsibility – managers must be part of the conversation about delivering quality journalism.”
Needless to say, public rebukes from politicians were by no means the most serious threats about which we heard testimony. Marafaele Mohloboli from Lesotho, for example, told us about a culture in her newsroom towards interns.
“Last year I had to quit my job because the interns had not been paid and now the editors were making sexual advances towards them”, she said “I tried to stand up to that, and it did not sit well with my boss. I am jobless, but unrepentant.”
Her personal stories were even more harrowing, while Mmenso, from neighbouring Botswana, confirmed her general assessment of newsroom sexual harassment. “Sexual abuse of female journalists in Botswana is rampant, but never spoken about. Women journalists are faced with the dilemma, fight for your rights or keep your job,” he said.
With so many issues, the question was what could be done? On the table was a two-fold approach.
A new federation
First the foundation of a new body to lead and coordinate action in support of journalists in southern Africa. The unions assembled put their names to a new Federation of Southern African Journalists. It will reside within the pan-African Federation of African Journalists, the newly reinvigorated IFJ regional grouping. An interim FoSAJ executive was agreed, likewise a draft constitution.
The optimism and determination on display gave cause to hope that this body will quickly make a difference. Goodwill, energy and fresh faces should carry them far – all of which they will need, given the forces ranged against them.
Media and information literacy
The second component, whose tenets run through the action plan to which the new Federation committed, is ‘Media Information and Literacy’ (MIL).
To the uninitiated, this has the sound of a rattle bag of insights and good intentions that might inform anyone considering how to enrich the communication of news today.
That there is more to it than that we were left in no doubt by UNESCO’s Alton Grizzle. With the favour of a revivalist preacher he described a school of thinking – now a subject of its own academic study – in which UNESCO, which funded the event, has invested considerable faith.
Grizzle’s primer defines MIL as: “a set of competencies to search, critically evaluate, use and contribute information and media content wisely; knowledge of one’s rights online; understanding how to detect and combat online hate speech and cyberbullying; understanding of the ethical issues surrounding the access and use of information”.
The MIL framework requires journalism to expose its process, to facilitate verification, to highlight alternative viewpoints, to involve the audience, and take responsibility for deepening the audiences’ understanding of information production.
Initially I wondered how overloaded journalists could possibly accommodate a fresh set of responsibilities when their jobs are already highly pressured and under-resourced?
As Grizzle’s case unfolded it struck me, however, that rather than being a wholly new formulation, these prescriptions resemble ideas in circulation for some time designed to help journalists make their work relevant, credible and engaging in a changing media landscape.
That these might be conceptualised in a way that unlocks collaboration with bodies such as UNESCO, makes a persuasive case.
So too did the case study shared by Al Amin Yusuph, UNESCO’s communications advisor for southern Africa. His agency supports 14 community radio stations across Zimbabwe. As well as informing and entertaining their listeners, they are designed to encourage communities to realise that we can all become creators.
The initiative’s poster girl is Auty Majority, who started as a volunteer presenter on Nyangani FM, and has since found work fronting a show on commercial radio. “Her remarkable journey shows how MIL can change lives”, said Yusuph.
I left Botswana energised and encouraged. I have no doubt that union building, cross-border co-operation and support from the international community can do much to improve the lot of reporters such as Daniel Chida on Gaberone’s The Voice.
Waiting for my plane, I caught up with news from elsewhere. Kamala Harris had debated with Donald Trump – polls of viewers gave the Democrat the contest by a margin – Trump claimed that the debate was rigged. The former president is now demanding revocation of the broadcaster’s licence.
It was a salutary reminder that most of the impediments free reporting face are observable in every corner of the earth. If FeSAJ succeeds, let’s hope they soon have lessons to share with us all.
Tim Dawson is the Deputy General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).