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 Ethics







With democracy, journalists acquire more freedom of expression. But there are a lot of

them out there as well as more media. Struggling for survival, most of them are faced

with the harsh reality of a limited market while, at the same time, the State budgets

allocated to the press are being reduced. Added to the market competition, new media

like company magazines and free sheets have appeared as well as media promoting the

interests of factions and religious groups. And then, last but not least, is the Internet.




 cutting all that together, journalism > >
 has become a more precarious pro-


 session, with the associated risk of
 declining standards and that is not
to mention the confusion between 'media'
produced by professionals fully committed to
upholding journalistic ethics and others who
don't or won't subscribe to the same stand-
ards.
When dictatorships were the norm in parts of
Africa and other developing regions, every
government or ruling party controlled the
press, effectively muzzling any attempt atjour-
nalistic independence. At that time the transi-
tion to democracy was often preceded by the
emergence of a courageous (written and audio-
visual) press. This was often initially made up
of a few mavericks who generally paid dearly
for their commitment and audacity: sometimes
with their lives. But their very existence was an
indicator of the beginning of the end for many
autocracies. The transition to democracy was
often coupled with an increase in the number
of media outlets and this heralded the begin-
ning of competition for an audience and for
advertising. It was also a period that brought
the emergence of a unipolar world with the
collapse of the Soviet bloc, structural adjust-
ments and other budgetary restrictions. The
new democratic governments rarely regarded
support for the press as a priority save for the
odd exception, like Tanzania; and even there
the regime had an objective, that of favouring
Swahili as the nation' s first language.


Given these precarious conditions, the jour-
nalistic profession has often become a poor
man's career and also linked to falling stand-
ards when compared with the earlier period
of transition. This is partly because recruit-
ment cannot be selective when wages are so
low and partly due to the lack of schools of
joumalism. Despite this, many joumalists in
the developing countries have the required
qualities and training to follow their profes-
sion in the best way possible and in general
have a qualification in journalism or some
similar diploma.
However, poor pay often puts ethical consid-
erations under extreme pressure. For exam-
ple a joumalist who lives in Ougadougou,
Kingston or elsewhere who is without trans-
port, or cannot buy a drink at a hotel where
he has to interview a foreign aid partner or
principal private secretary, and in order to
live, has to be partly in the pay of a lobby
group, a politician or a foreign agency, is
placed in a vulnerable situation when it comes
to the ethics of his or her profession. When
fighting for freedom of speech, independent
joumalists in the developing countries often
had to show exemplary courage. But what
about afterwards? You can be courageous and
make do with next to nothing while fighting
for freedom, but it is difficult to show such
courage throughout one's career.


Badly paid journalists constitute a ready pool
of labour for the communication needs of
large companies and organizations as well as
government and opposition politicians. They
also risk being attracted by religious sects
or factions that often have ample financial
resources. While most respect the rules of
democracy, that cannot be said of all of them.
Memories of Rwanda are still very vivid.






When, in order to survive, a journalist violates
the ethical rules of his profession, he is gener-
ally well aware of the fact. Indeed, the enemy
of press independence in the countries of the
South today are not the dictatorships of the
past, but the low wages of journalists. Those
employed by foreign or local media who pay
them a fair wage are increasingly recognized
for the quality of their work. Media in the
North are increasingly supportingjournalists in
the South, most often by organising work place-
ments. Another form of support, in this world
where distance is no longer a technical problem
in circulating and seeking information, could
be to employ their services, while of course
applying the customary rigour when recruiting
them. A growing number of European profes-
sionals are aware of this. H.G. I


The media had a devastating role in the Rwandan genocide. This illustration, published in July 1993 in
issue 46 of the newspaper, Kangura, is a symbol of the alliance between the extremist pro-hutu written
press, radio and television. Taken from the book entitled Rwanda. Les medias de la haine (by J.-P.
Chretien), Ed. Karthala. Courtesyof Karthala


Keywords
Hegel Goutier; factionalism; democratic
transition; ethical journalism.


SPECIAL ISSUE 2 N.E. DECEMBER 2008