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Is Africa too dangerous for journalists?
BBC News
July 07, 2004

The international human rights organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has said that 2003 was not a "particularly good" year for press freedom in Africa.

The organisation cited the killings of two journalists in Ivory Coast as well as the probable execution of a third in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It also chronicles many arrests as well as continuing threats to an independent press in Africa.

RSF said in countries like Cameroon, Gabon, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Togo and Zimbabwe, the press was the victim of authoritarianism and a resistance to change.

The BBC’s Africa Live asked whether journalism on the continent is a true mirror of the society?

Comments from Zimbabwe
Journalists do not have a record of consistently reporting the truth, be it in Africa, Britain or the USA. Western journalists come to Africa with their arrogant ignorance, which inevitably backfires in most cases. Local journalists are biased depending on which political camp they subscribe to. One needs only study the polarised reports about Zimbabwe for example. It's a pity.
Muchenjeri, Zimbabwe

Sometimes listening to the news is like listening to a fairy tale. Everyone you know or meet in pubs, public transport etc, is disgruntled but you hear on TV, "Zimbabweans of all walks of life have applauded the government for this and that". I think journalism is dead here.
Styles, Zimbabwe

Civil society needs to appreciate the ghastly alternatives of societies without journalists. Real, committed journalists reflect what they see around them. How else would they survive or command the respect of their communities? The tragedy in Africa in particular is that a lot of people who have no business in journalism have been allowed to invade and suffocate newsrooms. The result is self-evident.
Davison Wadawareva, Zimbabwe

Being a journalist becomes dangerous when those in power do not want the truth to be known. During apartheid journalists were hounded and silenced as the government in power did not want the ouside world to know what was going on.Today in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe is doing the same expeling journalists like Andrew Meldrum from the Guardian and even banning the BBC. What is ourageous is that there isn't more of an outcry. The truth must never be hidden
Peter Ross, Harare Zimbabwe

Most journalists in Africa working for pro - western organisations tend to write and paint a very negative picture of Africa in order to please their paymasters.Our journalists tend to focus only on bad stories that border on sensationalism yet there are so many good positive stories that happen and are never reported.
Tambaoga, Zimbabwe

I'm a trained photojournalist who has been practicing in Zimbabwe but because of the untenable laws I decided not to register to continue practicing. This means I last practiced journalism officially at the end of 2002. I'm now a photojournalist in the wilderness. I've formed an organisation to work for real freedom for all Africans. I believe that piece-meal solutions to the issues of freedom in Africa do not work. There is need for a more wholesome approach. And the vehicle for the wholesome change is the journalist. I hope this message gets to you safely because there is an intention, on the part of the government, to monitor all forms of communication in Zimbabwe.
Yess Danda, Zimbabwe

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