Time in the company of union leaders from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, underlined how this was nothing unusual. We had gathered to plan collective action among southern Africa\u2019s journalists\u2019 unions; to agree an action plan; and to learn about a set of tools known as \u2018Media Information and Literacy\u2019. These, we hoped, might advance our ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JOURNALISTS ISSUES<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The issues at hand quickly stacked up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perfect Hlongwane, General Secretary of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists) pointed out that criticism from elected officials was only one side of the coin: \u201cPoliticians become owners of media houses, and this presents serious challenges. How then do journalists ensure that they remain ethical, when they have to account to their masters?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jemima Beukes of the Namibia Media Professionals Union told us that: \u201cUntrained journalists are placed under undue pressure, and come under attack for what they write. Editors must take more responsibility \u2013 managers must be part of the conversation about delivering quality journalism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Needless to say, public rebukes from politicians were by no means the most serious threats about which we heard testimony. Marafaele Mohloboli from Lesotho, for example, told us about a culture in her newsroom towards interns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLast year I had to quit my job because the interns had not been paid and now the editors were making sexual advances towards them\u201d, she said \u201cI tried to stand up to that, and it did not sit well with my boss. I am jobless, but unrepentant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her personal stories were even more harrowing<\/a>, while Mmenso, from neighbouring Botswana, confirmed her general assessment of newsroom sexual harassment. \u201cSexual abuse of female journalists in Botswana is rampant, but never spoken about. Women journalists are faced with the dilemma, fight for your rights or keep your job,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With so many issues, the question was what could be done? On the table was a two-fold approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A NEW FEDERATION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n First the foundation of a new body to lead and coordinate action in support of journalists in southern Africa. The unions assembled put their names to a new Federation of Southern African Journalists<\/a>. It will reside within the pan-African Federation of African Journalists, the newly reinvigorated IFJ regional grouping. An interim FoSAJ executive was agreed, likewise a draft constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The optimism and determination on display gave cause to hope that this body will quickly make a difference. Goodwill, energy and fresh faces should carry them far \u2013 all of which they will need, given the forces ranged against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The second component, whose tenets run though the action plan to which the new Federation committed, is \u2018Media and Information Literacy\u2019 (MIL).<\/p>\n\n\n\n To the uninitiated, this has the sound of a rattle bag of insights and good intentions that might inform anyone considering how to enrich the communication of news today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That there is more to it than that we were left in no doubt by UNESCO\u2019s Alton Grizzle. With the fervour of a revivalist preacher he described a school of thinking \u2013 now a subject of its own academic study \u2013 in which UNESCO, which funded the event, has invested considerable faith<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grizzle\u2019s primer describes MIL as: \u201ca set of competencies to search, critically evaluate, use and contribute information and media content wisely; knowledge of one\u2019s rights online; understanding how to detect and combat online hate speech and cyberbullying; understanding of the ethical issues surrounding the access and use of information\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The MIL framework requires journalism to expose its process, to facilitate verification, to highlight alternative viewpoints, to involve the audience, and take responsibility for deepening the audiences\u2019 understanding of information production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially I wondered how overloaded journalists could possibly accommodate a fresh set of responsibilities when their jobs are already highly pressured and under resourced? <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Grizzle\u2019s case unfolded it struck me, however, that rather than being a wholly new formulation, these prescriptions resemble ideas in circulation for some time designed to help journalists make their work relevant, credible and engaging in a changing media landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That these might be conceptualised in a way that unlocks collaboration with bodies such as UNESCO, makes a persuasive case. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So too did the case study shared by Al Amin Yusuph, UNESCO\u2019s communications advisor for southern Africa. His agency supports 14 community radio stations across Zimbabwe. As well as informing and entertaining their listeners, they are designed to encourage communities to realise that we can all become creators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The initiative\u2019s poster girl is Auty Majority, who started as a volunteer presenter on Nyangani FM<\/a>, and has since found work fronting a show on commercial radio. \u201cHer remarkable journey shows how MIL can change lives\u201d, said Yusuph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I left Botswana energised and encouraged. I have no doubt that union building, cross-border co-operation and support from the international community can do much to improve the lot of reporters such as Daniel Chida on Gaberone\u2019s The Voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Waiting for my plane, I caught up with news from elsewhere. Kamala Harris had debated with Donald Trump \u2013 polls of viewers gave the Democrat the contest by a margin \u2013 Trump claimed that the debate was rigged. The former president is now demanding revocation of the broadcaster\u2019s licence<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a salutary reminder that most of the impediments free reporting face are observable in every corner of the earth. If FeSAJ succeeds, let\u2019s hope they soon have lessons to share with us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" After four days strategising with the leaders of southern Africa\u2019s journalists\u2019 unions in Gaborone, Botswana, a moment\u2019s downtime felt deserved. I picked up a copy of local paper, The Voice, and started to read. By page six the issues facing Africa\u2019s journalists …<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tim-dawson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/PerfectHlongwane2-1024x767.jpg\")
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