State of the Media Report 2014 A Message from MRCG The Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), established in May 2014, comprises of key stakeholders from the media industry and academic institutions in the country including the Department of Mass Communication at Fourah Bay College (FBC, Mass Comm), The Independent Media Commission (IMC), Guild of Editors (GoE), Women in the Media Sierra Leone (WIMSAL), Sierra Leone Association of Journalist (SLAJ), Independent Radio Network (IRN), Sierra Leone Reporters Union (SLRU), Cotton Tree News(CTN) and the Ministry of Information and Communication. MRCG was established as an independent corporate entity funded by the UNDP to act as the key driver of the media reform agenda in Sierra Leone. The MRCG was established as part of the media development strategy which is the outcome of a study that was conducted in 2013 to map the capacity needs of the media in Sierra Leone. After several consultations and stakeholders workshops, four priorities were obtained which formed the basis of this strategy. These priorities are as follows: 1. Improved ethics of the media through regulatory or self-regulatory mechanisms. 2. Promoting transparent and independent allocation of licenses, handling of complaints and stimulating an enabling regulatory and political environment for professional and pluralistic media. 3. Sustainable and independent public service broadcasting serving all the people of the country. 4. Strengthened professionalism and sustainability of organizations and improved people's participation in media development and content. The objectives of the Sierra Leone Media development strategy are the derivatives of these four priorities. The publication of this first edition of the State of the Media Report is a move to take stock of the operations of various sectors of the media in Sierra Leone during 2014. No doubt 2014 was overshadowed by the Ebola virus disease outbreak in the country and it influenced the reportage greatly. Nevertheless, some of the findings of the writers and researchers reflect the state of the media even before the Ebola outbreak. This report will enable us to clearly see the gaps, challenges and strengths within the media in Sierra Leone. Thus it will adequately inform strategic interventions for reform. I hope it will serve as a very useful resource to you. Ransford S. C. Wright Chairman-MRCG Media Reform Coordinating Group 2 State of the Media Report 2014 Acknowledgment This maiden edition of the State of the Media Report produced by media practitioners has been on the work schedule of the Media Reform Coordinating Group since last year. As with all matters of this nature and particularly because there was no example of such a report ever being produced in SLAJ to fall back on, the editorial board spent a lot of hours carefully planning what you are now reading. Editorial Board The board decided to adopt this unique approach of attacking the main questions in today's media landscape in Sierra Leone Members by a series of articles covering those key sectors. It is likely that Isaac Massaquoi we haven't met everybody's expectation in terms of the range of Chairman, Editorial Board issues covered or some of the perspectives from which our State of the Media Report 2014 contributors have approached their tasks. Please free to contact the MRCG secretariat with those concerns. We value them. Joshua Nicol Lecturer, FBC I feel extremely proud to have been asked by my colleagues to chair this first Editorial Board of the State of the Media Report Ahmed Sahid Nasralla and I can say without any reservation that I enjoyed working CEO, De Monk Arts with a very professional team of journalists and people who & Media Production believe in the mission of journalism. Williette James Our editor who read through the final copy also did a fantastic Lecturer, FBC job for which all Sierra Leonean journalists are grateful. Fatmata Kamara - Jalloh Independent Media Consultant We also profoundly thank the UNDP for funding the production of this magazine. Ransford S. C. Wright Chairman MRCG Hope you find this work useful. Mustapha M.K. Sesay Media Specialist, Former National Secretary General, SLAJ Isaac Massaquoi Francis Sowa C h a i r m a n , E d i t o r i a l B o a r d Lecturer, FBC, State of the Media Report 2014 Commissioner IMC Media Reform Coordinating Group 3 State of the Media Report 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from MRCG ................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgment..........................................................................................3 Table of contents...........................................................................................4 Forward........................................................................................................5 SLAJ Yellow Ribbon Campaign.................................................................6 The Media’s Response to Ebola in Sierra Leone.......................................7 The Impact of Technology on Media Output ............................................9 Press Freedom and the Law........................................................................11 Government, the Media and Control.........................................................13 Gender Representation within the Media .......................................... ......15 SLBC and its Public Service Mandate.......................................................17 Broadcast Pluralism: In Search of Standards............................................18 The Print Media in Sierra Leone: Business and Practice ........................21 The Silent Voice Of Ethics In The Sierra Leone Media ..........................22 Community Radio Performance In Sierra Leone - 2014 .........................28 An Outsider’s Independent View of the Media in Sierra Leone..............32 Media Reform Coordinating Group 4 State of the Media Report 2014 Foreword This publication heralds a new phase in the media world in Sierra Leone as it begins to present a yearly audit of the gains and challenges facing media practice and practitioners in the country. The 2014 State of The Media Report is a brave attempt to provide both an introspective and an outsider's view of the media landscape. It is a unique attempt, because it was done under the direction of the media practitioners themselves. As we look back, it is clear that the most dominant feature has been the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). This came with a whole new set of challenges for the media. The Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), being the umbrella body for media practitioners in the country, rose to the challenge and contributed in a unique way far beyond even our own expectations. Journalists left their comfort zones and ventured into the worst hit areas, risking their own lives to tell the story. Newspapers and radio stations volunteered free advert space and airtime, and SLAJ mobilised over 40 radio stations in the country under the structure of the Independent Radio Network (IRN) to simulcast the biggest sensitization drive ever launched and sustained against the spread of the EVD. The media landscape became unified and spoke with one voice delivering Ebola messages and changing the narrative from disbelief about the existence of Ebola to methods of dealing safely with the virus and helping to curb its spread. When the nation became tired with the spread of the infection, SLAJ introduced the "Yellow Ribbon campaign" which has come to be one of, if not the most successful sensitization drives to get to zero. This year also saw a massive expansion of the use of new media and the increasing threats it poses to the protection of the work of journalists. This was prominently noted in this year's World Press Freedom Day theme - "Let Journalism Thrive Towards Better Reporting, Gender Equality and Safety in the Digital Age.” This publication is however a first step in what would hopefully be a sustained effort to present a yearly audit of the media landscape in Sierra Leone. May journalism continue to thrive in Sierra Leone. Kelvin Lewis SLAJ President Media Reform Coordinating Group 5 State of the Media Report 2014 Media Reform Coordinating Group 6 State of the Media Report 2014 The Media's Response to Ebola in Sierra Leone By Dr. Julius Spencer society continue to place a major focus on educating the public on how Introduction to prevent the transmission of EVD as well as encouraging people to The first confirmed case of Ebola in promptly seek medical care in the Sierra Leone was officially recorded event that they experience signs and on 25th May, 2014. Prior to that, there symptoms associated with the had been a number of reports about disease. Despite these efforts, public Ebola in the country, the Sierra Leone suspected cases as well as the lack of education and social mobilization Association of Journalists (SLAJ) preparedness of government to meet campaigns were met with varied convened a meeting of its members to the challenges of an Ebola outbreak in resistance from communities. discuss what the association could do the country in the media. This led to Myths, misconceptions, and to help bring the Ebola outbreak in the certain government officials accusing misinformation about the disease country to an end. During this the media of scaremongering. continue to put a strain on the fight meeting, it was decided that since However, what happened after May 25 against it. neither as an association, nor as did prove that