Press, Power & Politics AFRICA MEDIA FORUM September 27-28, 2000 • , Board of Trustees PRESS, POWER & POLITICS • AFRICA MEDIA FORUM Charles L. Overby, Chairman Contents Page and Chief Executive Officer Peter S. Prichard, President Ghanaian media face test in covering election 1 Harry W. Brooks Jr. Madelyn P. Jennings Government minister cautions press against ‘reckless sensationalism’ 2 Malcolm R. Kirschenbaum Bette Bao Lord Former U.S. senator urges unifying Ghanaian press Brian Mulroney 2 Jan Neuharth Will Norton Jr. Candidates field questions from press, public 3 John C. Quinn Josefina A. Salas-Porras Media scramble to cover crucial Ghanaian elections 4 Paul Simon Ghanaian cartoonists lament their professional isolation and Allen H. Neuharth, Founder vulnerability to lawsuits 6 Editorial: Maurice R. Fliess Net technology making inroads into Ghanaian journalism Rod Sandeen 6

Photos: West African editor: Journalists must cope with ‘government arrogance’ 7 Judy G. Rolfe

Map: opens library for journalists in Mali 8 Grant Jerding

The Freedom Forum World Center 1101 Wilson Blvd. Forum in Accra, Ghana, examines coverage Arlington, VA 22209 USA Tel: 703/528-0800 of political campaigns across Africa Fax: 703/284-3529 E-mail: [email protected] The Freedom Forum continued its year- democratic constitution in 1992 set the Internet: www.freedomforum.org long series of international media forums on stage for the blossoming of independent “Press, Power & news organizations to compete against the African Center Politics” Sept. 27-28 state-owned media, which remain strong. 7TH Floor, JHI House in Accra, Ghana. Related training sessions for Ghanaian 11 Cradock Ave. An unprecedent- journalists looked at how the Internet and Rosebank 2196 Johannesburg ed joint appearance editorial cartooning can be used in political Tel: 27-11-327-0269 by six of the seven coverage. Fax: 27-11-327-0242 candidates in Ghana’s Although the primary focus was on the Dec. 7 presidential host country, the Africa Media Forum also Order publications by phone: election was clearly delved into election reporting by news media The Freedom Forum makes available the highlight. It in three other West African nations – Chris Wells, senior single copies of a wide range of attracted an overflow , and Senegal – as well as conference reports, studies, speeches vice president/ and other publications related to the international of The crowd of 1,400 people . media, journalism education and the Freedom Forum as well as a vast tele- And, one day after the forum ended in First Amendment. To request a vision and radio Ghana, a Freedom Forum delegation went to publications list call 800/830-3733. audience tuned in across the West African another West African nation, Mali, to open a nation. journalism library in its capital city of Online: Journalists dominated the other panel Bamako. The library is The Freedom The Freedom Forum’s online news discussions, which examined how the print Forum’s second in Africa and the 15th in its service, free!, is on the Internet at www.freedomforum.org. This service is media, broadcasters and journalistic organi- network on four continents. a timely source of information about free zations are responding to the challenge of Previous 2000 forums on “Press, Power & press, free speech, free spirit and covering not only the multiparty presiden- Politics” were held in Lima, Peru, in March journalism issues worldwide. tial-election campaign but also races for the and in London in June. The series will con- Ghanaian Parliament. The adoption of a clude in Hong Kong in November. Ghanaian media face test in covering election

Ghana, a West African country of power in a coup d’etat in June 1979. He owned media still have the widest reach. ancient kingdoms and the first independent turned the country over to civilian rule International observers say Ghana has a African republic three months later but returned to power in mixed record on press freedom. “Although in modern history, another coup in December 1981. the 1992 constitution guarantees media has vibrant news In 1992 a new constitution was adopted. freedom, the government legally circum- media that are Under it Rawlings was twice elected presi- vents it,” according to Freedom House, a actively covering a dent but is barred from seeking a third four- New York-based foundation that monitors landmark political year term. The constitution also guaranteed press freedom. event in the freedom of expression and established a The Media Foundation of , nation’s history – National Media a multiparty presi- Commission with dential-election members from dif- “There was a time when we campaign for an ferent segments of Jerelyn Eddings, director of The Freedom Forum open seat. society to “insulate couldn’t write anything critical of African Center Across the the state-owned country, radio sta- media” from gov- the government. … There is much tions are broad- ernment interfer- casting political ence. more freedom now.” information, panel What followed —Bob Bentil, editor, The discussions, talk was a blossoming of shows and phone- private newspapers and radio in a country an Accra-based group, said that between in programs about where news had been dominated by the August 1995 and December 1997, 62 libel the Dec. 7 elec- state-owned media – Daily Graphic, The cases were filed against newspapers in tion. Newspapers, Ghanaian Times and the Ghana Accra. Politicians and political parties filed too, are dominat- Broadcasting Corp. 70% of the cases. ed by political Today, Ghana boasts 32 newspapers circu- Despite difficulties, the media climate Joan Mower, news, with head- lating in the capital city of Accra alone and has improved greatly, some journalists say. director/African and lines provoking several more in other major cities such as “There was a time when we couldn’t write Latin American programs frequent discus- Kumasi, center of the ancient Ashanti king- anything critical of the government,” said of The Freedom Forum sion about the dom. There are also 27 FM stations that broad- Bob Bentil, editor of the government-owned successor to President Jerry John Rawlings, cast in the country, where 35% of the 19 million Ghanaian Times. “Now we can. There is a former air force flight lieutenant who has people cannot read. But the government- much more freedom now.” led Ghana for the past 19 years. British colonialists, missionaries and corporations owned the first newspapers in the former colony known as the Gold Coast. Ghana: media overview for Ghanaians, more than a third of whom When Ghana gained independence in 1957, are illiterate. , the nation’s first presi- News media in Ghana include both inde- Ghana’s official language is English. Local dent, embarked on a program of pendently owned newspapers and broad- African languages are also used. cast stations, and state-owned media. “Africanization.” Nkrumah’s one-party The government-owned Ghana Broadcasting socialist government established the Ghana Despite what appears to be an open climate Corp. was the sole radio and television News Agency and started the Ghana for the media, vigilance is a watchword for broadcaster until 1994. Today scores of Institute of Journalism to train Africans to free-press advocates. Freedom House’s privately owned radio stations fill the tell their own stories and promote the con- 1999 survey on press freedom rated airwaves, but the GBC remains dominant. cept of African liberation. But virtually all Ghana’s press as “not free.” In 1999 the GBC Television, known as GTV, is also news outlets were state-owned and state- Committee to Protect Journalists said dominant, though it faces increasing controlled. Independent journalism, and Ghana has a “repressive legal climate.” competition from private channels. with it, freedom of expression, ceased to Only two of the three dozen or so regularly Sources: The Times of London, April 18, 2000; exist during the Nkrumah dictatorship, published newspapers are dailies, and both “Press, Power and Politics: Ghana,” report pre- which was toppled by the military in 1966. are state-owned: the Daily Graphic and The pared for The Freedom Forum, September For more than two decades, tensions Ghanaian Times. 2000; The World Factbook page on Ghana, U.S. flared between the media and the military Radio is the dominant source of information Central Intelligence Agency, September 2000. rulers who controlled the country for all but two years, 1979-81. Rawlings first took

PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA 1 Government minister cautions press against ‘reckless sensationalism’

Ghanaian journalists cannot afford to Those countries can tolerate some news out- copy some of the “reckless sensationalism” lets that thrive on sensationalism and scan- that characterizes the media in developed dal. “But we cannot afford this here,” countries such as the United States, said. Mahama, Ghana’s minister of communica- Ghana, a young democracy, is still learn- tions, said in a keynote address for the Africa ing the ways of a government by the people, Media Forum on “Press, Power & Politics.” he said. But for centuries, a spirit of consen- “The social cost would be too great,” he sus in the decision-making process has Minister of Communications John Mahama said. existed in the Ghanaian way of life, he says the line between information and opinion Mahama said Ghana’s news media are added. is not always clear. free and independent, and wield power that “How do we define freedom for our peo- can be used to promote national unity and ple in the face of adverse world economic Ghana’s 1992 constitution. Sometimes, he stability and to educate the public about conditions we face?” he asked the more than said, the line between information and opin- social and economic issues. Journalists, he 250 journalists, educators, students and gov- ion is not clear, “whether deliberately or said, have the capacity to present informa- ernment officials attending the forum. “How because of poor journalistic standards.” tion that allows the public to make reasoned do we define freedom and democracy in con- The government owns the country’s only choices. ditions of poverty when a country cannot two daily newspapers. It also owns Ghana An illiteracy rate estimated at 35% puts earn enough to provide all the safe water, Broadcasting Corp., which operates the only some Ghanaians at risk of being misled or schools, hospitals and roads that our people radio and television stations to reach all misinformed by the news media, Mahama still need?” parts of the country. He characterized the said. “The power to manipulate the minds of He said accepted democratic norms “can government’s role in these properties as “lit- the public must be exercised with the and must accommodate our social and his- tle more than the shareholder of commer- utmost sense of responsibility,” he said. “It is toric realities so that our democracy is not a cially run and independently managed easy to whip up antagonistic sentiments. It mere superficial carbon copy of the outward media companies.” is much harder to cultivate critical but level- forms of Westminster or Washington, but a Mahama said the lack of coverage of headed analysis, yet this is the task” for deep-rooted and lasting instrument for free- opposition candidates in the run-up to the responsible media. dom from poverty, ignorance and marginal- Dec. 7 presidential election sometimes can In developed countries, safe water, reli- ization.” be blamed on a lack of resources — such as able energy, employment, education and Mahama said the freedom and independ- camera equipment and vehicles — rather health care are taken for granted, he said. ence of the press were guaranteed by than political reasons. Former U.S. senator urges unifying Ghanaian press Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon urged self- media outlets are reporting. restraint within the Ghanaian news media Simon, a Freedom Forum trustee, said he “Be critical, but bring the country together,” wished he and other members of The Freedom he said. Forum delegation could speak Twi or Ga, two A former chairman of the Africa subcommit- widely used local languages, but he said he spoke tee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the language of friendship and freedom, which he Simon said the press could play a key role in the called more important. “This has to be the key to current presidential and parliamentary election the future of your country, which has contributed campaigns and in the overall future of Ghana. He so much,” he said. He noted that Ghana led the said his experiences had let him to conclude that Paul Simon says news media should be way to independence for African nations, becom- in any country two key roles are critical for the constructively critical. ing in 1957 the first to break away from colonial press and the government. One is keeping cor- rule. ruption to a minimum; the other is maintaining the stability that Citing the prominence of Ghanaian Kofi A. Annan, secretary-gen- comes with freedom. eral of the United Nations, and poet Maya Angelou, who once taught The Illinois Democrat and one-time newspaper publisher called at the , Simon said Ghana is in position to lead on Ghanaian journalists to support news organizations threatened West Africa and all of Africa. “It’s a great opportunity and a great with losing their freedom even if they disagree with what those responsibility,” he said.

2 PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA Ready for the “great historic debate”: (from left) Charles Wereko-Brobby, John Agyekum Kufuor, Augustus “Goosie” Tanoh, George P. Hagan, Dan Lartey, Edward Nasigrie Mahama. Candidates field questions from press, public The first-ever forum for Ghanaian presi- Moderator Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Johan- Democratic Congress, whose ticket in 1992 dential candidates attracted a raucous, over- nesburg bureau chief of CNN, said Mills was and 1996 was led by President Jerry John flow crowd of 1,400 — and six of the seven unable to participate because of a schedul- Rawlings. candidates — to the Accra International ing conflict, a remark that was greeted by The debate format was designed to give Conference Center auditorium. boos and jeers from many in the audience. each candidate time to be heard and to Co-sponsored by The Freedom Forum, Earlier in the week, Ghana’s minister of com- answer questions. The candidates were allot- the Ghana Journalists Association and the munications, John Mahama, had been quot- ted two minutes each for opening statements Ghana Broadcasting Corp., the 90-minute and for summations. In between, two discussion was carried live on television and Ghanaian journalists — newspaper colum- radio by the state-owned GBC. nist Audrey Gadzekpo and radio talk-show “This is what we’ve been wait- host Kwaku Sakyi-Addo — ques- ing for,” Godwin Avenorgbo, direc- tioned the candidates in rotating tor of radio for the GBC, said in wel- fashion. Then a dozen citizens, pre- coming the chanting, cheering, ban- selected to represent a cross-section ner-waving crowd. In the days leading of the voters, posed questions. up to the event, it was promoted on the Dominating the discussion were front pages of Ghanaian newspapers, economic issues such as the escalating both independent and state-owned, in price and decreasing supply of fuel, two-inch-high headlines as the “Great Ghana’s $500 million budget deficit, the Historic Debate.” declining value of the Ghanaian monetary Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, president of the unit (the cedi), and problems faced by Ghana Journalists Association, character- farmers, fishermen and would-be entrepre- ized the discussion as a milestone for Ghana. neurs. Among other matters discussed were Said Charles L. Overby, chairman and chief the “cash and carry” system of health care executive officer of The Freedom Forum, “We ed in the government-owned Daily Graphic that replaced a highly subsidized program, believe every nation should have the right … as saying Mills’ unwillingness to appear education’s one-third share of the national to provide its people with the opportunity to stemmed partly from the government’s budget, the privatization of state-owned express their views and the opportunity to objection to “the unnecessary involvement enterprises and Ghana’s criminal-libel laws. hear the diverse voices of others.” and interference of foreign individuals and John Agyekum Kufuor, a former member Conspicuous by his absence at the forum organisations in the nation’s electioneering of Parliament running again as presidential was John Evans Atta Mills, the current vice process.” candidate of the — he president and one-time college professor. Mills is the candidate of the National Page 4

PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA 3 Continued from page 3 was runner-up to Rawlings in 1996 with about 40% of the vote — said in response to a question that the libel laws are “a relic of (British) colonialism.” Calling the free flow of information “critical,” he said it is “too much to allow the government to use the criminal libel (laws) to gut the press.” At the same time, Kufuor said it was imperative that the news media be “responsible.” Anthropology professor George P. Hagan said in an opening statement that his Convention People’s Party “recognizes the mass media as a partner for growth and com- mits itself to the development of a free, vig- orous and informed media.” Asked later whether Ghana is now a stable democracy, with no threat of a resumption of military Daily Graphic coups, he replied, “I do believe that Ghana Elvis Aryeh says journalists working in the newsroom of the state-owned have no special access to information or candidates. has matured as a nation. I do believe that in the current circumstances the military have a role, which has been defined by the consti- tution. And if we provided the military with Media scramble to cover what they needed, and if we — the civilians in government — behaved in a way that would not provide them a reason to come out crucial Ghanaian elections and overthrow us, then I do believe that the military can be made to stay in the barracks.” Ghanaian news organizations — those gasoline and diesel pumps. Other candidates at the forum were: that are independently operated as well as the Gaining access to the candidates is anoth- Scientist and media entrepreneur state-owned media — are scrambling to cover er challenge. “If political parties are unwilling Charles Wereko-Brobby of the United presidential and parliamentary candidates in to provide access … then we are unable to Ghana Movement, who said failed poli- the country’s landmark elections on Dec. 7. give balanced coverage,” Dumor noted. He cies had “all but rendered … meaning- The challenges are enormous for broad- said five presidential candidates had gone on less” the “independence from which we casters and newspapers alike, unaccustomed his morning talk show to answer questions, derive our sovereignty and powers of gov- as they are to the phenomenon of multiparty but two others — including Vice President ernment.” elections and burdened by inadequate John Evans Atta Mills, presidential candidate Former government official Augustus resources to track the candidates across the of the ruling National Democratic Congress “Goosie” Tanoh of the National Reform 93,000-square-mile nation. party — had not yet accepted the invitation. Party, who said the government must “put Budget constraints mean that “it’s not That leaves Joy FM “open to accusations of the support systems in place that allow possible to cover every single political activi- being biased in favor of the opposition,” our people to be productive — to be com- ty,” Dumor said. petitive on the international stage and in of private radio sta- Berifi Apenteng, general manager of pri- the domestic market.” tion Joy FM said in vately owned TV3 and a former news director Businessman and one-time newspaper one of three panel for the GBC, said campaign operatives do not publisher Dan Lartey of the Great discussions on appreciate how the broadcast media can help Consolidated Popular Party, who called campaign coverage disseminate a candidate’s views. for “a new economic order” in which in Ghana. In the current political environment, Ghanaians would “produce our own Being state- “even those of us who are perceived to be goods, produce our own food, produce owned, Ghana singing the tunes” of the ruling government exports and produce our stockpiles.” Broadcasting Corp. can be frustrated by barriers to access, Physician Edward Nasigrie Mahama of Komla Dumor is guaranteed cer- Avenorgbo said. The GBC co-sponsored and the People’s National Convention, who tain resources, said broadcast the historic forum for presidential pledged “honest, dedicated, dynamic and Godwin Avenorgbo, director of radio. But he candidates; Atta Mills was the only candidate visionary leadership.” noted that GBC journalists, just like their who declined to participate. If no candidate achieves a majority of the counterparts in the privately owned media, Until that forum, the GBC had been sad- vote Dec. 7, the top two finishers will square are confounded by such problems as a fuel dled by the public perception that its cover- off in a runoff election several weeks later. shortage that has resulted in long lines at age favored the government. “We’re doing a lot

4 PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA to change that perception,” said Avenorgbo, harvest,” Ameyibor said. But he complained language programming for Africa, said the who oversees eight FM and two shortwave sta- that newspapers and broadcasters lack the BBC World Service has vast resources that tions. The network offered five minutes of capacity to carry many of the news agency’s can produce superior analytical reporting. radio and TV airtime to each presidential can- political reports. Before the 1999 elections in Nigeria, didate. In addition, it alloted an hour to each The privately owned news media can be Ohene spent two months traveling around political party for discussion of issues. further hamstrung when politicians file or that country and filing stories. “It [cost] a lot Elvis Aryeh, editor of the state-owned threaten lawsuits charging crim- Daily Graphic, expressed similar sentiments. inal libel. Ben Ephson, editor of “Many people think that the state’s media … The Dispatch, an independent have (special) access to information. In fact, tri-weekly, said it is well-known “It’s not that we are afraid we don’t. We go through many, many difficul- that “the private press operates ties in getting the information that we print,” on a shoestring budget.” to go to court, it is just a he said. Moreover, the Graphic has “opened “It’s not that we are afraid to bloody waste of our time.” its columns to the public — in fact, to every- go to court,” Ephson said, “it is —Ben Ephson, editor, The Dispatch body.” just a bloody waste of our time.” However, Nana Kofi Coomson, publisher One radio station is trying to of and president of cover the campaigns entirely with volunteers of money,” but the BBC can afford it, she said. the Private Newspaper Publishers Association using donated equipment. Radio Ada, a non- Ohene said she “gained more insight” than of Ghana, said the playing field is hardly level. profit station that broadcasts in the Dangbe Nigerian journalists who were unable to trav- Relief from value-added taxes would help the language from the rural community of Big el nationally. independent news media, Coomson said. Ada, offered six political parties 11 hours Also watching developments from London Ghana’s privately owned newspapers — apiece. “Each party is free to decide what is West Africa magazine. Until last year West none of which publish daily — face “serious issues it wants to project,” said Wilna Africa was privately owned, but when the logistical constraints” that impede compre- Quarmyne, deputy chief executive. magazine faltered economically it was hensive campaign coverage, said Kweku “Sometimes they will be local issues, some- acquired by the state-owned Daily Graphic Baako Jr., editor of The Crusading Guide. times they will be national issues, but in a very publishing company, said Adama Gaye, editor “Unlike the state-owned media that [have] real sense national issues and local issues are and general manager. correspondents and offices across the regions the same.” For example, people “hungry at the Sounding a familiar theme, Gaye observed and the districts, some of us do not find our- local level” blame “policies at the national that no one winces when private publications selves in that situation,” he said. level,” she said. go to advertisers for money, “but the very Outside the capital of Accra, his twice- Through radio even illiterate people can moment an African publication attempts to weekly newspaper makes do with three follow the campaigns and thereby participate get money from government … people start regional and two stringers, Baako in the democratic process, Quarmyne noted. suspecting that it will start running (content) said. Ghana’s literacy rate is estimated to be about for the government.” That “is not the case,” he By contrast, the Ghana News Agency has 65%, with persistent high rates of illiteracy in said. 111 reporters and 60 stringers across all of rural areas. Inadequate resources also have stood in Ghana’s regions. The news agency has been The elections also are being covered by the way of political polling by Ghanaian news government-subsidized, but it is evolving the British Broadcasting Corp., a logical out- organizations. Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, presi- toward private enterprise, said Edward growth of Ghana’s status from 1844 until 1957 dent of the Ghana Journalists Association, Ameyibor, the supervising chief editor. The as a British colony known as the Gold Coast. said she hopes to offer seminars on how to news agency considers elections to be “har- Elizabeth Akua Ohene, a native of Ghana conduct polls about candidates and issues. vest periods” and this year to be “a bumper who is deputy editor of the network’s English- Tim Acquah-Hayford, chairman of the National Media Commission, a constitution- ally chartered watchdog organization, said such training would be useful for future elec- tions. Coomson of the Private Newspaper Publishers Association said media polls can help Ghana’s politicians to develop public pol- icy that reflects public opinion, much as hap- pens in the United States. “This is a very important aspect of the growth of the demo- cratic ethos” in Ghana, he said. Looking at the situation generally, Baako said, “This is a very young and fragile democ- From left: The Ghanaian Chronicle’s Nana Kofi Coomson, Radio Ada’s Wilna Quarmyne and the racy,” and “without a critical media culture, BBC’s Elizabeth Akua Ohene describe coverage challenges. democracy cannot grow.”

PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA 5 Ghanaian cartoonists lament their professional isolation and vulnerability to lawsuits

Ghanaian editorial and comic cartoon- leading to legal troubles for artists. The ists, in what they said was an unprecedented workshop was told that criminal libel laws gathering, described their professional isola- were increasingly used to punish or even pre- tion and noted their vulnerability to politi- vent the publication of bold cartoons. cally motivated libel lawsuits. They also The participants closed the workshop by pointed out that their training opportunities formally organizing. “I had no idea this would were few. happen, but we made history here ,” On the other hand, they noted that their said Alhaji Ali Yemoh, chosen interim presi- Lawrence Nana Aianah Henson shows his skills allowed them to convey complex and dent of the yet-to-be-named organization. sketch of workshop leader Robert Russell. important messages in a small amount of space. And their work and messages can reach semiliterate audiences that can be beyond the immediate reach of other print journalists. Net technology making inroads Those were among the pitfalls and bene- fits of cartooning that were analyzed during into Ghanaian journalism a workshop con- ducted by Robert Ghana was the first African country to tions. “If there were a major flood or earth- Russell, executive establish local Internet service. That was quake somewhere in the world, you could director of the 1994. Now the former English colony has get a satellite photo from these sites long Arlington, Va.- been cited by The Wall Street Journal as one before one of the wire services could posi- based Cartoonists of the five “Silicon nations” to watch in tion a photographer at the scene and begin Rights Network, terms of “connectivity, information security, to transmit pictures,” Powell said. and convened in human capital, business climate and priori- In Ghana, eight technology centers have conjunction with ty given by government” to technology. been set up to provide Internet access to the Africa Media To help journalists maximize the use of remote areas. “They may have only one com- Robert Russell Forum. that growing resource in Ghana, two tech- puter in the village,” he said, “but the people More than 45 nology experts from the United States con- are learning how to use it.” Ghanaian cartoonists, editors and illustra- ducted a three-hour training session during Hardware for an Internet setup is expen- tors attended the program, and several said the Africa Media Forum. sive in Ghana, where the minimum wage is they often felt excluded from debates about Adam Clayton Powell III, vice president less than 50 cents a day. If a computer is journalism, as well as from seminars and of technology and programs at The Freedom available, it isn’t always used for reporting. training sessions. No newspaper in Ghana Forum, and Stephen Miller, assistant to the For instance, Alfred Ogbamey, an editor employs a full-time cartoonist. technology editor at , at the Ghanaian Chronicle, said the pri- Russell said that feelings of isolation led the group of 25 people through a discus- vately owned, thrice-weekly newspaper has among cartoonists were not unusual. Similar sion of 36 Internet sites that can help jour- only one computer and uses it mainly for e- comments had been made during a similar nalists do their jobs. mail — mostly from and to the United program last June in Cameroon, he said, Miller said the Internet and off-the-shelf States, where an estimated 150,000 to adding that U.S. cartoonists often voice such database and spreadsheet software were not 300,000 Ghanaians live. complaints, too. substitutes for reporting, but were becoming By contrast, at the government-owned Participants in the Ghana program also essential tools to help ferret out and organ- Ghana Broadcasting Corp., computers are said the potential impact of cartoonists’ ize complex material. used to research news stories on the work often seems lost on editors and pub- Miller and Powell demonstrated how to Internet, according to Roberta L. Gardiner, lishers. Cartooning in Ghana is a buyers’ use the Internet offerings, including power- head of television training. market: Participants described having been ful new search engines and a site that The Ghanaian government also has promised the equivalent of $10 for a cartoon, caches sometimes hard-to-access pages. started a program to lay fiber-optic cable. only to end up being paid $1.50. Included in the demonstration was a The current telephone dial-up path to the Cartoons, including those lampooning look at several sites with satellite photos Internet is slow and often balky, especially political figures, also can be risky, sometimes that can be reproduced by news organiza- outside Accra, the capital city.

6 PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA From left: Doyinsola Abiola of Concord Group Newspapers in Nigeria, Freedom Neruda of Notre Voie in Ivory Coast and Mark Chavunduka of The Standard in Zimbabwe describe the media climate in their countries. West African editor: Journalists must cope with ‘government arrogance’

Journalists from several African nations is not as it should be,” she said. an independent daily in and a lead- see uncertain times ahead for the press as Newspapers are so transparent in their ing opposition newspaper, said he fears the government policies toward the media biases that “you can almost predict what a Ivory Coast is headed toward a resumption remain unpredictable. newspaper will say about a national issue,” of military dictatorship. Gen. Robert Guei Kabral Blay-Amihere, presi- seized power in a coup last dent of the 16-nation West December, overthrowing anoth- African Journalists Association, “We have an elected government, er authoritarian ruler, Henri said the main challenge facing Konan Bädiä, and set elections journalists is “government arro- but we should keep on our toes.” for Oct. 22. gance.” —Doyinsola Abiola, editor in chief, Concord Group Newspapers Problems for the press, “They pay lip service to press though, began long before Guei. freedom,” he said. Since 1990, for instance, more Blay-Amihere, who is editor of the twice- she said. Ethnicity is “very pronounced,” than 20 journalists have been jailed and weekly Independent in Ghana, praised the adding to the tense times. more than 100 have been sued, Neruda said. Internet, saying it enables the journalists’ The trend began when dictator Sani He was one of three journalists jailed in association to monitor press freedom across Abacha died unexpectedly two years ago. At 1996 for a year on a charge of insulting the West Africa. He said he also uses the the time of his rule, a courageous press president. Internet to mobilize international opinion fought his policies. “When you have a com- Neruda praised the candidates’ forum whenever freedom of the press is threat- mon enemy, you all gang up,” Abiola said. that attracted six of the seven men vying to ened, putting the government in question in She called the shift in the media climate a be the next . “We don’t the world spotlight. “dangerous trend.” have this in my country,” he said. In Ivory Doyinsola Abiola, editor in chief of Now, an elected government wants to Coast, 19 candidates initially ran for presi- Concord Group Newspapers in Nigeria, register journalists, Abiola said. Journalists dent, but they would never appear on the called for continued cooperation and con- have taken their objection to the proposed same forum, he said. (On Oct. 6, the coun- sultation among editors of West Africa. policy to court. try’s Supreme Court – headed by a Guei “We are more vigilant now than ever,” loyalist – disqualified 14 of 18 opposition Nigeria she said. “We have an elected government, candidates from running against Guei on Abiola described the media climate in but we should keep on our toes.” Oct. 22. Two days after the election in Nigeria as “interesting but dangerous.” She which he appeared to trail opposition said journalists are becoming part of the Ivory Coast leader , Guei proclaimed story rather than objective onlookers. “This Freedom Neruda, editor of Notre Voie, Page 8

PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA 7 Continued from page 3 himself the winner. This triggered a revolt Freedom Forum opens that drove Guei from power and elevated Gbagbo to the presidency.) library for journalists in Mali Senegal Latif Coulibaly, director of the Superior Institute for Information Sciences and Communications in Dakar, was nonplussed by a suggestion that the Senegalese news media performed admirably during peace- ful presidential elections last March. “The press did its job” by providing coverage and commentary, said Coulibaly, former chief editor for the Sud daily newspaper in Dakar. “When the press does its job in Africa, people ask what happened.” In the United States, he noted, the press isn’t questioned when things go right. Zimbabwe Mark Chavunduka, editor of The Standard, a privately owned Sunday newspaper published in Harare, said it is easy in Zimbabwe to distinguish between independent newspapers and the Guests arrive at the Maison de la Presse complex in downtown Bamako for the dedication of the government press. The state-owned journalism library. newspapers are carefully scripted, he said, with no attempt to balance news reports. BAMAKO, Mali — The Freedom Forum The opening ceremony was held the day The Standard, he said, covers all sides opened a library for journalists at the Maison after The Freedom Forum concluded its of political issues, including the de la Presse (Press House) in Bamako. One Africa Media Forum in Accra, Ghana. government’s position. “We try to be fair.” of 15 Freedom Forum journalism libraries Tailored for French-speaking journalists Chavunduka said television and radio around the world, the library is the first of its and journalism students, the library offers are controlled by the government. But he kind in Mali and the second library spon- books and other publications as well as com- noted that on Sept. 22 the country’s sored by The Freedom Forum in Africa. puter and Internet access. Supreme Court ruled that the state’s The library has “truly magnified the role monopoly on broadcast services violated of the press in Mali” and “is a symbol of the the constitution. “While I welcome this democratization of the nation,” said Sadou development, I’m not so sure the Yattara, chairman of Maison de la Presse. government will easily give in,” he said. Ousmane Sy, Mali’s minister of territorial Over the years, opposition candidates administration and local communities, said have been allocated only a fraction of the the library’s Internet capability will enable air time given to candidates associated the Malian press “to be connected to the rest with President Robert Mugabe’s political of the world.” party, ZANUPF. The U.S. ambassador to Mali, Michael Chavunduka and a colleague were Ranneberger, said a free press “will help arrested and jailed last year for reporting resolve the problems” in the West African about a coup attempt against Mugabe. The nation, which is one of the world’s most two were tortured in an effort to force them impoverished countries. to reveal their sources about the plot. They “It says something about the importance were released after several days. of Mali – and the freedom that you have here Mugabe’s government suffered a defeat – that of the 200 nations of the world, yours in parliamentary elections in June. But is one of the 15 that have been selected” by Chavunduka said there’s no guarantee that The Freedom Forum for a library, said former At the ribbon-cutting are (from left) Freedom Forum trustee Paul Simon, Maison de la Presse a new government would respect press U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, a Freedom Forum chairman Sadou Yattara (partially obscured), freedom. trustee. Malian minister Ousmane Sy, and The Freedom Forum’s Chris Wells and Jerelyn Eddings.

8 PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA WESTERN SAHARA ALGERIA

MAURITANIA MALI Ghana says NIGER Dakar SENEGAL GAMBIA Bamako Lake Akwaaba (welcome) BURKINA Chad FASO SUDAN GUINEA GUINEA Abuja CHAD BISSAU to the IVORY TOGO NIGERIA SIERRA COAST LEONE GHANA CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC Lake LIBERIA Turkana Africa Media Forum Accra CAMEROON Yamoussoukro DEMOCRATIC Lake EQUATORIAL GUINEA REPUBLIC Albert UGANDA OF CONGO Lake GABON CONGO Victoria RWANDA BURUNDI

TANZANIA Lake Tanganyika

Atlantic Ocean ANGOLA MALAWI Lake Nyasa ZAMBIA MOZAMBIQUE Harare

ZIMBABWE NAMIBIA N BOTSWANA Indian 0 500 Ocean SOUTH Miles AFRICA

Thirty-two newspapers are available in Ghana’s capital city, Accra.

From top: Presidential hopeful John Agyekum Kufuor (seated) is greeted by questioner Kwaku Sakyi-Addo of Joy FM radio as row upon row of Ghanaians await the start of the candidates’ forum, which was moderated by Charlayne Hunter-Gault of CNN. 00-W10: 11/00 • 3.5K NDIC PRESS, POWER & POLITICS: AFRICA 9 The Freedom Forum, based in Arlington, Va., is a nonpartisan, international foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people. The foundation focuses on four main priorities: the , First Amendment issues, newsroom diversity and world press freedom. The Freedom Forum funds two independent affiliates — the Newseum, the interactive museum of news in Arlington; and the First Amendment Center, with offices at in Nashville, Tenn., and in New York City and Arlington. Other operating offices are in San Francisco, Cocoa Beach, Fla., Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and London. The Freedom Forum was established in 1991 under the direction of Founder Allen H. Neuharth as suc- cessor to a foundation started in 1935 by newspaper publisher Frank E. . The Freedom Forum is not affiliated with Gannett Co., does not solicit or accept financial contributions, and does not accept unso- licited funding requests. Its work is supported by income from an endowment now worth more than $1 bil- lion in diversified assets.

www.freedomforum.org