West Africa: Unprofessional and unethical journalism

By Francis Nyamnjoh

In the name of freedom

The current democratic process in West Africa has brought with it not only multipartyism, but also a sort of media pluralism. In almost every country the number of private newspapers increased dramatically with the clamour for more representative forms of democracy in the early 1990s. Some countries have also opened up the airwaves while others are still lagging behind. The fact that since independence African governments largely resisted private initiative in the area of broadcasting and waited till the pro-democracy clamours of the 1990s even to contemplate weakening their radio and television monopoly is but a logical continuation of their colonial heritage.

Commercial or non-state owned radios like Africa N 1 of Gabon, radio SYD in Gambia, radio ELWA in Liberia and Trans-World Radio in Swaziland [ Boafo and Salinas, 1988:4.], were for some time rare intrusions in a continuum of state dominance. So it is significant that the clamour for democracy across the continent has led some governments to concede to demands by international broadcasters such as the BBC, RFI and Africa N 1, as well as by private investors, to set up FM transmitters within their territories [ Bouhafa, 1997:4-5.], targeting their citizens; an unthinkable concession before 1990. West Africa has experienced a boom in private, local or commercial radio stations, with more than 72 new stations starting up in less than five years. The majority of these stations are rural, and almost three quarters of them are in Burkina Faso and Mali (with 11 in Bamako alone). [ Sangho, 1996:72-73; Bouhafa, 1997.] Most of these stations are "nonprofit organisations -- established in the best traditions of radio broadcasting as a public service." [ Bouhafa, 1997:4. ] South Africa, Uganda, Nigeria, Rwanda and Burundi are other leading examples of private involvement in broadcasting. [ Okigbo, 1997.]

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Comments

[bouhafa ahmed]

bonjour cousins

[BK Bureau]

The majority of these stations are rural, and almost three quarters of them are in Burkina Faso and Mali (with 11 in Bamako alone).