REVIEW: A Handbook on
Journalism Ethics: African Case Studies, edited by Chudi Ukpabi
ISBN 99916-728-6-9, Media
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA), Namibia; The Netherlands Institute
for Southern Africa (NIZA), and Chudi Communication Consult, The Netherlands.
305 pp plus a 3.5" diskette, 2001. Distributed by MISA, Private Bag
13386, Windhoek, Namibia. +264 61 232975 (tel) +264 61 248016 (fax)
Review
by Sulaiman Adebowale
Sulaiman Adebowale is Assistant
Editor (Publications and
Communication) at CODESRIA,
based in Dakar, Senegal.
He is currently with the
Bellagio Publishing Network
while studying Electronic
Media at Oxford Brookes,
UK.
This is a disturbing,
ambitious attempt at delving
into the minds of media
practitioners, in this
case journalists, in sub-Saharan
Africa, and much more.
It strives to condition
their thinking by inculcating
doctrines that not only
challenge the practice
of journalism on the continent,
but also strongly advocates
for a rethinking of the
very ethos of media work
in Africa. It tries to
question more than the
who, what, where, when,
and why to prod the integrity
of the journalist as an
individual and as a member
of a profession and a
community, society or
nation.
The book is divided into
five sections. The introduction
on media and journalism
ethics in Africa describes
the background of the
project that resulted
in the handbook, and briefly
touches on the need for
journalists to be able
to balance objectivity
in reports of events with
their equally important
role of strengthening
the process of political
and social development
in their various communities.
In section two, three
chapters explore some
of the key theoretical
underpinnings surrounding
ethical challenges to
the work of journalists
in Africa and the outside
world. The section covers
how issues of democracy,
good governance and peace
building, civic journalism
and community media, and
journalism and self-regulation
are influenced and can
be influenced to promote
the development of the
profession and the society
in which it is practised.
Section three presents
14 case studies from 12
countries in sub-Saharan
Africa (Burkina Faso,
Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho,
Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria,
South Africa (three case
studies), Tanzania, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe).
Although the glaring absence
of studies from North
Africa, of the politically
active press in Algeria,
Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia,
for example, undermines
the broadness of the debate,
some of the case studies
are interesting analyses
and appraisals of the
state of journalism in
their respective countries.
A wide spectrum of media
is also explored: print,
radio, television, photojournalism
and digital media. Some
of the harrowing stories
of death, imprisonment,
torture, censorship, and
poverty - externally foisted
on the profession - are
juxtaposed with corruption,
greed, and illiteracy
- internally fostered
within the profession.
The fourth and fifth
sections cover practical
steps and codes of ethics
for both journalists and
media practitioner trainers
to train journalists on
media ethics. The accompanying
diskette provides examples
of situations confronted
by journalists daily in
the pursuit of their work.
The issues covered range
from bribery and corruption,
AIDS reporting, personal
opinion, and self-censorship
to harassment, legal implications
and the public right to
know.
In spite of its unusual
design format, which makes
it quite tasking to read,
this is a handbook that
would be useful to journalists
and media practitioners
and trainers in Africa
and the developing world.
[end] [BPN,
no 28, 2001, p 17-18.]
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