MEDIA FREEDOM - The African Mirror

Feb

05

2025

‘The international legal system has collapsed, and journalism is collapsing with it’: why 2024 was the deadliest year on record for reporters

MEDIA FREEDOM

THE past year has been the deadliest for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) began tracking fatalities in 1992. Since 7 October 2023, at least 146 journalists have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon, though the actual numbers are likely much higher, as the CPJ is investigating numerous unconfirmed reports of other journalists being killed, missing or detained. Meanwhile, foreign journalists are denied access to Gaza by Israeli authorities. Recently, Arne Jensen from the Association of Norwegian Editors and I attended The Cairo Media Conference at the American University in Cairo to discuss the…

Jan

18

2025

By MOUSSA NGOM

CPJ finds flaws, inconsistencies in murder conviction of Senegalese journalist René Capain Bassène

MEDIA FREEDOM

IN spite of the Senegalese gendarmerie officer holding a gun to his head, Ibou Sané held firm. He refused the officer’s order to admit that he knew René Capain Bassène – but in the end, it didn’t matter.The testimony he insisted he never gave was used in court to help convict Bassène, a well-known local journalist, for the 2018 massacre of 14 loggers shot to death in the Bayotte Forest in the southern Casamance area of Senegal.Bassène was arrested eight days after the murders, and in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison for complicity in murder, attempted murder, and criminal association – crimes…

Nov

20

2024

By SISANDA NKOALA; ROFHIWA MUKHUDWANA and TRUST MATSILELE

How ethical are South Africa’s news media? We studied public complaints to the press council to find out

MEDIA FREEDOM

THE news media in South Africa have a long and dark history of being used to oppress the majority during colonialism and apartheid. In the new context of societal transformation and constitutional democracy since 1994, media diversity is crucial. And the need for ethical journalism is paramount. Media ethics act as a moral compass guiding journalists, media organisations and regulatory bodies through the twists and turns of news reporting. This is especially important in complex and contested places like South Africa. The importance of media ethics in safeguarding truth, objectivity and public trust cannot be overstated. Ethics help to avoid…

Nov

07

2024

By ROUKAYA KASENALLY

Mauritius’ social media shutdown: a worrying sign that civil rights are slipping

MEDIA FREEDOM

MAURITIUS’ communications regulator recently shut down access to social media platforms until a day after the upcoming general election, due to be held on 10 November 2024. The decision was reversed a day later. Nevertheless, the move came as a surprise to many – Mauritius is often touted as a beacon of democracy in Africa. Roukaya Kasenally, a scholar of democracy and media with a focus on Mauritius, spoke to The Conversation Africa about the shutdown, why it happened and what this tells us about the state of freedom in the island nation. Why did the government shut down social…

Nov

06

2024

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

The Makhanda Declaration lights a path for media reform in Africa

MEDIA FREEDOM

SOUTH Africa's Rhodes University recently unveiled the Makhanda Declaration, a new commitment to strengthen journalism as a public good in South Africa and beyond. According to a LinkedIn post from the university, the declaration, launched on October 18, has 11 goals, calling on media professionals to defend press freedom, secure journalist safety, and build financially resilient newsrooms. “The event, aligning with SA Media Freedom Day and the historical commemoration of Black Wednesday, marks a renewed commitment to uphold journalism’s role in society,” the post explains. The declaration stems from an April 2024 summit themed Seeds of Change: Cultivating the Future…

Oct

15

2024

By FIDÈLE KITSA

How Congolese journalists displaced by the M23 war are keeping the airwaves alive

MEDIA FREEDOM

This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian.By Fidèle Kitsa WHEN an M23 rebel offensive earlier this year shut down Ismaël Matungulu’s radio station in the town of Saké in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, the well-known local journalist refused to give up on a personal passion and community service. Instead, Matungulu lugged a transmitter, generator, and computer to a sprawling camp in the nearby city of Goma, where he and seven other displaced reporters are now broadcasting daily news content to tens of thousands of people uprooted by war. “It is suffering that led us here [to…

Jul

04

2024

By AJABU ADOLPHE

How Congolese journalists covering the M23 war are being forced to pick sides

MEDIA FREEDOM

By Ajabu Adolphe This story was originally published by The New Humanitarian. THE Congolese journalistic community – of which I have been a part for many years – has a code of ethics that is crystal clear on our professional obligations: “Treat all issues without bias and present controversial topics honestly,” it says.I aspire to this principle every working day, yet it has become hard to follow in recent years as the conflict between our army and the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group has put massive pressure on local journalists to support one side of the war or the other.The conflict…

May

24

2024

By The African Mirror

Tunisia sentences two journalists to one year in prison

MEDIA FREEDOM

A Tunisian court sentenced two journalists to one year in prison on charges of publishing false news that harms public security, a judicial official said, amid growing fears of a crackdown targeting all critical voices. Mourad Zghidi and Borhan Bsaiss, both journalists with IFM radio, were detained this month over political comments made on the radio. Tunisia has now imprisoned a total of six journalists, including Zghidi and Bsaiss, while dozens of others face judicial prosecution, according to the journalists' syndicate, which is the country's main union for journalists. In May, police arrested 10 people, including journalists, lawyers and officials of civil society groups, in what…

May

16

2024

By SISANDA NKOALA

Science journalism in South Africa: social media is helping connect with new readers

MEDIA FREEDOM

SCIENCE journalism is about taking complex academic research and turning it into easy-to-read content that is still accurate. Aside from informing readers through evidence-based journalism, it aims to make the wider public curious about scientific research. This article is an example of science journalism. As a media professor, I conducted a study on how social media sites like X (formerly known as Twitter) can help science communication reach new audiences in South Africa. This article is a version of that study written in a way that people other than just academics can understand. In my study I analysed the X…

May

16

2024

By The African Mirror

Two Tunisian journalists jailed pending trial, bolstering fears for free speech

MEDIA FREEDOM

A Tunisian judge ordered the imprisonment of two prominent journalists pending trial, their families and lawyers said, reinforcing fears of a widespread campaign aimed at silencing dissent and curbing free speech. IFM radio journalists Mourad Zghidi and Borhen Bsaiss were detained on Saturday over political comments made on the radio, their lawyers said. Public Prosecution spokesman Mohamed Zaitouna said the two are suspected of publishing news that includes personal data and false news aimed at defamation. They will be kept in prison until their trial, expected at the end of this month. The detentions raise the number of jailed journalists…