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Not Yet Uhuru: African mass media  not  yet  free By Ferdinand Tchokothe Edimo (Pictured) INSAM-AVU ( Douala- Cameroon)

As a result of colonialism and dictatorial systems that were predominant in the sub-saharan Africa, the mass media suffered from a lack of freedom. A precious freedom most journalists from the darker side of the world needed to express the sad realities and the iniquities that were and that are still inherent in their societies today.

With the coming of multiparty politics in the 1990s, we saw the emergence of more TV and radio stations.

Some journalists could like write or say what they felt, but with a certain reticence. Was that then the beginning of freedom? A new era in the history of the mass media in Africa? Are African journalists still facing difficulties in carrying out their task of informing, educating and entertaining the public? Is the role of the mass media fully accomplished in Africa as a whole and in Cameroon in particular?

We are going to focus on the above-mentioned questions in this essay to write on the role of the mass media in Cameroon, taking into consideration the interview that was done  on November 21 2006 at ‘Spectrum Television’ with Anne-Chantal Besong ( News Desk Editor/ Journalist STV Cameroon).

 “The situation in Cameroon has been rendered difficult by the government owned media.”

 This is how Anne-Chantal Besong from the Spectrum Television in Cameroon perceives the role of the mass media in this central part of the African continent. It is clearly evident from her statement that the situation in which journalists exercise their job is a tedious and embarrassing one. They are not free to bring out real facts or to publicise a story exactly as it has happened, because, as she once more affirms, “the slightest provocative word may risk to arrest, death, threats, torture…”

In their majestic role of informing, entertaining and educating the public, journalists encounter many difficulties which are not only linked to the poor infrastructure or to the lack of an up-to -date technology, but also to the oppression of the government who won’t let them perform their duty normally.

The 1990s have therefore not brought an actual change, since the media is only free to an extent. Journalists still cannot write reports that go against government for fear of being exterminated, censored or jailed. It is still unheard of for a newspaper or a radio station to criticize the State. It is either you write about a political issue in a positive way or you lose your job. 

Anne-Chantal corroborates this when she says: “In Cameroon we have to be very careful with the type of news that we cover.”

If the duty of the Cameroonian journalist is not objectively performed, it directly affects the public that would unfortunately not be sufficiently informed, educated or entertained. And this would undoubtedly lead to an uninformed society.

The job is not just to give the information to the public, but to give the right information. An information that is not distorted or turned to the advantage of the Government. Journalists have to say things as they have really happened to let the public be aware of what is going on in the society.

The situation is quite the same everywhere in Africa. In Malawi and Tanzania for example, it is said the media culture has not yet been adopted in the country. This means that the government in place still finds it difficult to allow the journalist to play his/her role properly. That is also the reason why some licences are not given to some TV or Radio stations.

In an interview that was done by some professional journalists in Malawi, the Minister of Broadcasting, trying to justify himself said: “Some newspapers are going far by writing lies; they trample upon the rights of people.”

True or false? We cannot tell! But what is clear is that the members of the government cannot be happy when journalists inform, educate or entertain the public by telling them the truth on a delicate issue.

The circumstances in which the mass media perform its duty in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular are complicated.

In fact, as Anne-Chantal has rightfully said: “The job of a journalist in Cameroon is generally not easy.”

How can the public be better informed, educated and entertained if the journalist in Cameroon is not given full freedom?

One can say that in the past it was all dictated or that the media is freer than it was ten years ago, but we unfortunately notice the situation is still quite the same. The fact that more TV or Radio stations have been created is not a proof that the mass media is free to play its role as it wants, since many restrictions are still noted here and there.