In the absence of any independent media, RWB condemns the state-owned media’s totally one-sided coverage of the campaign for the 29 November presidential election. After winning the 2002 election with 97.1 per cent of the votes, President Teodoro Obiang Nguema has “promised” to win this one with more than 97 per cent again.[more]

The professional associations and bodies which are behind this initiative, particularly the NPAN, must do everything possible to ensure that their members demonstrate total support and commitment to it. There can be no room for a half-hearted belief in this.[more]

I am sure that there are others here who will also have some ideas on possible additional sources of funding and revenue for supporting the work of the Ombudsman. Let us put all the ideas on the table and explore them. But whatever funding mechanisms are adopted, it is important that the process be clear and transparent so that the issue does not become mired in controversy, which can undermine the credibility of the Office. [more]

Concerns about this possibility resulted in a declaration in 1989 by the editors of all national newspapers, in a country with a highly competitive media industry, that: “We, having given due consideration to criticism of the Press by Parliament and the public, accept the need to improve methods of self-regulation. Accordingly, we declare today our unanimous commitment to a common Code of Practice to safeguard the independence of the Press from threats of official control”.[more]

We must acknowledge that over the last several years, there have been increasing criticisms of press behaviour, some of it legitimate, others orchestrated and designed to weaken the media institution by powerful interests that are uncomfortable with a vibrant press beaming its searchlight on their questionable activities.

1. Comment: Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s complaint about ZBC’s unprofessional conduct in his address at the launch of a report on Zimbabwe’s public broadcast media in Harare, during which he also raised fundamental points on media reforms, was vindicated by the broadcaster’s censorship of this newsworthy event.

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ISA-Zimbabwe Harare Advocacy Committee held a public discussion on 23 November 2009 at the Harare press hub, The Quill Club, aimed at assessing and stimulating investigative journalism in Zimbabwe as inspired by the now deceased Mozambican journalist Carlos Cardoso.[more]

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have teamed up to revive the campaign to have the Access To Information (ATI) Bill enacted. This was agreed at a meeting held on 12 November 2009 at Korean Gardens Lodge in the Capital Lilongwe. The meeting, which was organized by MISA-Malawi in partnership with a human rights organization known as Centre for Human Rights and Rehabilitation (CHRR) aimed at soliciting input from various stakeholders on strategies to have the bill tabled in the National Assembly.

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Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda announced on 24 November 2009 that the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) will receive a state bail-out of R1, 473 billion. This follows the approval by the Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan.[more]

HARARE - A senior government official says plans are underway to reform repressive media laws in the country that have seen the closure of many publications such as the independent Daily News newspaper and its sister publication, The Daily News On Sunday.[more]

The Moroccan authorities are ratcheting up their attacks on independent journalists. A week rarely passes without the authorities hitting hard on the press for alleged infractions, cracking down on printed as well as online media. Press freedom watchdogs like Reporters Without Borders [1] judge the situation of Press freedom in the country now as “difficult,” condemning a “judicial system [that] deploys an arsenal of sanctions designed to intimidate and financially asphyxiate the independent press.”[more]

1. Comment: MMPZ condemns ZBC’s continued violation of Article XIX of the GPA and its public service charter, compelling it to give fair and balanced coverage to all political parties. Its coverage of the three coalition partners during the week illustrates this inequity. Of the 49 stories the national broadcaster allocated to the parties, 47 (96%) were on ZANU PF activities while the remaining two focused on the activities of breakaway MDC faction led by Arthur Mutambara.[more]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today denounced the disproportionate sanctions imposed by the National Council of Communication (CNC) in Gabon on November 10, 2009 against eight private newspapers which have been struck with temporary prohibition of publication as well as the suspension of a very popular television program.[more]

Togolese authorities on November 11, 2009 gave hints of their intention to reinitiate a new proposal to replace the October 30 Media Regulatory Amendment Bill that the country’s National Assembly passed strengthening the powers of the Higher Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC) to deal decisively with the Togolese media.[more]

Benin’s media regulatory body, the High Authority for Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), on November 4, 2009 suspended for thirty days, Capp FM, a privately-owned Cotonou-based radio station, for hosting a civil society programme that the HAAC considered as serious and could endanger the security of the state.[more]

“Today in Guinea, if you invite any journalist to participate in any media discussion programme, he or she would not turn up for fear of being attacked by the soldiers”, “Apart from journalists other human rights defenders and citizens also live in fear”. These were the exact words of a Guinean human rights lawyer, when he addressed a public forum on Guinea at the Ghana International Press Centre in Accra, the capital of Ghana.[more]

The Zimbabwe government contends that they are very much aware of the problematic and repressive provisions of laws such as AIPPA and POSA and that plans are under way to rectify these laws and ensure that they are in sync with the provisions of the African Charter on Human and People’s rights.[more]

A United Nations report released today criticizes the judicial process in a Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) military court in connection with the trial of a murdered Congolese journalist, including the alleged bribery of the presiding judges.[more]

Lusaka Chief Resident Magistrate Charles Kafunda on 16 November 2009 acquitted Post News Editor Chansa Kabwela of the case in which she was charged with one court of circulating obscene materials or things that corrupt moral contrary to section 177 1 (b) of the Penal Code chapter 87 of the Laws of Zambia. Kabwela allegedly circulated the pictures between June 1 and 10, 2009 in Lusaka and the Zambian Government premised their case on the notion that the images tended to corrupt morals.[more]

MISA-Namibia has pledged its full support to Media Ombudsman and the Media Complaints Committee. The Namibia’s Media Ombudsman was launched on 13 November 2009 in Windhoek.[more]

THE Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the suspension of six private newspapers by the government-controlled media-monitoring body, the National Communications Council, in Gabon, according to a media release.[more]

Comment: MMPZ condemns the authorities’ relentless attempts to emasculate professional journalistic activity at ZBH in their efforts to retain control of the national public broadcaster as the unbridled mouthpiece of ZANU PF.

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Three employees with the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH), O’brien Rwafa, Jacob Phiri and Freedom Moyo, were last week suspended for 10 days after being accused of leaking information on a government directive to stop covering government ministers who are members of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. [more]

NEWS ALERT

According to human rights organization "Zimbabwe Democracy Now", state owned Herald newspaper published a story about Major Samudzi committing suicide in a military cell.[more]

Togolese authorities have approved an amendment to the Act establishing the High Authority of Broadcasting and Communication (HAAC), giving it power to impose severe sanctions on the country’s media.[more]

Back in 1991 the Oxfam press office was worried about the lack of coverage for unreported food-shortages and conflicts in the horn of Africa. So they got a 747 from British Airways and flew a group of UK journalists around a series of ‘war-torn’ ‘famine stricken’ states like Ethiopia.[more]

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) denounced today the vote on Friday October 30, 2009 by the National Assembly of a legislation reinforcing the powers of the High Authority of Audio-visual and Communication (HAAC) and which seriously threatens press freedom and freedom of expression in Togo. [more]

Ghana’s Cabinet, at its last sitting last week, approved the Right To Information (RTI) bill after it was reviewed by a subcommittee that was charged to study the draft memorandum.[more]

Another local television, Bukedde TV, officially hit the airwaves on 30 October, bringing to eight the number of television stations in Kampala.[more]

The Acting Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) Commissioner Bahame Tom Nyanduga has urged Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) to re-dedicate themselves to the fight against dictatorships, bad governance and other human rights challenges in Africa.[more]

The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) is deeply disappointed by the signing into law of the Films and Publications Amendment Act 3 of 2009 (Amendment Act). The Amendment Act constitutes a grave intrusion of the right to freedom of expression.[more]

TOP executives from African media houses gather in Lagos on Thursday for two days of consultations on how to sustain the development of good journalism on the continent, writes Boakai Fofana for allafrica.com.[more]

The Press Union of Liberia (PUL) has expressed disdain over recent media reports regarding the ongoing investigation in the scandal at the Ministry of Information.[more]

MISA is calling on the public broadcaster NBC to speed up the process of revising and implementing an alternative and equitable air time allocation for political parties participating in the 27-28 November 2009, Presidential and National Assembly elections.

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Abuja — Chairman/Editor-in-Chief of THISDAY Newspaper, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, has questioned the relevance of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) as a regulator in an age where technology has created a borderless world.[more]

Baidoa — The National Union of Somali Journalists has strongly condemned a wave of arrests of journalists and media house raids across Southern Somali regions last week.[more]

On the occasion of the European Development Days, ARTICLE 19 joins with the Africa Forum for Media Development, the African Media Initiative, the Global Forum for Media Development, the International Federation of Journalists and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers in calling for stronger dedicated European Union support to media freedom in Africa.[more]