CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
by Tshibambe Lubowa, Kinshasa, 28 May 1999
THEME = MEDIA
A seminar on how the independent press works,
reached worrying conclusions
There seems to be no end to the number of seminars taking place in Kinshasa about the present situation of Congo's Press. The most recent one was organised by the Congolese NGO, "Journalists in Danger". This is a NGO, dedicated, together with Reporters sans Frontières, to defending human rights and press freedom, with particular reference to the languishing Congolese press. A symposium was held from 30-31 March this year, at the American Cultural Centre in Kinshasa, to examine the financing of the independent press in Congo RDC. It was attended by those in charge of the independent media, both written and audio-visual.
Worrying conclusions gave way to serious concern: "Financing the media has become extremely difficult. Those who should be our readers, listeners and viewers, simply don't have the spare cash these days to spend on their interest. And there's only very few among the doctors, teachers, magistrates, civil servants, students, etc., who can yet afford to enjoy what the Media has to offer. As a result, one of the biggest newspaper print runs in Kinshasa is only 2,000 copies and, 60%-70% of these are unsold."
There's not much in the way of advertising, either, (advertising should be one way of financing a publication). Most private advertising companies which used to work closely with the Media, have today closed down or only operate at 30%-40% of their normal capacity. Those advertising companies which have managed to hold on, try to adjust themselves to what's really needed in a country where the economic crisis has reached disturbing levels. The media companies are owed money right, left and centre and there's little hope they'll ever see their money. Truth to say, it's mainly the public sector bodies and institutions (including the Presidency) which owe money to the media companies. And when the Media wants to borrow, no institution or individual is prepared to lend, mainly because of the present crisis in the banking sector.
So, what's happened? This situation has caused many Media houses to close down. Newspapers appear only sporadically, regardless of their normal publishing schedules. If you're a newspaper owner and it costs you approximately US $300 for a 1,000 print-run and you only manage to gain $80 for all your work (with nothing extra coming in from advertising), then you clearly have to close down. A survey conducted in April 1999 by the Journalists Association Concerned With Development Issues, showed that only twenty of the sixty newspapers listed as being published in Kinshasa in May 1998, were in fact still publishing. The other forty had, as their publishers put it, "provisionally suspended publication". Ten out of the twenty newspapers still publishing, appeared on the streets on time, the remainder appeared at irregular intervals. Four or five of those which had suspended publication sometimes put in a brief appearance because someone in authority had issued a formal order: "Publish or..."
All this is a far cry from what should be the Media's true role in Congo RDC. The Press is supposed to be a major guardian against abuse by the political authorities. When a country lacks elected leaders and there are no authorised political parties playing an active part in the country's day-to-day activities, the Press remains the only voice able to condemn human rights violations, bad government and obstacles to democracy.
Sad to say, because of the existing difficult circumstances, most of the Congolese newspapers which still continue publishing, do so by disregarding basic journalistic ethics, to the detriment of independent and objective news reporting.
So, what can you read in the Press? Enormous titles without any consistent reporting, articles that have obviously been printed "to order" and dictated by political or financial powers-that-be, with the clear intention of either harming or flattering those holding the reins of power (depending on the newspapers' financial backers, of course). On 24 June 1998, the Central Bank paid out one million Congolese Francs for articles favouring the government or extolling the war situation (all of which were totally inconsistent with reality), thus indicating clearly those publications on the government's pay roll.
Mr. Donatien Mbaya Tshimanga, President of "Journalists in Danger", made the following comment about what happened: "This kind of action by the government was ill-conceived and certainly mis-managed; it divided the Press into two camps - on the one hand those who benefited from the presidential "largesse" and, on the other, those who were "forgotten" when payout time came. Newspaper editorials seem to be written along the same lines - you support the party- in-power and you get the cash; you criticise the party-in-power, and you go under. All of which means the classical criteria for selecting and treating the news are often ignored. The fact is, the Head of State's "generosity" has done nothing to help improve the quality of the newspapers concerned, nor their journalists' living and working conditions." On the contrary, it has enabled the "happy few" to buy themselves beautiful villas and powerful cars or to travel to Europe for a holiday. It even enabled one of them to settle down in Canada.
Seminar participants agreed that the first thing to do is to reorganise the profession, which is undermined by megalomania, hatred, jealousy and what amounts to informing on colleagues to the authorities. This way of acting has induced some members of the profession to publish clear incitements to murder other colleagues, or to rejoice at the detention of others. With a view to putting things right, symposium participants called on the Follow-up Committee of the Consultative Assembly of Communications Operatives (Kinshasa, 1995) to contact the appropriate authorities in order to establish an Advanced Media Council.
Participants also warned the country's authorities not to dodge their responsibilities as regards the Media. They based themselves on Law 96/002 of 22 June 1996 establishing the terms and conditions for the exercise of journalism in Congo RDC. Participants took the opportunity of asking the government to assist the Media as a whole in a consistent way, either directly or indirectly.
END
CONTENTS | ANB-BIA HOMEPAGE | WEEKLY NEWS
PeaceLink 1999 - Reproduction authorised, with usual acknowledgement