Cape Town: Media on the Move (11)

One of the most important assignments the media undertakes is investigative news gathering, digging beyond the surface of routine news to provide a scoop, exclusive information that educates and serves the right of the people to know. The International Press Institute IPI observed that ‘investigative journalists often find themselves in hostile situations where news gathering […]

One of the most important assignments the media undertakes is investigative news gathering, digging beyond the surface of routine news to provide a scoop, exclusive information that educates and serves the right of the people to know. The International Press Institute IPI observed that ‘investigative journalists often find themselves in hostile situations where news gathering and reporting are challenging if not dangerous. Repressive media laws, a dearth of resources and a culture of secrecy pose further obstacles to investigative journalism. The session discussed examples of successful investigative reporting efforts and the obstacles to getting there. The moderator was Brant Houston, John S. and James L. Knight  Foundation Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting, College of Media, University of Illinois, USA while the panellists: were Mae Azango, Journalist, FrontPage Africa, Liberia, Anas Aremeyaw Anas,  award-winning undercover investor Managing Director, Tiger Eye Agency, Accra, Ghana, Rafael Marques de Morais, an anti-corruption activist, founder and director, Maka Angola, Luanda, Angola, and Sorious Samura, Investigative Journalist,  Co-Director, Insight TWI: The World Investigates (TWI), Freetown, Sierra Leone.       
      Another parallel session was the workshop titled Safety in Hostile Environments and in the Eye of the Storm: What You Should Know. It asked questions and addressed critical issues. What do journalists do before going on assignment? What do they do when you get there and what should they do when get in trouble? How do they protect notes, sources and equipment from being confiscated ravaging security agents? Does gender matter in all these?
The workshop was supported by the Doha Centre for Media Freedom and facilitated by Hannah Storm, Director, International News Safety Institute (INSI), London.
Session five was titled The New South Africa: A Look at the Media Landscape and Press Freedom 20 Years On. In 1994, IPI held it annual Congress in Cape Town. It returned to the same city twenty years after the historic 1994 presidential elections in South Africa that marked the end of apartheid. The session reviewed how the media faired? How have media that saw segregated newsrooms as a norm branched out to be more inclusive and provide fairer coverage? Or do the media remain polarised? What are the key issues affecting press freedom in South Africa and how are the media poised to address these issues going forward? The
Moderato was Mathatha Tsedu, Executive Director, SANEF, Johannesburg, South Africa. The panelists were Chantel Erfort, Editor, Cape Community Newspapers, Cape Town Area, South Africa. Raymond Louw, Deputy Chairman, South African Press Council; Makhudu Sefara, Editor, The Star, South Africa and Louise Vale, Executive Director, Association of Independent Publishers, Johannesburg, South Africa
Session six was titled The Whistleblower and the Journalist – How Current Events Affect Press Freedom and the People’s Right to Know. IPI observed that Julian Assange of WikiLeaks fame, Samy Kamkar. Edward Snowden. Bradley Manning. David Weber. Cheryl Eckard, are names that are synonymous with whistle-blowing. Recent years have seen the relationship between whistleblowers and journalists expand, despite continued mistrust between both parties. The panel addressed the intersection between whistleblowers, privacy laws, the public’s right to know and digital media. The panellists discussed the behind the scenes on some of the biggest leaks and how they landed in the laps of journalists. It also explored how digital surveillance has made the role of the whistleblower much more arduous.
The moderator was John Daniszewski,  Senior Managing Editor, Associated Press (AP), New York, and the discussants were Jennifer Robinson, from Bertha Foundation, London, UK, Alison Tilley, of Open Democracy Advice Centre, Cape Town and
Chantal Uwimana, Regional Director for Sub-Sahara Africa, Transparency International, Berlin, Germany.
One of the sessions I found most interesting was on Images of Faith: Clash of Perceptions? It raised questions on how religion is reported in the media. ‘When people of faith see their images in the media, do they recognize themselves? Often, religion is only present in the media as a cause of division and conflict. Statistics show the majority of religious adherents value respect, peace and cooperation. What challenges do journalists face when they seek to understand and explain the intersection of religion, politics and social tensions? Where good news is no news, what can religious communities and other experts do to ensure that voices of peace have a place in the media? The panel explored the delicate middle ground between journalistic ethics, news as an industry, and respect of subject-matter. It was hosted in cooperation with The King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious & Intercultural Dialogue – KAICIID. The moderator was Peter Kaiser, Communications Director, KAICIID, Vienna, Austria. It featured Khaled M. Batarfi, Senior Writer, Saudi Gazette; Assistant Professor, Prince Sultan College for Tourism and Business, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Endy Bayuni, Editor, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Indonesia, Melissa Chea-Annan, Editor, The Inquirer Newspaper, Monrovia, Liberia and Mary Saliba, TV producer, Doha, Qatar. A session titled Town Hall Meeting: When the War on Terror Puts Journalists Behind Bars  discussed new threats faced by journalists. ‘Under the guise of antiterrorism laws, governments around the world are jailing journalists. In countries like Ethiopia and Turkey, anti-terror and national security laws are being used to prosecute journalists in a bid to silence them. This interactive session will discuss the impact of these laws on the media and whether journalists pose a threat to national security. The moderator was John Yearwood, world editor, The Miami Herald, Miami, USA.  Speakers were Abdelfattah Fayed, Al Jazeera Arabic, Egypt bureau chief, Cairo, Egypt. Douglas Frantz, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Public Affairs, US State Department, Washington, Kadri Gürsel, columnist Milliyet, Istanbul, Turkey, Nani Jansen, senior legal counsel, Media Legal Defence Initiative, London, Martin Schibbye, freelance journalist, Stockholm, Sweden, sentenced to 11 years in prison for alleged support for terrorism in Ethiopia, but was later pardoned and released
Session ten was on Photojournalism and Media Access. ‘ Highly visible and often in the line of fire, photojournalists are often the first ones to be attacked, have their equipment seized or to suffer wounds. Yet they are an integral part of the journalism profession. We look at not only the safety challenges facing journalists, but the threat to the profession in the shadow of citizen journalism.’
The moderator was Salim Amin, Chairman, Camerapix; founder and Chairman, A24 Media, Nairobi, Kenya. The panelists were Giles Duley, independent documentary photographer and photojournalist, London, Mosa’ab Elshamy, freelance photojournalist, Cairo, Egypt, Tamara Abdhul Hadi, independent photographer and co-founder of Rawiya Collective, Dubai, UAE. The closing ceremony was attended by Patricia de Lille, the Mayor of the City of Cape Town. The Congress was a memorable event.