Ethical issues in Sub-Saharan African journalism in the 21st century

Continued from last week An ethical code is to assist subscribers to attain integrity, good conscience, respect, honour and professionalism. Like most other codes in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists (1998) deals with editorial independence, accuracy and fairness, privacy, privilege/non-disclosure, decency, discrimination, reward and gratification, violence, children and minors, access to […]

Continued from last week

An ethical code is to assist subscribers to attain integrity, good conscience, respect, honour and professionalism. Like most other codes in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists (1998) deals with editorial independence, accuracy and fairness, privacy, privilege/non-disclosure, decency, discrimination, reward and gratification, violence, children and minors, access to information, public interest, social responsibility, plagiarism, and copyright. Two countries having the most vibrant press in Africa south of the Sahara (excluding South Africa) are Nigeria and Ghana. Regrettably, during the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, many journalists and media houses made a mockery of journalism through unethical activities, drama and political machinations in concert with the political class.
The concept of media ethics, according to Iyer (2001:1), is not always susceptible to a neat definition. This implies that ethics can be defined in various ways, most of which are subject to distortion or bastardisation of the actual meaning of ethics. It is of interest to note that even if African journalists’ definition of ethics in the discharge of professional duties can be influenced or they do not understand ethics, at least, they understand the concept of morals or morality, commonly used in the wider African society.
The issue of non-professionals practising journalism in Nigeria as in many other countries under review is another factor that facilitates non-observance of the ethics of journalism. As a result, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) called on the National Assembly in 2015 to support it by enacting a law that would regulate journalism practice and make it impossible for non-certified people from practising as journalists. The deleterious invasion of journalism by charlatans has done incalculable damage to journalism. The issue is further compounded as most media proprietors show a nonchalant attitude towards it, especially as long as they make their profit. The clamour for the regulation of journalism by NUJ shows the extent to which the effect of non-professionalization of Nigerian journalism has become worrisome having been denting the image of the profession. The situation is not different in Ghana, Cote D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Congo, Somalia and South Sudan.
It is discovered that not only non-professional journalists violate ethical norms of journalism in Sub-Saharan Africa, but also professionals with wealth of experience in journalism.
A question frequently on the lips of most media practitioners focuses on the persistence of violation of journalistic ethics within African setting. The question is: How can unethical conduct be reduced to the barest minimum, if not completely eradicated in the practice of journalism in Africa?
Codes and current issues
Apart from the Arab world, no continent has suffered so much devastation and degradation as Africa. The continent has had to grapple with civil and tribal wars, insurgence, political crises, economic crises, educational crises, vandalism and terrorism, among others. These circumstances have prevented journalism from achieving its potentials as envisaged under the social responsibility theory of the press.
Presented below are the codes of ethics and ethical issues in journalism in the nine countries surveyed:       Nigeria: Code addresses Editorial independence, Accuracy and fairness, Privacy, Privilege/Non-disclosure, Decency, Discrimination, Reward and gratification, Violence, Children and minors, Access to information, Public interest, Social responsibility, Plagiarism, Copyright, Press freedom and responsibility.
Ethical Issues include Corruption, news subjectivity, editorial manipulation, invasion of privacy, news commercialisation, religious inclination, indecency/violence, censorship, inclination towards tribalism/ethnicity, social irresponsibility, social media flood gate, handling of terrorism, portraying of violence, declining editorial standard, poverty, plagiarism and copyright infringement, news commercialisation, and charlatans.
Kenya: Code addresses Accuracy and fairness, independence, integrity, accountability, opportunity to reply, unnamed sources, confidentiality, misrepresentation, obscenity, taste and tone in reporting, paying for news and articles, covering ethnic, religious and sectarian violence, recording interviews and telephone conversations, etc. Ethical issues are similar to those of Nigeria.
Somalia: Code of Ethics based on respect for “Islamic religion” and “Somalia’s good tradition.” Ethical issues apart from being similar to those of Nigeria also include lack of confidentiality (as the court can compel a journalist to disclose his confidential source), coverage of the seemingly unending terrorism in Somalia and insecurity of journalists.
Ethiopia:  Code addresses Obligation to inform the public on the malpractices of officials, truth based on accurate information, dedication and enrichment of knowledge and experience, prohibition of dissemination of information that endangers the nation’s unity and security or sovereignty, professional secrecy regarding the source of information obtained in confidence, plagiarism, slander, integrity of journalism, social and morally unacceptable activities, obscenity and corruption of culture, identification of news from subjective judgment, prohibition of bribes and gratification, prohibition of activities that are inconsistent with journalism, and safety of journalists. Ethical issues in Ethiopian journalism are similar to those in Nigeria.
Cote d’Ivoire: Code covers right to information and free speech, responsibility of journalists towards the public, respect of facts, accuracy of reports, defence of the journalist, using fair methods to obtain information, distinguishing journalism from advertising or propaganda, pressure, bribery and gratification, sources of information, breach of social ethics- incitement to tribalism, xenophobia, rebellion or crime, public decency, war crimes and crimes against humanity; privacy of people, correction of false publication, plagiarism and unfounded accusations, supplanting a colleague.  Ethical issues similar to those of Nigeria including self-censorship.
Tanzania: The Media Council of Tanzania’s Code covers the right to truth, professional integrity, non-disclosure of source, social responsibility, respect for human dignity, discrimination, identity and the underdog, facts and comments, sensationalism, correction and right of reply, and working together. The ethical issues are identical to those of Nigeria.
Congo: Although the current status of the Code could not be ascertained, version adopted in Kinshasa in March 2004 has nineteen Articles- freedom to operate and freedom not to be separated from  the public’s right to be informed and to freely express opinions; fairness, accuracy, honesty, sense of responsibility, independence and decency, objectivity and impartiality, acceptance of full responsibility, self-restraint and avoidance of hate/hatred (religious, ethnic, tribal, regional or racial) and the eulogy of any negative value, seeking the triumph of truth through ethical means, gift and gratification of any sort, identity of sources and plagiarism, objectivity, rights of reply, human dignity and good moral standards, promotion of national culture and republican virtues, self-restraint, solidarity towards colleagues and deference to the council, abstaining from publishing corrections concerning unpublished stories/articles, protection of news sources, free access to news and investigation of facts, consciousness clause, informing newsroom of any decision likely to affect, and observance of the code.
Even though the country is embroiled in political and ethnic crises, the ethical issues are similar to those of Nigeria.
Ghana: GJA (Ghana Journalists Association) Code has 17 Articles: People’s rights to true information, social responsibility, professional integrity, plagiarism, respect for privacy and human dignity, respect for national and ethnic values, confidential sources, corrections, rejoinders, separating comments from facts, information and pictures, respecting embargoes, victims of sexual assault, dealing with under-aged, personal grief or distress, and headlines and sensationalism. Ghana shares a lot of similarities with Nigeria. Consequently, the ethical issues of the two countries’ journalism are the same.
South Sudan:  South Sudan is the youngest independent country in Africa. Unfortunately, even since its independence from Sudan, the country has not known any peace. Civil strives and activities of militia men coupled with a battered economy have put journalism practice in a perilous state. Notwithstanding, the newspaper and magazine owners, editors, publishers and journalists in the country agreed on the Code of Ethics in June 2007. The Code addresses the following: accuracy and fairness, correction and opportunity to reply, privacy, discrimination, protection of the vulnerable, children, victims of sexual assault, reporting of crime, sensationalism, incitement of ethnic or religious tensions and crime, covering ethnic disputes or clashes, use of confidential sources, financial journalism, bribery, use of recording devices and subterfuge, plagiarism and attribution, advertising and sponsorship, and definition of ‘public interest’.The ethical issues are atypical of most other Sub-Saharan African countries.
  Narrowing down the issues
From our discourse, the ethical issues in Sub-Saharan African journalism in the 21st century could be narrowed down to: Corruption, news subjectivity, editorial and news manipulation, invasion of privacy, news commercialisation, non-observance of confidentiality, religious and ethnic/tribal inclination, portraying indecency/violence, erosion of investigative journalism, censorship and self-censorship, social irresponsibility, declining professional standards and education, poverty, plagiarism and copyright infringement, uncontrolled social media.
Corruption is the bane of under development in Africa. However, journalism being the fourth estate of the realm must rise above this. If corruption is eschewed like the plague, journalists in Africa can ply their profession with transparency, objectivity and probity.
News subjectivity takes several forms and shape. A journalist may decide to look the other way when he is supposed to handle a breaking news objectively. There are instances when journalists promote their own agenda and jettison the interest of the profession.
Editorial and news manipulation is a common feature in African journalism. It is imperative that under no circumstance should a journalist mortgage his conscience and manipulate editorial matters or news to satisfy some vested interests.
Invasion of privacy should only take place in the overall interest of the society and national security. Otherwise, people’s privacy should not be violated. Journalists, especially those in the ‘soft sell’ media and those operating social media must respect the privacy of people.
News commercialisation under the guise of generating revenue is a disservice to the profession. Many media establishments under economic hardship commercialise news and make it available to the highest bidder.
Non-observance of confidentiality is fatal to the integrity of the profession. It puts the well-being of the affected person(s) in jeopardy. Under no circumstance must a journalist betray his source of information.
Religious and ethnic/tribal inclinations are common features in Sub-Saharan Africa that is currently plagued by religious terrorism, activities of militia men and tribal/ethnic warlords. Journalists cannot afford to take sides when confronted with these scenarios.
Portraying indecency/violence is becoming a common feature in the social and ‘soft sell’ media. This is a repulsive development that must be nipped in the bud.
Erosion of Investigative journalism is now a recurring issue in African journalism ethics. Most journalists do not follow up on their stories, do shoddy investigation and rely only on press releases and hand-outs.
Censorship and self-censorship occur in many African countries. Journalists should not allow themselves to be intimidated and censored by any government since they have the responsibility of holding government accountable to the people.
Social irresponsibility theory of the press canvasses six main functions as enunciated earlier in this paper. Unfortunately, most journalists in Africa are deviating from them.
Declining professional standards and education are becoming a regular occurrence in journalism practice in Africa. Even though the issue
Concluded
Yusuf is a Fellow, Dept of Mass Communication, University of Lagos. He is a lawyer and former Ogun State Commissioner for Information