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THERE WILL BE INK - Initiative for Policy Dialogue

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<strong>THERE</strong><strong>WILL</strong><strong>BE</strong> <strong>INK</strong>A study of journalism trainingand the extractive industriesin Nigeria, Ghana and UgandaBen ColmeryAdriana DiazEmily GannRebekah HeacockJonathan HullandEamon Kircher-Allen


Cover photo: Darksida, photographer. Untitled photograph. 2009. From:http://www.flickr.com/photos/darksida/3241006951/.


AcknowledgementsThis paper has benefited from the generous contributions of many individuals and organizations.We would like to thank in particular the Revenue Watch Institute <strong>for</strong> commissioning the project and<strong>for</strong> sponsoring our research. Thomson Reuters also provided valuable financial support.We would also like to thank the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), as wellas the faculty and staff of the Economic and Political Development concentration, <strong>for</strong> their work inorganizing the Workshop in Development Practice, the course under which this project falls.We recognize the work of our faculty advisor, Anya Schiffrin, who conceptualized this project andguided us through every stage of our work. We thank her <strong>for</strong> the immense amount of time andef<strong>for</strong>t she has dedicated to this project over the past year.Finally, we would like to thank the many current and <strong>for</strong>mer journalists who met with us and sharedtheir thoughts and experiences. Without them, this report would not be possible.


Table of ContentsExecutive Summary………………………………………………………………………………1Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………2Existing International Training Opportunities …………………………………………………5Nigeria …………………………………………………………………………………………….8Background ………………………………………………………………………………...9Challenges to Journalism in Nigeria ………………………………………………………14The Impact of Training Programs…………………………………………………………24Notes on conducting research in Nigeria ………………………………………………….33Ghana …………………………………………..………………………………………………...35Background ……………………………………………………………………………….36Challenges to Journalism in Ghana ……………………………………………………….44The Impact of Training Programs ………………………………………………………..50Notes on conducting research in Ghana ………………………………………………….55Uganda …………………………………………………………………………………………..56Background ……………………………………………………………………………….57Challenges to Journalism in Uganda ………………………………………………………60The Impact of Training Programs…………………………………………………………64Notes on conducting research in Uganda …………………………………………………69Recommendations ………………………………………….…………………………………..70Recommendations <strong>for</strong> Revenue Watch Institute ………………………………………….71Recommendations <strong>for</strong> Nigeria …………………………………………………………….71Recommendations <strong>for</strong> Ghana ……………………………………………………………..80Recommendations <strong>for</strong> Uganda ……………………………………………………………85Appendix A: Nigeria …………………………………………………………………………….88Appendix B: Ghana ……………………………………………………………………………..95Appendix C: Uganda ……………………………………………………………………………97Appendix D: Interview Questions ……………………………………………………………...99Appendix E: Survey Questions ……………………………………………………….………102Appendix F: Selected Survey Data ………………………………………...………….………107


Executive SummaryPurpose of the ReportThis report is intended to serve as a guide <strong>for</strong> organizations considering establishing journalisttrainingprograms in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda. The report provides an overview of the challengesand opportunities in the journalism profession in these three countries. Generalizations acrosscountries are difficult. Thus, we encourage anyone making use of this report <strong>for</strong> program planningto consider the findings on each country as a distinct entity.BackgroundThere is vibrant, multi-plat<strong>for</strong>m media in all of the countries of the study. Each country has a mix ofstate-owned and independent media. Media independence from government varies from onecountry to the other. In terms of content, there is a broad range of quality. But little of thejournalism on economics and the extractive industries offers deep analysis and expertise.The extractive industries are of different sizes and development in each country. Nigeria has a welldevelopedoil sector that dominates its economy. Ghana has a large mining sector, and recentoffshore oil discoveries indicate that its oil sector will greatly expand. Uganda does not have a largeextractives industry, but also has recently discovered oil, which is likely to play a large role in theeconomy in the future.Challenges Facing JournalistsJournalists suffer from a variety of obstacles to their jobs in all three countries, including:• Poor pay• Access to in<strong>for</strong>mation – In all the countries studied, journalists face problems obtainingin<strong>for</strong>mation from both government and business sources.• Pressure from government or business – Media freedom varies widely from country to country, butbribery of journalists is common everywhere.• Lack of technology• Lack of skillsImpact of TrainingAcross countries, journalists had an overwhelmingly positive view of training programs. Journalistssaid that training significantly improved their writing. Solving the skills deficit in their reportingmade it easier <strong>for</strong> journalists to address the other challenges to their work. However, training doesnot always lead to better journalism, principally because it only addresses one challenge (a lack ofskills) of the many facing journalists in these countries.RecommendationsMany factors are important in improving journalism, but it is clear that training is a key strategy. Ourstudy shows that training programs <strong>for</strong> journalists covering the extractives can have a strong,positive effect. Most recommendations are country-specific, but a few are relevant to all threecountries:• Provide both local and international perspectives• Offer financial assistance to make attendance feasible• Incorporate training on understanding content and general reporting skills– 1 –


• Follow-up with training participantsIntroductionPurpose and Scope of the ProjectIn the Fall of 2008, the International Media and Communications program at Columbia University’sSchool of International and Public Affairs proposed writing a report on the state of journalism inthree Anglophone African countries – Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda – that have growing orestablished extractive industries. In close partnership with Revenue Watch International, the projectmoved <strong>for</strong>ward. The idea evolved into a report that would serve as a guide <strong>for</strong> organizationsconsidering establishing journalist-training programs in these countries.This report, then, is intended to provide an overview of the challenges and opportunities in thejournalism profession in these three countries. It especially seeks to shed light on the question ofwhether programs that train journalists can improve reporting on the extractive industries, and if so,what kinds of training are most effective.Journalism covering the extractive industries – including oil, mining and gas – is of particular interestto anyone who believes that transparency in governance, business and politics is an important aspectof development in Africa. Much is made in development literature of the “resource curse” – the ideathat when a large proportion of a country’s economy relies on the extraction of a single naturalresource, it can retard the country’s development. However, a glance around the world reveals thatnot all resource-reliant countries suffer from the same development problems, if they do at all.In Africa more than any other continent, the extractive industries seem to be consistently tied toinequality, strife and underdevelopment. African countries’ unique problems point to their commonhistory as colonized lands. European powers designed their colonies’ land-ownership norms,political boundaries, institutions and economies to facilitate exploitation – not development. Even asAfrican countries broke free of their colonizers, they inherited many of these arrangements. It maybe symptomatic of this history that, in contrast to other oil producing regions, where oil exploitationis a state-owned venture, it is almost completely dependent on <strong>for</strong>eign investment, especially fromU.S. companies, in West and Central Africa. 1It is an assumption of this report’s authors that a thriving journalism profession can be an importantpart of improving this situation. Good journalism – and active media consumers – will help citizensbe better in<strong>for</strong>med about the relationship between extractive industries, government and the broadereconomy. Journalists can reveal revenue flows and decision-making processes that affect entirecountries. With this knowledge, citizens can play more active roles in their countries’ destinies andmake their resources a blessing rather than a curse.This report examines the experiences, opinions and recommendations of nearly 100 professionaljournalists, academics and media experts in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. Our interviews focused onpainting a fuller picture of the media landscape, challenges journalists face and lessons learned frompast trainings in each country. We especially targeted business and economic journalists who hadtaken part in training programs, <strong>for</strong> two reasons. One, journalists who currently specialize in theextractives are a relative rarity in these countries. Two, there have been a dearth of trainings <strong>for</strong>1 Duffield, John S., Over a Barrel: the Costs of U.S. Foreign Oil Dependence, 2008, p. 146– 2 –


journalists in these countries that focus exclusively on the extractives. We felt that findings onbusiness journalism could easily be applied to journalism on the extractives. Indeed, in countries likeNigeria, it is impossible to cover the economy without covering the extractives.Much has been written about the challenges facing journalists in the countries we visited. Ourresearch, we believe, has refreshed that knowledge and deepened it with personal accounts frompeople in the industry. What is unique to our project is our canvassing of journalist trainingprograms in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda, an ef<strong>for</strong>t that has not, to our knowledge, been previouslyattempted.We wish to be extremely careful when speaking about the findings of this report in a general sense.A common fallacy in much writing about Africa is the tendency to generalize about countries acrossthe continent. The three countries in our study have distinct histories and political and economicclimates. There are huge differences in the size of each country’s populations and in the specifichurdles each faces in achieving development goals. In fact, the countries do not even necessarilyshare all the same goals.The countries do have some things in common. Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda are all English-speakingAfrican countries whose extractive industries <strong>for</strong>m an important part of their respective economies.The United Nations Development Program’s Human Development Report of 2007/2008categorizes all three as low developed countries. 2 Other than these similarities, there are large andimportant differences between the countries’ contexts.MethodologyA team of six students and one professor conducted the research over the course of the winter andspring of 2009. One student each traveled to Ghana and Uganda, while four traveled to Nigeria,which has by far the largest population, extractive industry and media industry of the threecountries. Researchers visited Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria <strong>for</strong> two weeks in January 2009, and madea second trip to Nigeria <strong>for</strong> two weeks in March 2009.Researchers used standardized interview <strong>for</strong>mats <strong>for</strong> most interviewees. There were differentquestions <strong>for</strong> journalists who had reported on the extractive industries and <strong>for</strong> those who had not,and a separate set of questions <strong>for</strong> editors. Questions were divided into two main categories:challenges that journalists face in their jobs, and their reflections on training programs in which theyhad participated. Interview questions are attached to this report in Appendix D.These standardized interviews lasted between 45 minutes and an hour and a half each. Researchesconducted most interviews at the offices of publications and media outlets. We made an ef<strong>for</strong>t,however, to avoid interviewing journalists in the presence of superiors, as we felt this couldinfluence their answers. We conducted some interviews by international phone calls, and wherepossible we have indicated this in the report. Please note that interviewee quotes are presented inseveral different ways throughout this report. Some journalists and professionals agreed to beinterviewed only on the condition that their names are kept confidential. Thus we have named someinterviewees but given general descriptions to others.2 United Nations Development Program Human Development Report 2007/2008, http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/1.html.– 3 –


The goal of the standardized interviews was to generate qualitative data that could be compared. Insome cases, when researchers had the chance to interview a journalist or professional who was notinvolved in reporting on business, economics or the extractive industries, or who had not undergonetraining, researchers devised ad hoc interview questions. (These interviews, as it turns out, generatedsome of the most interesting answers.)As interviewers, we were careful about how we presented the purpose and possible outcome of ourresearch. We told interviewees that we were students trying to determine whether journalism trainingwould be valuable <strong>for</strong> journalists covering the extractive industries, and that we were working withRWI to write a report with recommendations <strong>for</strong> possible journalism training programs. We neverindicated that such a program was planned or that we were looking <strong>for</strong> participants.In addition to our qualitative interviews, we quantified our findings with a survey, which many of thejournalists who had received training in the past completed. The number of journalists whocompleted the survey is fewer than the total number we talked to, because the survey was muchmore precise and was not relevant to every journalist’s experience. With the survey, we do not claimto have completed a hard and fast statistical description of journalists’ feelings about trainings, butrather a statistical illustration that helps to highlight some of the impressions and analyses we drewfrom our interview. In addition, the surveys helped provide some interesting cumulative data on, <strong>for</strong>example, journalists’ years in higher education. Survey questions are attached to this report inAppendix E.– 4 –


Existing International Training OpportunitiesThomson Reuters Foundationhttp://www.foundation.reuters.com/journalism/The foundation has offered journalism training programs in Africa <strong>for</strong> many years. Some ofThomson Reuters’ training programs <strong>for</strong> African journalists are held on the continent and last <strong>for</strong> afew weeks. These programs draw journalists from different African countries. Other programs areheld in Britain. Our researchers encountered fewer journalists trained by Thomson Reuters than bysome other programs, though the organization is one of the more prominent ones offering training.Training graduates held Thomson Reuters in high regard.There are two broad themes in Thomson Reuters’s program curriculum: (1) general writing andreporting skills and (2) in-depth sessions on specific subjects, such as understanding budgets anddifferent industries. A report by News Agency of Nigeria journalist Adeleye Ajayi on a 2008Thomson Reuters training in London shows that, in addition to sessions focusing on technicalin<strong>for</strong>mation like understanding central banks and interest rates, the Reuters training devoted a gooddeal of time to training on basic journalistic writing skills. Field trips – like one to the Reutersnewsroom and one to the European Bank <strong>for</strong> Economic Reconstruction and Development – were amajor part of the training, as they were in other Thomson Reuters programs that journalists wespoke to attended.A feature of the Thomson Reuters programs that interviewees especially liked was the collection ofmany journalists from different countries, which they described as a networking and learningopportunity.In 2009, Thomson Reuters held introductory business training programs in six different Africancountries. It used the introductory trainings to select “a group of 20 journalists, who demonstratethe greatest potential” who would then be invited to participate in trainings in a global financialcenter: London, Paris or Lisbon. A partnership with the Investment Climate Facility funded alltrainings.BBC World Service Trusthttp://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/trust/The trust offers training programs <strong>for</strong> journalists in several African countries, including Angola,Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Sudan. The trainings are usually of a short duration – one to twoweeks – and are held in-country. Most BBC Trust programs focus on broadcast media. Trainings aregenerally organized around a theme, such as helping to raise awareness about HIV or encouraginggovernment accountability.Cardiff University School of Journalism, Master of Arts in International Journalismhttp://www.cardiff.ac.uk/jomec/degreeprogrammes/pgmasters/mainternationaljournalism/coremodules/index.htmlCardiff’s two-semester program includes the core modules of In<strong>for</strong>mation Gathering and Analysis Iand II, which “examine basic business and economic concepts; effective use of figures; how to readand understand public documents (e.g. government papers, company reports); techniques ofinterviewing <strong>for</strong> writing and research; the techniques employed by investigative journalists and theethical and legal issues they sometimes raise.” This program also has an optional half-module that– 5 –


includes Reporting Business, Finance and Economics. The Cardiff program is quite expensive,which greatly limits participation, and explains why few of our journalists obtained degrees abroad.United States Consulate Public Affairshttp://nigeria.usembassy.gov/public_affairs_section.htmlThe United States Consulate Public Affairs section offers trainings which are tailored around currentevents in the country, such as Election Monitoring in 2006 in the lead up to the 2007 election. Theirprograms tend to be one-off trainings, determined by the priorities of the U.S. State Department.They are currently in the preliminary steps of organizing a business and economic reporting trainingthat will be co-sponsored by Ruyi Communications, set to begin in 2009.The U.S. Consulate trainers are usually teams of American expatriate journalists and local journalists.They hold breakout sessions based on medium (print, radio, and broadcast) to facilitate interactionbetween journalists and trainers. Their participants are gathered via letters of invitation to localmedia houses, and determined by editor selection.The India Institute of Mass Communication’s (IIMC) Development Journalism Programhttp://www.mib.nic.in/in<strong>for</strong>mationb/AUTONOMUS/IIMC.htmThe Development Journalism program at IIMC runs four months in length and gathers journalistsin New Delhi, India, with others from around the world. Business Day regularly sends journalists tothis program. According to the publisher of Business Day, this program is the “best journalismtraining program he has seen in the developing world.”Courses include:• National Economic Development and Globalization• Co-operation among Developing Countries• International Financial and Monetary Institutions, Bilateral, Regional and MultilateralTrade Agreements and WTO• Economic Indicators and Price Indices; National Budget and Public Finance• Communication and Development• Role of Mass Media in Developing Countries• News Exchange Arrangements – Bilateral, Regional, Multilateral and Non-aligned NewsAgencies Pool• New In<strong>for</strong>mation TechnologiesThe International Institute <strong>for</strong> Journalism’s Economic and Financial Reporting Programhttp://www.inwent.org/imperia/md/content/a-internet2008/iij/The IIJ runs two months in length and is held in Berlin, Germany. The program combines lectures,discussions and exercises, with a strong emphasis on practical work. The participants write reportsand features that are analyzed during the training to improve journalistic quality. They also go ontours of local businesses as well as financial and research institutions.The program typically covers:• Business News Writing, Essential Statistics• The Logic of Accounting, Reporting Companies• Reporting Markets– 6 –


• Consumer Affairs and In<strong>for</strong>mation• Reporting National Budgets and Economic Policies• Covering the Central Bank, Commercial Banks and Financial Markets• Economic Integration and Regional Organizations• The International Financial System• The World Trade System, Global Economic Issues• Writing Feature StoriesThe journalists we spoke with highly praised the <strong>for</strong>mat and teaching methods of the IIJ program.They emphasized the value of having experienced practitioners teach at the trainings and thenetworking opportunities that the trainings provided, allowing participants to connect withjournalists and policymakers from around the world. A <strong>for</strong>mer journalist from Business Day praisedthe opportunity to interact with “real players in the international system,” such as members of theUN, WTO and IMF.This journalist said that the IIJ seeks out the strongest journalists at the trainings and mentors them,which significantly sets it apart from other training organizations, and has made him a top businessjournalist. Because of the IIJ’s mentoring, he was invited to attend other trainings around the world,where he was able to further expand his network of contacts. “The more you travel, the more youare valued in Nigeria because you bring the global perspective,” he said. In 2006, he was able toattend a WTO conference in Hong Kong though the IIJ, which he covered <strong>for</strong> Business Day inNigeria. Business Day would never have had the resources to send a reporter to Hong Kong, he said.Moreover, the IIJ provides much-needed financial support <strong>for</strong> trainees to attend.– 7 –


Nigeria– 8 –


Background 3Of the three countries in this study, Nigeria stands out as the largest (with a population of nearly 150million) and most diverse. It also has the largest and most robust media in Anglophone West Africa,with scores of publications, TV stations and radio stations. Additionally, it has by far the largest andmost developed extractives industry of the countries in this study.The size and complexity of the research on Nigeria thus exceeded that on Ghana and Uganda. Moreresearchers traveled to Nigeria and spent more hours there conducting interviews.Because Nigeria has a big, diverse and generally well-funded news media, it can in some respectsoffer a model <strong>for</strong> smaller countries with more limited news media. On the other hand, because ofthe notorious way that oil has complicated Nigerian politics, economics and journalism, someaspects of the Nigerian experience can also serve as a warning to countries with nascent extractiveindustries.Since its inception, the Nigerian oil industry, which is one of the largest in the world and is thelynchpin of the country’s economy, has shown a deep lack of transparency. This is partly because ofNigeria’s youth as a political entity – British colonizers did not bind its vast lands and disparatepeoples together until 1914. Some authors have speculated that Nigeria’s late and <strong>for</strong>ced creationmeant it did not have the unity to resist oil exploitation arrangements that have not been asbeneficial to the country as they could have been. Regional, local and personal considerations –culminating in the staggeringly corrupt regime of military dictator General Soni Abacha in the 1990s– trumped national interest in oil contracts negotiations. Additionally, oil exploitation in Nigeriamirrors the arrangements <strong>for</strong> the extraction of a different oil – palm oil – which was a main exportin colonial times. 4 As in that era, contemporary petroleum drilling is owned and managed by <strong>for</strong>eigncompanies. Unlike in other parts of the oil-rich world, the Nigerian oil industry is almost whollydependent on <strong>for</strong>eign direct investment. 5There have been many well documented negative consequences from this situation, and Nigeria’syears of repressive military rule have not helped. Effects include high levels of corruption, oil wealththat Nigerians do not enjoy equally and an industry that provides a huge cash flow to the state butdirectly employs relatively few Nigerians. In fact, despite its oil wealth and its role as the bankingcapital of West Africa, Nigeria scores significantly lower than both Ghana and Uganda on theUnited Nations’ human development index. 6It is impossible to know whether a more active, freer and more capable press could have helpedavert the more un<strong>for</strong>tunate aspects of Nigeria’s history, but it seems likely that it could not havehurt. In contemporary, democratic Nigeria, good media and broader, popular understanding of theoil industry could likely be ingredients in a recipe <strong>for</strong> empowering Nigerians to enjoy the immensewealth of their natural resources.3 Photo on previous page: Colombant, Nico, photographer. “Selling Gas on Side of Road, Nigeria, 2007.” Photograph.2007. From: Flickr: usnico's photostream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/usnico/526111505/.4 A Swamp Full of Dollars, the <strong>for</strong>thcoming book by The Financial Times’ Nigeria correspondent, Michael Peel, describesthe history of the Nigerian oil industry that is paraphrased here.5 Duffield, John S., Over a Barrel: the Costs of U.S. Foreign Oil Dependence, 2008.6 United Nations Development Program Human Development Report 2007/2008, http://hdrstats.undp.org/indicators/1.html.– 9 –


Literacy and EducationNigeria instituted a universal primary education policy in 1979 that requires at least six years ofprimary school attendance. UNESCO reports that 5 percent of Nigeria’s GDP is spent oneducation, which is about average <strong>for</strong> the region. 7 In 2005, 63.4 percent of Nigeria’s primary schoolagedchildren were enrolled and 75.6 percent of those enrolled completed their primary education. 8While overall Nigeria has relatively greater equality with respect to gender and primary schoolenrollment than most of its West African neighbors, the gender gap is still wide in the primarilyMuslim areas of Northern Nigeria. 9Nigerian literacy is on the rise, but the urban-rural disparity in literacy influences the distribution ofmedia consumption throughout the country. 10 Compared to 84.9 percent of urban Nigerians, only62.1 percent of rural Nigerians can read and write. 11 Media consumption outside Nigeria’s cities islargely broadcast focused. Radio journalism dominates rural areas. Eighty-two percent of Nigeriansown a radio whereas just 32 percent own a television set. 12 Radio news reaches more Nigerians thanprint news. Voice of America and BBC radio are the only main alternatives to state-owned radionews, as few community radio stations exist.Extractive IndustryNigeria is the largest oil producer in Africa, and one of the ten largest oil producers in the world.According to the Extractive Industries Transparency <strong>Initiative</strong>’s (EITI) website, Nigeria’srecoverable reserves were estimated at 34 billion barrels in 2003. Oil production accounts <strong>for</strong> abouthalf of Nigeria’s GDP, more than 95 percent of export receipts, and over 80 percent of governmentrevenue. Nigeria’s oil sector is dominated by joint operations between the Nigerian government andsix major international oil companies – Shell, Mobil, Chevron, Agip, Elf, and Texaco. 13 Nigeria alsoholds large reserves of natural gas, among the ten largest in the world, but gas production is muchless important to the economy than oil production. Nigeria also has abundant mineral resources,though these have yet to be fully exploited given the country’s easy access to oil and gas.Oil production has been Nigeria’s main economic driver since the country became independentfrom Britain in 1960, although the oil industry did not dramatically expand until the boom of the1970s. Today, Nigeria’s GDP per head stands at $1,794, high <strong>for</strong> sub-Saharan Africa, but lowconsidering Nigeria’s tremendous oil wealth and sales. 14 Current economic growth is quite brisk,with estimates ranging from 6.7 percent to 8 percent. Nevertheless, Nigeria has also become theposter child <strong>for</strong> the “resource curse,” with much of the country mired in poverty and inequality;7 United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization.http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001527/152795e.pdf8 UNICEF. http://www.childinfo.org/files/WCAR_Nigeria.pdf9 World Bank. http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/ddpreports/ViewSharedReport; UNICEF.http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nigeria_36688.html10 All literacy rates in this report represent the percentage of the population over age 15 that can read and write, from theWorld Bank’s definition.11 United Nations Development Program. http://web.ng.undp.org/12 The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 8, No 2 (2007), ISSN: 1492-3831http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/347/91913 Extractive Industries Transparency <strong>Initiative</strong> website, Nigeria page. Accessed 12 December 2008:http://eitransparency.org/Nigeria.14 “Factsheet on Nigeria,” The Economist, 25 November 2008. Accessed 12 December 2008:http://www.economist.com/countries/Nigeria/profile.cfm?folder=Profile-FactSheet– 10 –


pervasive conflict in the Niger Delta and social tensions in other parts of the country sometimesexplode into violence. According to BBC News’s Nigeria Country Profile, “the trade in stolen oilhas fuelled violence and corruption in the Niger Delta – the home of the industry. Few Nigerians,including those in oil-producing areas, have benefited from the oil wealth.” 15 That said, Nigeria isrelatively stable, with a democratically elected government with at least a stated commitment todemocracy and the rule of law. Nigeria was accepted as an EITI candidate country in September2007. According to Nigeria’s EITI (NEITI), its Secretariat has undertaken measures to “deepenawareness about the implementation of NEITI and to build capacity within government and civilsociety,” including training workshops <strong>for</strong> civil society and the media.Niger DeltaThe Niger Delta region, from which most of the country’s oil originates, is an exception to the moreor less secure environment that prevails in most of the country. In the Delta, the threat of violenceagainst journalists – at the hands of police and rebels or armed gangs – remains very real. Thus, theNiger Delta presents challenges to good journalism that far exceed other regions of Nigeria.The underlying problems in the Delta are well known. Local people have resisted the presence of oilcompanies in the region, saying that they feel their resources are being plundered without propercompensation. There is also much money to be made in the siphoning off of oil. Violence andkidnappings are common in the region.Against the trend in Lagos, at least, the security situation in the Niger Delta seems to be worsening.Toward the end of 2008, Delta militants and government <strong>for</strong>ces engaged in some of the worstfighting to date. The violence has spread to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Piracy is also on therise in the region – in 2008, only Somalia had worse water security than Nigeria. 16 Things have notimproved in 2009: according to Voice of America, there were 128 kidnappings in the first fourmonths of 2009 alone. 17 While oil workers are the most frequent targets, the Niger Delta’s insecuritymakes journalism in the region increasingly difficult. Many <strong>for</strong>eign journalists and filmmakers havebeen arrested in the region and in 2007 two gunmen entered the Niger Delta bureau <strong>for</strong> the Punchnewspaper in an attempt to kidnap a staff member. 18TelecommunicationsInternet access is available in most hotels and businesses, but it is slow and costly. Because theInternet is expensive, Nigerians rely heavily on cell phones. Many Nigerians have two cell phones,one with each major carrier, so that when one carrier’s signal is down they have a back up. So far,Internet access in Nigeria has been routed through hubs in Europe or the United States, which issignificantly more expensive than routing it through submarine cables. Nigeria’s bandwidth maysoon be improved, as its second largest telecom provider plans to lay Nigeria’s first submarinetelecom cable in 2009.15 “Country Profile: Nigeria,” BBC News, 5 December 2008. Accessed 12 December 2008:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1064557.stm#media.16 “Nigeria: Seizing the Moment in the Niger Delta”, International Crisis Group, April 30, 3009,http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=6080&l=1, accessed May 13, 2009.17 Voice of America, “Nigeria's Niger Delta Kidnappings Total Nearly 130 Since 2008,”http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/2009-04-06-voa42.cfm18 Center <strong>for</strong> Foreign Journalists, “Attacks on the Press 2007: Nigeria,” http://www.cpj.org/2008/02/attacks-on-thepress-2007-nigeria.php– 11 –


Media LandscapeThough Nigeria has one of the longest histories of free press in Africa, media struggle with majordemographic, political, and financial challenges.Nigeria’s media has thrived since the inception of democratic rule in 1999. Today, Nigeria has a vastnetwork of state-run and private media outlets at the federal, regional, and local levels. Nigeria hasmore than 100 newspapers and publications. Each of Nigeria’s 36 states runs its own radio station,and most operate television stations. There is greater state-ownership and regulation of broadcastmedia than print. Private broadcasters need state licenses to operate. There are roughly 17 privateradio stations in Nigeria.Although there are many more private newspapers than government-owned ones, there is still somedegree of self-censorship at these papers. In addition, many Nigerians we spoke with said thatpublications are often used <strong>for</strong> the political or financial advancement of the owner, which influencesreporting.Newspapers are very regionalized. The top paper in Lagos is not widely read in the north of thecountry, and vice versa.Content AnalysisThe quality of reporting in Nigeria on government activities and the oil sector is poor. Investigativereporting on these topics was described to our researchers as inadequate, and often non-existent.The main causes are lack of education and a lack of financial independence, both of which lead todependence on government and oil companies.Media coverage of business and the oil industry is not adequately keeping public in<strong>for</strong>med, nor is itplaying a watchdog role. The media tend to report more on market opportunities and on storieswhich paint the government and oil industry in a positive light, rather than “following the money”and tracking down corruption. Journalists report on the existence of government budgets, but donot monitor them or their implementation. Often, stories on development are actually coveringfictional acts by the government or the oil industry. Journalists are bussed around to non-existentproject sites and paid to write false development stories. Omoyele Sowore calls this a “hugeproblem” in Nigeria.Reportage of the oil sector in particular is generally predictable and pedestrian. Given oil’s criticalimportance to the Nigerian economy, coverage of the industry in general, and particularly of themajor multi-nationals involved in extraction, is lacking. The media’s coverage of the extractive sectorgenerally lacks depth. Investigative stories are a rarity.Oil-related stories tend to fall into four categories.1) Public Relations, or “PR,” stories, in which the oil companies sponsored some initiative (orotherwise acted altruistically) and received positive coverage;2) Conferences, speeches, official events, and agreements, where some official activity orstatement from an oil company or its representative is duly reported;– 12 –


3) Crises or disruptions, where some aspect of the oil industry is disrupted (by spills, saboteurs,thieves, or unions) and/or oil company workers are kidnapped; and4) Numbers stories, which recount fluctuations in the price of oil, changes in a company’sproduction output, or investment figures.The “PR” stories often read as oil company press releases or something concocted by the company’spublic relations firm. Nearly half of a sample of 39 stories from November 18, 2008 to December12, 2008 that mentioned at least one oil company in the body of the text were “PR” stories. Thesestories include Vanguard articles about a Shell sponsored soccer tournament (“NNPC/Shell CupReturns to Lagos With Better Prize Money” 19 ), a Chevron funded anti-malaria campaign (“Nigeria:NNPC/Chevron Flag Off Roll Back Malaria Programme” 20 ), and a Shell funded microfinanceprogram (“Nigeria: Shell Gives N102 Million Micro Credit Loan to 2,013 Beneficiaries” 21 ). Whilethese stories highlight what are probably genuinely positive impacts of the oil companies on Nigeria,they also serve to shape public opinion. The sheer number of such articles, relative to the rest of thearticles written about the industry, reveals a press that is more com<strong>for</strong>table providing positivecoverage of the oil industry than criticizing it, much less playing a role of civil society intermediary orhonest broker.The relationship between the press and oil companies is sometimes mutually rein<strong>for</strong>cing. An articlefrom This Day on December 12 (“Nigeria: This Day Awards 2009 - More Nominees Emerge” 22 )revealed an awards contest created by the newspaper to honor “remarkable per<strong>for</strong>mance ofcompanies and chief executives in the private sector.” Nominated in the “Oil & Gas Company ofthe Year” category are Mobil and a Chevron distribution subsidiary. Interestingly, just three daysearlier, a Vanguard article (“Nigeria: Chevron Endows NMMA Prize <strong>for</strong> Oil and Gas Reporting” 23 )reported the creation of a Chevron-endowed award <strong>for</strong> “the best journalist in oil and gas reporting.”The article quotes Chevron’s Lagos-branch Public Affairs manager stating, “the role of the media isespecially important to the oil and gas sector, an industry that is so vital to Nigeria's interest.”Despite its oft-generous depiction of the oil companies, the Nigerian press’s coverage of the oilindustries is by no means wholly positive. Nigeria’s oil industry is, of course, a turbulent one,particularly in recent years when sabotage and theft have seriously undermined Nigeria’s oilproduction capacity and output. Stories of disruption and sabotage were reported regularly in thesample. Examples include articles about Chevron security guards attacking protesting unionemployees (“Nigeria: Chevron Vs Workers - Security Men Manhandle Nupeng Chief, Workers” 24 ),Shell’s shutting down of a gas plant after it was disrupted by theft (“Nigeria: Shell Shuts Gas PlantOver Vandalism” 25 ), and a story about a group of protesting youths who succeed in shutting down aShell office (“Nigeria: Youths Invade Shell Office” 26 ). It should be noted that, in these stories, the oil19 “NNPC/Shell Cup Returns to Lagos With Better Prize Money,” Vanguard, 12 December 2008.20 Emma Arubi, “Nigeria: NNPC/Chevron Flag Off Roll Back Malaria Programme,” 3 December 2008.21 Festus Ahon, “Nigeria: Shell Gives N102 Million Micro Credit Loan to 2,013 Beneficiaries,” Vanguard, 19 November2008.22 Tokunbo Adedoja, “Nigeria: Thisday Awards 2009 - More Nominees Emerge,” This Day, 12 December 2008.23 Yemie Adeoye, “Nigeria: Chevron Endows NMMA Prize <strong>for</strong> Oil and Gas Reporting,” Vanguard, 9 December 2008.24 Emma Amaize, “Nigeria: Chevron Vs Workers - Security Men Manhandle Nupeng Chief, Workers,” Vanguard, 4December 2008.25 Bassey Udo, Adeola Yusuf and Adetutu Folasade-Koyi, “Nigeria: Shell Shuts Gas Plant Over Vandalism,” DailyIndependent, 27 November 2008.26 Segun James, “Nigeria: Youths Invade Shell Office,” This Day, 26 November 2008.– 13 –


companies are usually portrayed as victims and their protectors, the Nigerian army or security <strong>for</strong>ces,as saviors. The “criminals” are depicted as faceless “hoodlums” or “militants.”There is some negative press of the extractive industry. One such story recounts a community’sfrustration over Shell’s failure to uphold an agreement to improve facilities and opportunities in thecommunity, (“Nigeria: Community Berates Shell Over Failure to Implement Agreement” 27 ), whileanother reports on another community’s criticism of Mobil <strong>for</strong> poisoning local marine life off theAtlantic coast (“Communities Accuse Mobil of Poisoning Marine Products” 28 ). Of the 39consecutive stories collected in December and November, eight articles either concerned disruptionsor featured an overtly negative impact of the oil companies. These stories reveal that Nigeria’snewspapers are not simply lapdogs of the industry, and are capable of criticism of the extractivecompanies. However, while these stories are critical of the oil companies, they are still surface deep,and rarely investigate the root causes of some of these disputes or criticisms. And, as in almost allthe coverage of the extractives, sourcing is minimal (invariably a spokesperson of the oil company inquestion), and facts and accusations are rarely checked or affirmed by third parties.To be fair, covering the oil industry’s crises is apparently dangerous work according to the mediaadvocate organization Committee to Protect Journalists, which has documented instances of abuse,murder, and harassment of journalists by both the government and the “criminal” <strong>for</strong>ces engaged insabotage or theft. 29Challenges to Journalism in NigeriaCross-cutting challengesChart 1: Nigerian journalists found poor pay and freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mation to be the biggestobstacles to their work, followed by a lack of adequate knowledge and skills.27 Anayo Okoli, “Nigeria: Community Berates Shell Over Failure to Implement Agreement,” Vanguard, 1 December2008.28 “Communities Accuse Mobil of Poisoning Marine Products,” The Daily Independent, 24 November 2008.29 Center to Protect Journalists, Nigeria. http://www.cpj.org/africa/nigeria/.– 14 –


Low pay and low regardOne of the most fundamental challenges to better journalism in Nigeria is that many people,including journalists themselves, do not consider journalism a real career. Journalists often see theirtrade as a stepping-stone in their careers. This reality underscores the need <strong>for</strong> training, since mostjournalists are poorly prepared <strong>for</strong> the job. 30 Some become journalists to gain exposure with by-linesin hopes of landing a “better” job. 31 A founder of a business paper in Lagos said that if journalismwere a respected career in Nigeria, journalists would not leave the field. 32Tied to the low regard <strong>for</strong> journalism is journalists’ low pay. Many journalists we spoke to said thatjournalists are paid very little, and irregularly – in some cases they are not paid <strong>for</strong> months. 33 A<strong>for</strong>mer journalist who now works as a media consultant said his old paper paid reporters $100 amonth (12,000 Naira). According to one <strong>for</strong>mer journalist, the mentality among business owners isthat they “pay” journalists by simply providing them a plat<strong>for</strong>m through which they can expressthemselves. 34The low pay means that many journalists feel compelled to take bribes from sources. 35 Multipleinterviewees said that paying off journalists is the norm. Kirk Robertson Leigh, a freelance journalist<strong>for</strong>merly with Nigeria’s Business Day, said public relations firms seek out journalists to cover theirclients’ events. At events, companies hand out envelopes with bribe money to promote positivecoverage. Leigh calls this “brown envelope syndrome” or “gbalamu.” He also said that companiesactively seek out journalists to whom they can pay bribes. Companies have tried to pay Leigh write apositive analysis on their prospects, which he refused to do, especially after the company refused torelease historical in<strong>for</strong>mation to him.Low pay affects the quality of staff that newspapers can attract. Since newspapers are unable to paytheir reporters well, many media houses recruit polytechnic graduates instead of university graduates,who demand higher salaries. This negatively affects the quality of the journalism that emerges fromthese media outlets. Instruction is generally better at universities. Although polytechnic schools offercommunications curricula like universities, the degree requirements <strong>for</strong> polytechnic professors arelower than university professor requirements. 36However, while nearly every journalist we met with cited the profession’s low pay as a key challenge,some noted that salaries are increasing. According to a radio journalist, this is due to the increasedcompetition in Nigeria’s broadcast journalism following a surge in new stations entering the market.New stations bought out journalists from older stations, which inflated salaries across the board. Hesaid his radio station recently lost four journalists to new radio stations. New stations wantexperienced journalists because it is profitable, he said – they are trusted by the public and haveextensive networks. 3730 Nigerian Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January31 Nigerian Interviewee #2. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January32 Nigerian Interviewee #3. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January33 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January34 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January35 Nigerian Interviewee #6. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January36 Nigerian Interviewee #7. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January37 Nigerian Interviewee #8. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January– 15 –


Limited resourcesApart from their personal remuneration, Nigerian journalists face a variety of technical obstacles totheir work, including a general lack of non-monetary resources.Joke Kujenya, a business reporter at The Nation, said that the biggest challenge she faces is the“challenge of infrastructure.” Nigerian journalists lack the proper tools to do the job, she said. Shesaid that newspapers do not provide adequate computers and other technology, and mostjournalists’ salaries are too low to buy these tools <strong>for</strong> themselves. Even at some of Nigeria’s topnewspapers there are not enough computers in a newsroom <strong>for</strong> everyone to have access at the sametime. 38 Kujenya cited the newly established Next newspaper, founded by Pulitzer Prize winner DeleOlojede, as one exception. Olojede “came with all the tools” to start up Next, Kujenya said. Mostnewsrooms, however, lack essential resources <strong>for</strong> reporting. Personal laptops are rare. Kujenya saidthat her co-workers were extremely excited when she showed them a digital recorder that shebought in the U.S. “It shouldn’t be a big deal,” she said.Slow Internet access is another major problem journalists identified. All newsrooms are linked to theInternet, but the bandwidth is low. Our researches heard of many instances where slow Internet wasa serious burden on reporters. During the U.S. presidential election, <strong>for</strong> example, Jahman Anikulapo,the Sunday editor of The Guardian, a major paper, said he was unable to get online to downloadspeech transcripts and other in<strong>for</strong>mation. (Anikulapo said that his paper just switched to a newInternet provider, which might lead to an improvement.) Slow Internet access also makes it difficultto cover crises that demand reactive coverage.Slow Internet makes research and fact-checking arduous, which leads to increased dependence onuncorroborated in<strong>for</strong>mation that sources single-handedly provide. In these cases, one televisionjournalist said she simply has to trust that the source’s in<strong>for</strong>mation is accurate. It is common <strong>for</strong>journalists to draw in<strong>for</strong>mation from other media stories, as well. 39The limitations of the Internet go beyond low bandwidth. Many journalists lack adequate training<strong>for</strong> the Internet and new media. One professor said that university programs rarely teach new media– at most, schools offer one or two classes. He is just now introducing these tools into hiscurriculum. Though he said that new journalism schools are more progressive, when he proposedoffering a new media course at his university, faculty did not understand new media’s relevance tojournalism. Even among his students, he said, there is resistance to the Internet. As an antidote, theprofessor requires that his students have e-mail addresses and do research online. 40One editor-in-chief of a business newspaper was thrilled to show us an exciting program he learnedabout at a recent journalism training. Our researchers were a bit surprised to learn that this programwas Microsoft Excel, which we had mistakenly thought was almost as well known as MicrosoftWord.38 Nigerian Interviewee #9. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January39 Nigerian Interviewee #10. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January40 Nigerian Interviewee #7. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January– 16 –


Even in cases where working journalists are able to attend new media training sessions, theysometimes cannot use newly acquired skills because their newsroom’s equipment is not up to date. 41Insufficient salaries and resources are partially due to media companies’ low revenues. A mediaconsultant said that twenty years ago newspaper circulation was ten times what it is today.(Publications we asked were not <strong>for</strong>thcoming with their circulation figures, however.) The SundayTimes printed more than 450,000 copies in 1974, the consultant said. Despite Nigeria’s populationgrowth over the past two decades, he doubts newspapers today print as many as 100,000 copies. Heestimated that The Guardian, one of Nigeria’s most respected papers, sells 20,000 copies a day. Partof the reason <strong>for</strong> the decrease in newspaper consumption is that Nigerians have gotten poorerdespite the country’s increased revenues. The 1980s economic crisis caused a middle-class collapse,leading to high income-inequality 42 .The low readership can put pressure on newspapers to be more sensationalistic. Nigerian tabloidshave the highest circulation, one journalist said. A business reporter at a well-respected paper saidthat most papers in Nigeria think they can only sell issues with “screaming headlines.” Journalistsneed to be trained to be truthful and not exaggerate in<strong>for</strong>mation, he said 43 .The global economic downturn has also affected Nigerian advertising revenues. Anikulapo of TheGuardian said that his paper’s Tuesday issue is its most popular edition, because it features job ads. Inthe past, the issue has run at about 120 pages because of heavy advertising. But on the Tuesday ofour interview, the paper had just 96 pages because of a major contraction in advertising, whichAnikulapo attributed to the bad business environment.Limited financial resources mean that newspapers cannot fund investigative stories. Pointing to anaward-winning investigative CNN Africa report on the diamond trade, one business journalist saidthat a local reporter would never have the financial capacity to do such a story. 44Advertising InfluenceThe financial obstacles to Nigerian media make them particularly susceptible to pressures fromadvertisers. Businesses frequently use their leverage as advertisers in newspapers to promote positivecoverage. Willingness to manipulate the media is not business’s only reason <strong>for</strong> this – Nigeria’sjudicial system is cumbersome, and it is too time-consuming and costly <strong>for</strong> companies to challengefalse reports in the courts, so they try to head off damaging in<strong>for</strong>mation at the source. (Not allinterviewees would say that their publications bow to advertising pressure, but the perception thatsuch pressure exists is widespread.)Some journalists said that editors censored articles that could threaten their advertising revenue. 45One journalist said she could not publish a story related to a plane accident that killed hundreds ofpeople because the airline company contributed to her television station’s ad revenue. The censoredstory was about an activist who was murdered while investigating the story under circumstances thatthe journalist thought were related to the investigation. The journalist said that her station did notallow her to report a follow-up story. 4641 Nigerian Interviewee #11. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January42 Nigerian Interviewee #2. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January43 Nigerian Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January44 Nigerian Interviewee #12. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January45 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January46 Nigerian Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January– 17 –


Since most advertisements go to top Nigerian papers, Nigeria’s numerous lower-tier papers are ableto print articles critical of business without risking loving advertising. The articles attract readers, butare sometimes slanderous and inaccurate. Paradoxically, the negative reporting can also attractadvertisements from companies trying to protect themselves from negative coverage. 47 In any case,the relationship between newspapers’ editorial and advertising departments is often an unhealthyone.The wall between advertising and editorial departments, an ideal in American journalism traditions,is often not honored in Nigeria. In some newsrooms journalists are encouraged to sell ad space.Some journalists see no problem with this – a few told us they hoped future training programswould focus on marketing and entrepreneurship. 48Ownership InfluenceMost Nigerian papers are owned by a single person with a political or profit-driven agenda, ajournalist-turned-media consult told us. As in other countries – including the United States – manymedia owners are in the business <strong>for</strong> the power it gives them, not because of any special affinity <strong>for</strong>journalism 49 . Sometimes, publishers even manipulate stories in favor of their business interests.Since individual owners hold all of the power, they are rarely challenged 50 .Journalists sometimes feel at odds with their media owners. “We are despised by the political class –even by those who own the papers,” Jahman Anikulapo said. Since 1999, seven politicians havebecome owners of newspapers, many of which are fronts <strong>for</strong> political schemes, he said. The ownerof the Daily Independent, <strong>for</strong> example, is a politician with the People’s Democratic Party, Nigeria’sstrongest, and a <strong>for</strong>mer governor who is currently being investigated by the Economic and FinancialCrimes Commission 51 .Access to In<strong>for</strong>mationAccess to in<strong>for</strong>mation is one of the most pervasive problems <strong>for</strong> Nigerian journalists. Governmentis not required, inclined or, in some cases, able to share in<strong>for</strong>mation – at least in a timely manner.Likewise, businesses do not make an ef<strong>for</strong>t to share meaningful in<strong>for</strong>mation with journalists, andgenerally feel no pressure to do so. Even when it would be relatively easy to get in<strong>for</strong>mation,journalists may not know the best way to go about requesting it or have the training to distinguishuseful in<strong>for</strong>mation.Many journalists cite a poor legal framework in Nigeria as a major impediment to reporting. Thelaws affecting media in Nigeria have not been changed since the country returned to democratic rulein 1999. Notoriously, that has meant that Nigeria does not have a freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mation law, eventhough a Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Bill (FOIB) has made it almost all the way through a “torturouslegislative journey through Nigeria’s unpredictable political turf.” 5247 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January48 Nigerian Interviewee #14. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January49 Nigerian Interviewee #2. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January50 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January51 Nigerian Interviewee #15. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January52 Media Alert West Africa 2006-2007: Annual State of the Media Report, Media Foundation <strong>for</strong> West Africa, 2008, p.53.– 18 –


But while some reporters think FOIB is the missing link preventing them from doing their jobs,others argue that complaints about FOIB are something of a crutch. Dele Olojede, the founder ofNext, published a column in Stop Press, a newsletter <strong>for</strong> journalists, chastising them <strong>for</strong> using the lackof FOIB as an excuse <strong>for</strong> not doing their job better. “I am a very strong and passionate supporter ofthe Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Bill not because it empowers the media, but because it empowers thecitizens so that if you live in Modakeke, you should have a right to demand from your localgovernment the copy of their financial plan,” he wrote. But, he continued,“[Journalists have]changed the argument about Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Act to an argument about Press Freedom.That’s complete nonsense and crap and very selfish and narrow-minded on the part of the press.”According to Musa Odoshimokhe of The Nation, if a journalist does proper background research heor she will be able to extract enough in<strong>for</strong>mation from interviews. “It is incumbent on the journalistto get the in<strong>for</strong>mation he needs,” he said. “When [a source] is telling you lies, you will know,” hesaid. Another reporter at a news wire shared these views. If passed, he said, “the process [ofrequesting in<strong>for</strong>mation] will take months to go through, but journalists need in<strong>for</strong>mation morequickly than that.”According to Goddy Ikeh, the Business Editor at the state-funded but independent News Agency ofNigeria, “The bill is not really a problem.”“We have enough laws in the country…people will latch onto [the bill]” as an excuse <strong>for</strong> not doinggood reporting, he said. Ikeh went so far as to say that the law would make it more difficult <strong>for</strong>reporters to get in<strong>for</strong>mation because it would make the process of getting in<strong>for</strong>mation take moretime. “Once you start <strong>for</strong>malizing something it becomes a problem.”Lekan Otufodunrin, the editor of The Nation and a noted advocate <strong>for</strong> the profession of journalism,said that a Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation bill “could help, but it’s not the main thing.”“What people need is a development of their skills,” he said, particularly when it comes to readingcharts and asking the right questions. “The Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Bill might be there but you stilldon’t know what questions to ask.”Kirk Robertson Leigh, the freelance business journalist, said that a freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mation lawwould be of limited utility to business journalists. Good journalists already know tricks to getbusinesses to share in<strong>for</strong>mation them.“Business journalists have a way of speculating, so it’s in [companies’] best interest to be up-front,”he said. “On a personal note, I’ve not had a problem. In business journalism you rely on companiestalking, not really government. So I think that bill is really to make government open up, especiallyin the area of the extractive industries.” Leigh does, however, believe that FOIB is “imperative” <strong>for</strong>reporters covering politics.To be sure, journalists did describe instances when a freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mation law would have beendirectly helpful in reporting a story. For example, when researching a bribery case currently in trial,Anikulapo of The Guardian received an important document from the court. He expected thedocument to name the government officials involved and said it would be a big scoop <strong>for</strong> his paper.But the document had all of the names removed. Because of the lack of a freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mationlaw, Anikulapo said he was unable to pursue the issue further. “[Journalists] still operate in a verydangerous political environment,” he said.– 19 –


A public radio reporter also noted limited access to government in<strong>for</strong>mation. “I think they don’twant to say something that will implicate them.” Still, “as a journalist you have to have a way to getto the root of the matter…even if they won’t tell you on record.”Even apart from FOIB, many journalists said it was difficult to get in<strong>for</strong>mation from companies <strong>for</strong>reasons that would not likely have a legal remedy. One business paper publisher said journalists hadlittle access to decision-makers at private companies. As an example, he said that even if a journalistwas able to get an interview with Shell officials by contacting them, the company might cancelbecause of security clearance issues. 53 Without direct access to officials, many journalists rely oncompany websites, but often find scarce in<strong>for</strong>mation. 54IntimidationMost interviewees told us that, in Lagos, outright intimidation of journalists is a thing of the past.Some told us harrowing stories of brushes with the police during military rule, but it was repeatedlyemphasized that the situation has been much different under democratic rule.However, the physical security of journalists may be much stronger in Lagos than it is in otherregions of Nigeria. For example, intimidation by police and by other groups is still a major concernin the oil-producing Niger Delta, which is of course an area of vital interest in the promotion ofgood journalism on the extractives. Ibanga Isine, the bureau chief <strong>for</strong> Punch Newspaper in PortHarcourt, told us in a phone interview that, recently, police had jailed and “flogged” him <strong>for</strong> hisjournalistic activities.The relative impunity of the police, especially in certain regions and in certain activities, continues tobe a problem in Nigeria, which can have a spillover effect <strong>for</strong> journalists. Joe Agbro, a reporter <strong>for</strong>The Nation, told us of a story he is covering about a man who was abducted and tortured by a policeofficer <strong>for</strong> making an impolite remark in traffic. Agbro said he sometimes felt that he wasinvestigating dangerous territory when reporting the story, but that he felt compelled to follow it.Some journalists say coverage of private companies is censored by their media organizations <strong>for</strong>reasons that bordered on intimidation. One journalist wrote an investigative report in the NigerDelta that revealed the name of the head of a clan who was taking money from oil companies. Hiseditor did not want to publish the story. The journalist published it himself in another media outlet. 55Still, most journalists told us that Nigeria has come a long way from the 1990s, when many peoplewould assume that their conversations were monitored and would censor themselves <strong>for</strong> fear ofgovernment reprisal.Institutional NormsOne business reporter told us that many reporters are wary of offending or “bringing people down.”As a result, some hesitate from exposing malfeasance. “Investigative journalism is not welldeveloped here,” he said, adding that such “cultural factors” were a bigger obstacle to journalismthan a poor legal framework. 56 (However, it should be noted that our researchers saw severalexamples of articles that attacked public figures quite aggressively.)53 Nigerian Interviewee #3. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January54 Nigerian Interviewee #9. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January55 Nigerian Interviewee #16. 2009. Interview by Emily Gann and Eamon Kircher-Allen. Lagos, Nigeria, March56 Nigerian Interviewee #17. 2009. Interview by Emily Gann and Eamon Kircher-Allen. Lagos, Nigeria, March– 20 –


When asked how much the media could criticize the government, one radio journalist said, “thepeople themselves, they don’t want to indict the government” 57 . There is evidence that such feelingsmay be institutionalized. Anther editor told us he received complaints from the government <strong>for</strong>writing stories considered “unpatriotic” and “disrespectful.” 58TransportationIt is hard to overstate the burden of traffic on daily life in Lagos, where most major papers arebased. Chronic traffic delays make it difficult <strong>for</strong> Lagos-based Nigerian journalists to meet withsources or cover stories. 59 Getting to the scene of a news event, one radio journalist told us, can bevirtually impossible in midday traffic. Journalists often arrive late to assignments, which leads toshallow reporting and increased reliance on residual knowledge and Internet research.Movement to the Business SectorMany journalists who leave the profession do so to work in corporate communications <strong>for</strong> banksand other private companies. Of the journalists our researchers spoke with, many suggested that the2004 bank consolidation, which was implemented by the central bank, drove the need <strong>for</strong> privatesector corporate communications and public relations. The trans<strong>for</strong>mation of Nigeria’s bankingindustry created new banking competition and a greater need to focus on communications as new ornewly merged banks had to re-invent their branding. This is because after a series of hostiletakeovers, mergers and acquisitions, the sector went from 90 banks to roughly 25 in a very shortperiod of time. Business journalists prove to be a natural fit <strong>for</strong> banks, and banks actively recruit thebest business journalists because of their business knowledge, because readers trust them, andbecause other journalists respect them. One journalist said banks take advantage of this trust tomanipulate the media.Training is not a useful way to curtail the flight of business journalists to banking, interviewees said.(The effect, one journalist told us, is like “wanting to make your daughter more beautiful in a waythat no man will admire her.”) Interviewees agreed that the only way to staunch the bleeding to theprivate sector is better pay and benefits such as healthcare, cell phone allowances, transportationallowances, pensions, and holiday bonuses. 60Interviewees told us that the vast majority of journalists who receive business training end upworking <strong>for</strong> the private sector. A radio news editor said that the movement of business journalists tocorporate affairs is almost always economically motivated. He said business journalists can make$800 (60,000 Naira) per month (one of the highest estimates we heard <strong>for</strong> journalist pay) comparedto $3,000 to $4,000 (250,000 to 300,000 Naira) per month as a corporate affairs officer. 61 Corporatejobs sometimes also offer allowances <strong>for</strong> food, clothing, and transportation.One <strong>for</strong>mer business journalist who currently works in corporate affairs <strong>for</strong> a bank said that heended his five-year career as a journalist largely because of the higher pay the bank offered.According to him, journalists’ salaries are one-third to one-fifth of corporate relations sector salaries.The <strong>for</strong>mer journalist said that the average pay at his old paper, Business Day, was $300 per month –57 Nigerian Interviewee #18. 2009. Interview by Emily Gann and Eamon Kircher-Allen. Lagos, Nigeria, March58 Nigerian Interviewee #19. 2009. Interview by Emily Gann and Eamon Kircher-Allen. Lagos, Nigeria, March59 Nigerian Interviewee #9. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January60 Nigerian Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January61 Nigerian Interviewee #8. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January– 21 –


higher than the $150 per month at most papers. If the journalist’s old paper paid well, he saidjournalists would not be inclined to leave 62 .The <strong>for</strong>mer business journalist said he did not actively seek private sector employment but wasinstead heavily recruited by banks. He decided to leave journalism partly because the financialobligations of adult life meant that he had to choose between sacrificing his ethics and accepting payfrom sources or poverty. Instead of compromising his journalistic integrity, he decided to leave theprofession. This <strong>for</strong>mer reporter had attended many local and international trainings in businessjournalism. He said his business training made him an attractive candidate <strong>for</strong> banks.The business sector’s pull means that the benefit of business journalism training is not long-lastingat newspapers – most trained journalists are recruited to work in corporate affairs. 63 Another reasonjournalists leave the profession is because they become frustrated with journalism. They feel they arenot making a difference and choose to leave. 64Still, interviewees said that journalists do not necessarily attend trainings with the idea of leaving theprofession. This is simply the outcome.This trend even affects the academic world. A professor we spoke with said the good journalismprofessors also leave to work in business. In desperate need of PhD professors to fill vacancies,many universities pull some <strong>for</strong>mer professors out of retirement to teach journalism. Although olderprofessors are cheaper, some interviewees said that they are not knowledgeable about current mediatrends or new media. 65Even as the lure of higher pay draws the majority of trained journalists to corporate jobs, a passion<strong>for</strong> the pen does bring some back to media. The founder of a business paper we interviewed leftjournalism to work in corporate affairs be<strong>for</strong>e coming back. One <strong>for</strong>mer business journalist whonow works at a bank continues to write under a pen name and hope to one day start his ownpaper. 66 A <strong>for</strong>mer reporter <strong>for</strong> a major newspaper who is now working in media affairs <strong>for</strong> a banksaid he made the move to gain corporate experience. He said he is “certain” that he will return tojournalism in six months or a year. Journalism is a profession that gives you power, he said. Withoutjournalism, he would lose a piece of himself. 67 Kirk Robertson Leigh, the freelance businessjournalist, expressed a similar sentiment. After a six-month hiatus from journalism working incorporate relations <strong>for</strong> a bank, Leigh returned to reporting, largely out of love <strong>for</strong> the work, despitethe fact that it does not pay as well.Challenges to reporting on the extractive industriesIn general, journalism on the extractive industries suffers from all the same challenges as journalismin other sectors. The oil industry is so intertwined with other sectors in Nigeria that it is difficult toidentify business and economic journalism that is not in some way related to the extractives. But theimportance of oil to Nigeria’s economy, and the opacity of oil ventures in general, tend to amplify62 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January63 Nigerian Interviewee #2. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January64 Nigerian Interviewee #12. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January65 Nigerian Interviewee #2. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January66 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January67 Nigerian Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Eamon Kircher-Allen. Lagos, Nigeria, March– 22 –


the effects of these challenges <strong>for</strong> journalists directly writing about the sector. This is especially true<strong>for</strong> journalists reporting from the Niger Delta, which, although we did not personally visit it, weunderstand to present a much more difficult environment <strong>for</strong> media.The lack of resources available to journalists is one example of a challenge that the demands of theextractive industry amplify. Ibanga Isine, the Port Harcourt-based editor of Punch, said thatjournalists working <strong>for</strong> Nigerian media outlets cannot hope to offer comprehensive coverage of oilspills because they lack the transportation, security and recording equipment to venture into theswamps. Isine described watching in frustration as CNN and other international media – often inNigeria on a very temporary basis – got exclusive coverage of environmental disasters that directlyaffected local communities.This dynamic, Issine said, also means that international media report on the Nigerian oil industryonly as a series of crises.“What CNN sees is not what I see,” he said. “What they see is crisis – what they want is crisis. Butyou can also see the positive things: in spite of the crisis, the oil is still being exported. One begins towonder whether the media is helping the crisis.”A media consultant said that extractive sector reporting focuses too much on the criminal aspect ofoil. He said reporting should focus on core and technical challenges, such as the disconnect betweenthe Nigerian oil sector and Nigerian society. “Nigeria could go on fire and burn down and the oilindustry wouldn’t even notice,” he said. 68Journalists reported that access to in<strong>for</strong>mation is also particularly difficult when covering the oilindustry. Oil companies wield an enormous amount of power, and even more than Lagos-basedbanks and other businesses are under no pressure to respond in a timely manner to in<strong>for</strong>mationrequests. When responding to breaking news, Issine said, oil companies are in no rush to releaserelevant in<strong>for</strong>mation. “We try all we can to get everyone in government and oil companies to tellyou exactly what happened, but it takes about eight hours to get back to you,” he said. “No matterhow good you are, where you are trained, the level of your education – when the attitude, cultureand infrastructure on the ground are not there, you can’t be there.”On the other hand, even when journalists can get in<strong>for</strong>mation from oil companies, they may nothave the expertise to contextualize it in their reporting. There is a minimum of extractive industryspecialization offered in mass communications programs, and even in the most comprehensivejournalism training programs we canvassed, extractives training was at most a small section of thecurriculum. In fact, oil companies are often the only entities offering training to journalists coveringthe oil industry. This, of course, means that even when oil companies are genuinely invested intraining, the line between training and propaganda can become blurry.Interviewees said that journalists covering extractive industries need to have a better understanding69 70of petroleum pricing and oil industry accounting standards, which are not standardized.68 Nigerian Interviewee #2. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January69 Nigerian Interviewee #3. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January70 Nigerian Interviewee #12. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January– 23 –


Chart 1: Among journalists who cover the extractive industries in Nigeria, freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mation,the threat of violence and inadequate Internet access are the most important challenges.As noted earlier in this report, physical security remains much more of a concern in the oilproducingDelta than in other parts of Nigeria. The relationship between armed groups, oilcompanies and the government is often sordid, according to Isine.“Once, I tried to get a photo of a major oil spill and fire, and I was almost kidnapped by local youthswho were being paid by Shell,” Isine told us. “They destroyed the camera. They were with Shellofficials – that’s how I know they were being paid by Shell. The Shell police handed us over tothem.”Nigerian broadcast media organizations do not have energy specialists like print news organizations.This is part of the reason why print journalists can do more in-depth reporting, one televisionbusiness journalist told us 71 .The Impact of Training ProgramsTraining programs available to business and economic journalists in NigeriaWhile there is significant need <strong>for</strong> more journalism training in Nigeria, some journalism educationopportunities already exist. However, these trainings tend to be sporadic and inadequate, tailoredmore to the interests of those conducting the training than the needs of the journalists. They alsotend to be short-term, often lasting just a few days, and without any follow up. Moreover, trainingson covering extractive industries are sparse to nonexistent. The following section will examinetrainings that journalists in our sample have had, as well as other opportunities <strong>for</strong> training inNigeria. We found that there are very limited opportunities <strong>for</strong> Nigerians to study business andeconomic reporting in the course of their university studies. Please refer to Appendix A <strong>for</strong> a more71 Nigerian Interviewee #12. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January– 24 –


detailed analysis of the opportunities and challenges <strong>for</strong> journalism education within Nigeria’suniversity system.Trainings by Media HousesAs media have come to recognize the need to have properly trained journalists on the business beat,there has been a growing trend <strong>for</strong> them to organize their own trainings. In our research, we foundthat Business Day, The Punch and The Guardian are all starting trainings. However, there is thepossibility, particularly given the financial crisis and the likelihood of economic downturn in mediarevenues, that these kinds of trainings will not be sustainable. As noted by a business journalist withThe Guardian, trainings are often the first things to be cut when media outlets are <strong>for</strong>ced to reducespending. 72Trainings by UniversitiesWhile business and economic journalism has not been adequately incorporated into universitycurricula in Nigeria, there have been some opportunities <strong>for</strong> professional trainings at universities.The newly founded School of Media and Communications in Lagos, in particular, has been offeringsix different certificate training programs since July 2008. Emevmo Biakolo, the dean of the school,said these were started to address what he saw as a real lack of education and low quality reportingamong working business journalists. A typical seminar is 15 to 20 participants in size. In all, theyheld eight programs in 2008, and hope to hold another 10 to 12 in 2009. 73 Their trainings are beingtaken advantage of by the top newspapers in Nigeria, including The Guardian, Business Day, Punch,Financial Standard, Vanguard, Tribune, Champion, Silverbird, Daar Communications, NTA and CoolFM, and are helping to fill a gap in a style of training that has long been missing. Their Business andEconomic Reporting course, which has proven popular among media houses in Nigeria, is a ten-daycourse spread out over two months, meeting one to two days per week.This course, mixing in both classroom lessons and field reporting, covers topics such as:• Business News and Features• Business and Professional Ethics• Business Indicators and Their Methods of Analysis• Financial Analysis; Analysis of Budget• Investment• Nigeria and the Global Business Environment• Practicum (<strong>for</strong> print, radio and TV)• Group Project (off-site);• Self-Management <strong>for</strong> the Business ReporterThe primary objectives of the course are to optimize the ability of journalists to understand andanalyze business, communicate about business in a clear and engaging way, and improve theirknowledge of the business environment in Nigeria, Africa and the world. They train on ethics, aswell, dealing with issues such as censorship and pressures on what they publish. Biakolo said whatmakes this difficult to teach is that every situation is unique, so they focus more on how to beinnovative and entrepreneurial in dealing with barriers, such as finding new markets and increasing72 Nigerian Interviewee #1 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.73 Emevmo Biakolo. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 14.– 25 –


sales elsewhere. The cost of this course is N180,000 ($1385), which includes all course materials, teaand lunch and is most often funded by media outlets, given that this price is prohibitive <strong>for</strong> averagejournalist wages. It is important to note that there are no specific sessions dedicated to extractiveindustries, nor do they offer New Media.Professor Patrick Utomi, one of the Lagos Business School’s founding members, also conductstrainings. He said he has typically offered two types of journalism trainings, one <strong>for</strong> journalists in thefield and another <strong>for</strong> business editors and other “gatekeepers.” 74 The purpose of this “gatekeeper”training is to help editors learn what to ask <strong>for</strong> and how to identify poor business reporting. He hasalso organized quarterly “media seminars” on economic and business reporting. Each seminarfocuses on a single theme, such as corporate finance.Trainings by Local Organizations and NonprofitsThe International Press Centre (IPC), a Nigerian-run organization, conducts regular trainings onbudget monitoring and corruption. These tend to be two to three day workshops of approximately25 people. According to Lanre Arogundade of IPC, “Over time, from our own observations andstudies we tend to think that budget and corruption reporting is a bit devoid of what we call thesocial element, we don’t get the social context <strong>for</strong> these issues. You read newspapers and discover itis more about the figures. The whole idea is to sensitize the public, to let the public know how muchhas been stolen from the public sphere. The average reader begins to think these looters ingovernment are engaged in a game of numbers. We begin to think that budget and corruptionreporting is not directly related to development. For corruption, we have to go beyond these figuresto analyze how they actually affect people.” 75Development Communications Network (Devcoms), a Nigerian-run organization directed by a<strong>for</strong>mer reporter <strong>for</strong> The Guardian, conducts three to five day trainings <strong>for</strong> journalists on developmentissues. Most of their trainings focus on health and science reporting, though some aspects of theirhealth reporting, such as poverty-related health risk, have economic elements. Devcoms alsoorganizes a monthly media <strong>for</strong>um where they invite a representative from an organization to cover aspecific issue.Devcoms is currently in the preliminary steps in organizing a financial reporting training inconjunction with First City Management Bank. Following the training, First City will give journalistsgrants to do investigative reports. They are also creating a budget monitoring training.Trainings by Nigerian Financial Institutions and CompaniesMost of the journalists in our sample had received training from Nigerian financial institutions andcompanies. The trainings in Nigeria, usually held annually, are primarily held by the stock exchange,the local Securities and Exchange Commission, the Central Bank and the Nigerian DepositInsurance Corporation. They tend to focus more on content rather than skills. SEC trainings, <strong>for</strong>example, cover regulatory and supervisory issues in the capital market environment.According to a long-time broadcast business journalist, these particular trainings have helped him tounderstand the issues involved in an emerging market economy and how regulators handle theissues. However, he said that these trainings are based on what the institutions wish the financialmedia to know about their operations, a fact that can compromise the reporting of journalists. This74 Patrick Utomi. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.75 Lanre Arogundade. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 16.– 26 –


journalist said he has, however, “managed to keep my professionalism intact, allowing very littleimpact of sponsorships on my reporting and analysis.”Private companies also occasionally provide trainings <strong>for</strong> business journalists in Nigeria. A journalistat The Guardian said he had attended a training in 2005 organized by private companies, Soul Command TransCorp of Nigeria, that focused on stock market reporting. Professor Nwuneli said he’s alsoseen oil companies set up training organizations in Nigeria, which they use to influence journalists. 76The Impact of TrainingsTraining is important to creating systematic improvement in business and economic journalism inNigeria, and interviewees consistently reported that it will necessarily change the situation <strong>for</strong> thebetter. According to a journalist with The Punch, “Training can never leave you at the same point aswhere you started from. It takes you to a new level. It makes you feel that you are also somebodywithin society. There is something you know that the next person may not, or something you knowthat the next person knows. And if the two of you know the same thing, it makes you feel like youare on the same page, and nobody feels inferior.” 77 As would be expected, there were ways in whichjournalists experienced some differences in the ways their careers were impacted. However, they allreported benefiting from the trainings in a number of consistent ways.Impact on ReportingTraining has had a significant impact on the reporting of economic and business journalists inNigeria. For some, it has been an opportunity to advance their skills and become prominentreporters in their industry. For others, it was their first exposure to training in reporting and writingskills. A journalist with The Guardian said she came into the job without any training on how to be ajournalist, having gone to university instead to study English literature. 78 This was her firstopportunity to learn this material first hand. A journalist with Business Day said trainings have been“useful particularly in understanding the basic 101 of business reporting, reporting the economy,capital markets, <strong>for</strong>eign exchange and the financial system.” 79Training has played an important role in helping journalists understand the businesses behindbusiness reporting, which is something they generally don’t receive from their university education.“Very little is known about the conduct and nature of businesses, because they are shrouded insecrecy,” said a <strong>for</strong>mer journalist from This Day. 80 “Now what these trainings help to do is to equipthe journalists on how to find out about the operations of these businesses in different countries,like oil prospecting companies in Nigeria. These trainings help to track revenues, to track taxes, totrack evasion. Journalists otherwise would not have known how to go about it without thesetrainings.”Many journalists cited practical reporting and writing skills as key components of their trainingexperience. This is largely because journalism education in Nigerian universities is so heavilytheoretical. A <strong>for</strong>mer journalist from This Day said that these practical sessions help him actuallylearn how to report – they helped him know what to write, what to ask and what opportunities are76 Emman Onuora Nwuneli. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.77 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.78 Nigerian Interviewee #9. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 20.79 Nigerian Interviewee #22. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 9.80 Nigerian Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.– 27 –


out there <strong>for</strong> stories. “You will write a story when the trainings begin,” he said, “and one you writeafter the trainings, and put them side by side, you will see the difference. The difference will be inhow the story is presented. You will be saying the same thing, you probably have the same facts, butthe way your story is presented, you will give your reader more satisfaction reading that story.” 81One <strong>for</strong>mer journalist with Business Day, who majored in finance in university, said that his trainingwith IIJ played an important role in his improvement as a journalist. It made his reporting simpler,more mass communication-oriented and accessible <strong>for</strong> the average reader, because it focused onreporting these issues and employed very practical trainers who had covered these fields. Theirlecturers helped him to connect global issues locally, and to better understand policy issues. Thisenabled him to go to the World Trade Organization conference in Hong Kong, which he covered<strong>for</strong> Business Day. Without this training, such an opportunity would have been out of his reach. 82A current journalist with Business Day also praised the impact his IIJ training had on his reporting. 83In particular, he found the trainings he had on financial reporting, environmental issues and the IMFand World Bank to be especially beneficial. He published a story on recycling in Germany, whichwas very well received by Business Day. The trainings helped him to better understand howcompanies operate and how government policies affect their operations. He also gained a betterunderstanding of the politics underlying the policies of the IMF and World Bank, enabling him toreport more effectively on development issues. The training resulted, as well, in a promotion <strong>for</strong>him.A journalist from The Guardian who had trained at the School of Media and Communications said ithelped him better understand statistics and how to use them to reach broad audience. Be<strong>for</strong>e histraining, he said he never related economic statistics to the lives of average people. After thetraining, however, he began to think of how his reporting would impact shareholders, potentialinvestors and average Nigerians. “The wealth of a journalist should be measured in the lifestyles ofthe people <strong>for</strong> whom you are reporting,” he said. After his training he read over his articles morethoroughly be<strong>for</strong>e submitting them to his editor. He said his reporting also became much moresubstantive after training, and that he felt more passionate about serving as “the voice of thepeople.” 84There do not appear to be any prior quantitative studies on how trainings have impacted the rate ofreporting on business and economic stories in Nigeria. However, one of our interviewees suppliedus with figures on the impact of other trainings. Akin Jimoh at Devcoms noted a 15 percent increasein maternal mortality stories among journalists who attended their health reporting training (Nigeria,incidentally, has the 2 nd highest maternal mortality rate in the world according to Jimoh). 85 Thispositive result suggests that trainings can increase not only the quality but also the quantity ofcoverage of particular topics.Un<strong>for</strong>tunately, many journalists we spoke with explained that they were not always able to utilize theskills learned in trainings to their full extent. Some journalists lacked the financial resources to81 Nigerian Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.82 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.83 Nigerian Interviewee #23. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 9.84 Nigerian Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.85 Nigerian Akin Jimoh. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.– 28 –


completely make use of some of the new skills they had learned. Joke Kujenya, a journalist with TheNation, said that she bought a digital recorder in the U.S. during a training trip and was disheartenedthat her coworkers back at The Nation were so excited by it. She thinks such commonplacejournalistic tools “shouldn’t be a big deal.” In other cases, journalists returned to their officesfeeling that their editors – who had not been on trainings with them – did not grasp the fullimportance of their new approach to reporting. Kirk Robertson Leigh, a freelance journalist, reportsthat through training he “picked up the concept of – so what? – a very important concept. Iremember having an argument with my editor here on how you report. I was becoming an apostleof the ‘so what?’, but it’s lacking here. You know, when I ask why don’t you guys do it this way theirreply is, we’ve always been doing it this way.”There was some sentiment among journalists, however, that this is changing. A <strong>for</strong>mer journalistfrom This Day contended that the market demand <strong>for</strong> good stories is growing steadily. “If journalistsare trained better, and they churn out good stories” he said, “it will be a function of demand andsupply. The market demands <strong>for</strong> these stories. The publishers will be <strong>for</strong>ced to publish thesestories.” 86 A journalist from Punch backed up this sentiment when he said, “Obviously they willpublish it, and be ready to see the consequences. I can assure you that if something is good, if it istruthful, Punch will publish it. It is not owned by a politician. If something is truthful and everyoneelse rejects it, Punch will publish it and damn the consequences. This paper and some others arewilling to go to any lengths to publish the truth. There are not many, but they are there.” 87Impact on Pay and BenefitsLow remuneration is a major cause of flight from the profession and one reason why journalistsoften take bribes from their sources. Also, because of their low pay, “Most journalists are not able toresist the temptation of bribery or corruption,” said a journalist with Punch. “If I am earning $1000here, then I am earning $2000 in America, and others are earning one quarter of that in some of theplaces here. That is why some journalists are not even ready to listen to something that is upright,they want to survive. But I believe with a good pay and good condition of services, journalists willstand up and fight. There are newspapers here that have not paid their journalists <strong>for</strong> four months.”88A stringer <strong>for</strong> the New York Times said that the average monthly wage <strong>for</strong> an editor is N200K(~$1300) to N300K (~$2000) a month, which he said is equivalent to entry-level pay <strong>for</strong> a bank.“Sometimes what you have not earned in the last twenty years [as a journalist] you get to earn in justa few months [at a bank].” 89It is important to evaluate whether or not trainings will increase pay and benefits <strong>for</strong> journalists inNigeria. In our survey, we found that 61.5 percent of respondents reported receiving increased payafter training. When asked to explain the connection between training and pay increases, thecommon response was that trainings themselves didn’t automatically result in higher pay, but that astheir reporting improved from training, their editors took notice and often their pay level was raisedas a result. Some journalists reported that their pay increased relatively soon after their trainings. Ajournalist with Business Day said he believed his pay increases have been a “reward <strong>for</strong> my workprobably, as a result of applying what I learnt in the course of my training to the work.” 90 As86 Nigerian Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.87 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.88 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.89 Nigerian Interviewee #24. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 16.90 Nigerian Interviewee #22. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 9.– 29 –


training makes journalists more valuable employees, increasing the risk that they will take a job witha competitor, media houses are increasingly <strong>for</strong>ced to offer competitive pay. In fact, one TVjournalist we met with was in the process of interviewing with other media outlets <strong>for</strong> betteropportunities, and one newspaper journalist had just accepted a higher position elsewhere.Impact on Career OpportunitiesPromotion and Opportunities Elsewhere in JournalismThe journalists we spoke with reported that trainings have definitely opened doors <strong>for</strong> promotionwithin their media houses. In our survey, we found that 31 percent of respondents reportedreceiving a promotion after training. For example, one journalist became the business desk editor athis newspaper, another was promoted to senior correspondent and a third was put in charge of theReal Estate beat. When asked if journalists go to trainings hoping to be promoted, one journalist atPunch said that “the expectation [<strong>for</strong> promotion from training] is certainly there…But it is gearedtowards equipping you in your industry capability, to be able to do your work effectively. You needto be able to stand out in your field.” 91Journalism trainings also opened doors <strong>for</strong> journalists in other media houses. Thirty-seven and a halfpercent of respondents in our survey reported taking a new job in another organization aftertraining. Of that 37.5 percent, 67 percent said they had taken that new job in another media house.Examples of new opportunities included, a promotion to a business editor position, freelance work<strong>for</strong> major American newspapers like The New York Times and Wall Street Journal and consultancies <strong>for</strong>television stations.Improved skills from trainings have also led some journalists to receive accolades from outside theirworkplace. One journalist said, “I was at the Daily Independent in 2005 when I won an award on thebusiness and economics category from CNN Africa. After that award, I switched employers, got araise, got a better package. What brought that award was that I’d done a couple of trainings thatmade me write better. They gave me a better opportunity.” 92Trainings not only exposed journalists to new topics, but also to other journalists as well.Interviewees overwhelmingly mentioned the networking aspect of trainings as one of the mostpositive outcomes. In some cases, interviewees said that networking was the most valuable aspect ofa training. This was true <strong>for</strong> Moyela Muyiwa, a <strong>for</strong>mer journalist in Nigeria who now works <strong>for</strong> apublic relations firm called Quadrant. Muyiwa attended a Thomson Reuters training in South Africain 2002 at which all the participants were journalists from various parts of Africa. Moyela has kept intouch with many of them, and has since collaborated on stories with journalists from Ghana andSouth Africa who he met in the training.Journalists Leaving JournalismIn Nigeria, journalism has not historically been thought of as a career, but rather as an entry point<strong>for</strong> other opportunities. A popular path among journalists has been to work as a journalist, and thentake a corporate communications job, often at a bank, where journalists can earn exponentially more91 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.92 Nigerian Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.– 30 –


money. Their knowledge of what media are looking <strong>for</strong> in terms of content, and their mediacontacts, make journalists uniquely suited to these communications positions.A major concern about journalism training is whether or not it increases the likelihood <strong>for</strong>journalists to leave the field altogether to seek other opportunities, threatening to actually lower theoverall quality of journalism from “brain drain.” Professor Utomi estimated that 90 percent of thejournalists he has trained have been recruited to work in corporate communications. 93 Theknowledge journalists receive in business reporting trainings often supplements education they didnot have access to in university, and qualifies them to work in positions outside of journalism thatare considerably more lucrative. In fact, many of our sample journalists have fled to other industries,while others are currently working outside of journalism.Dean Emevmo Biakolo of School of Media and Communication admitted that there are manyjournalists who are leaving the profession, but that this is more a function of low pay than training. 94In our survey, we found that 77.5 percent of our respondents reported that they remained injournalism after training, which supports this claim.Many journalists we interviewed had left the profession <strong>for</strong> a time, often seeking better pay, butreturned to journalism later. “I’ve heard stories from some of our colleagues who left to the banks,”said a journalist with Punch. But after some time they have not derived the kind of satisfaction theyexpected, and they are back to the newsroom. “Yes, they say, ‘We were being paid more than wewere getting from the media. But we don’t have the job satisfaction that we used to have.’” 95 Hesaid he saw this happen with at least two journalists when he was working at the Daily Independent. A<strong>for</strong>mer journalist who is now working in corporate communications at PHB Bank wanted to see theother side of his industry, and thought it would be good <strong>for</strong> him to go into public relations (citinghigher pay as the second reason). 96 Despite working a day job in Public Relations, he continues topublish stories in newspapers under a pen name. His hope is to return to journalism in the future inan ownership role.A <strong>for</strong>mer senior correspondent with This Day said that he has only left the journalism profession <strong>for</strong>the time being. “I wouldn’t say I have left journalism. I know I will return to journalism. I am certainof it. I know that I feel that I would lose a part of myself if I don’t practice journalism. Journalism isa profession that people go into because it gives you power.” 97 He reported that the opportunity toleave arose because of the trainings he’s had, certainly but that he left primarily because he wanted togain corporate experience. This journalist said he plans to return to journalism in six months or ayear. “When you practice journalism <strong>for</strong> a while and leave journalism,” he said, “and you go work<strong>for</strong> the government, or the private sector, and other work that aligns with the skills of journalists,you will always want to go back. Journalism is one work that seeps into your system. You cannot sitdown and not want to write, or pursue a story. As a journalist or <strong>for</strong>mer journalist you see all that ishappening around you, and you want to break that story today. When you leave mainstreamjournalism, you lose the chance to tell stories the way you want them to be told.”93 Patrick Utomi. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.94 Emevmo Biakolo. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 14.95 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.96 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.97 Nigerian Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.– 31 –


Dean Biakolo pointed out that most training is supported and funded by media houses, which in hismind shows a commitment to and investment in their journalists. The prospect of receiving training,he thinks, should provide more incentive <strong>for</strong> journalists to stay in journalism. Biakolo believes thatthere will be journalists who leave the profession after training, but that overall, business journalismshould improve as a result of training. 98There is one important caveat about these findings on journalists leaving the profession as a resultof training. While training itself did not appear to cause flight from journalism to other professionswithin our sample, it is possible that our sample is slightly skewed. Our team spoke primarily withjournalists who are still in the industry, or who had returned, but with only a few journalists who hadleft and had not returned. We drew our sample from training lists of organizations that hadconducted trainings, and from people who are current journalists. Those training lists almost entirelycontained current journalists, and furthermore, current journalists connected us primarily to fellowjournalists within their media outlets. People who are no longer journalists during our research weremuch harder to locate. There<strong>for</strong>e, it is certainly possible that a larger sample size of <strong>for</strong>merjournalists would produce results suggesting that training could promote “brain drain.” However,the journalists our researchers spoke with were emphatic that fewer journalists are leaving theindustry, and that more are returning, because pay is increasing and people are starting to think ofjournalism as a career. Moreover, training is having the effect of raising pay in the industry, andincreasing the perception of journalism as a career.98 Emevmo Biakolo. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 14.– 32 –


Notes on conducting research in NigeriaFour researchers in total traveled to the city-state of Lagos, Nigeria; two in January 2009 (BenColmery and Adriana Diaz) <strong>for</strong> two weeks and two in March 2009 (Emily Gann and EamonKircher-Allen), also <strong>for</strong> two weeks. Researchers were able to conduct a large number of interviewsand visited a great many of Nigeria’s media houses. In general, researchers felt that they had anextremely good impression of the media environment in Lagos.It should be noted, however, that Nigeria is enormous and incredibly diverse and that, while Lagosis certainly the media capital of the country, there is a great deal to be learned about other regions, aswell. As we have noted in this report, media conditions are different in the Niger Delta, an area ofspecial concern <strong>for</strong> the extractives. But media conditions are undoubtedly different in Nigeria’sother metropolises as well – even if not many newspapers are based in them – from Joss to Kano toMaidugri and beyond.These differences, and other challenges our researchers faced, will likely be relevant <strong>for</strong> anyoneplanning training programs in Nigeria, as well.Like every country, Nigeria has unique characteristics that can make fieldwork there challenging. Thecountry’s infrastructural, logistical, and financial predicaments are constant hurdles <strong>for</strong> both<strong>for</strong>eigners and locals. Nigeria’s infrastructure cannot support the population demand, most acutelyin terms of electricity, transportation and Internet.The World Bank estimates that fewer than 40 percent of Nigerians have access to electricity. 99Despite being the world’s sixth largest producer of oil, Nigeria’s electricity grid can only meet 10percent of the country’s electricity demand. 100 Many Nigerians we spoke to said they receive aroundfour hours of electricity per day. Most businesses and hotels have generators to cover poweroutages. Brief blackouts occur throughout the day when state-supplied power goes out andgenerators are booted on. While such blackouts occurred throughout many of our meetings inNigeria, our interviews continued uninterrupted since blackouts are a regular part of daily life. Inaddition, generators cost as much as $3,000 per month.Under-developed transportation infrastructure is also a hindrance to doing work in Nigeria. Whilewell-paved roads between cities make <strong>for</strong> smooth longer-distance travel, poor roads in the city makeurban travel (at least in the case of Lagos) a day-long affair. Despite Lagos’s booming populationgrowth over the past 30 years, few roads have been added to the city grid. Depending on the time ofday and direction of travel it can take up to four hours to get across the city. The inefficiency oftravel limited our research to two interviews a day and may be a logistical challenge to holding atraining session in the city of Lagos.Many of these infrastructural challenges are characteristics of most developing nations. Less obviousis Nigeria’s high cost of living. This was a major challenge to our research. Internet is slow, andwhile it is available in most hotels and businesses, it is costly. Prices <strong>for</strong> food, lodging, and99 http://www.lightingafrica.org/node/412100 Although Nigeria’s demand <strong>for</strong> electricity can reach 30,000 megawatts, its energy grid supplies less than 3000megawatts: http://towerofbabel.com/2008/06/26/nigerias-electricity-crisis-renewable-energy-the-opportunities/– 33 –


transportation were higher than those in New York. Most of the hotels where <strong>for</strong>eigners stay inLagos are located on Victoria Island, which is Lagos’s business center. These hotels cost at least$200 a night. Meals from restaurants cost an average of $15 to $30 dollars. Transportation is alsovery costly; each day our researchers spent an average of $60 on taxis <strong>for</strong> travel to one or twomeetings.The helpfulness of Nigerian social networks partially makes up <strong>for</strong> the limitations of the country’sinfrastructure. Personal networks in Nigeria are strong and vast. Nearly half of our meetings inNigeria were the result of a personal connection.– 34 –


Ghana– 35 –


Background 101Ghana is widely considered to be a hospitable place <strong>for</strong> non-profit organizations and developmentwork. With its most recent elections, which were successful, Ghana once again lived up to itsreputation of being one of the most stable and democratic countries in all of Africa. Ghana’s steadydemocratic consolidation has not only buoyed its reputation, but has also brought other dividends,including fueling its economic development. Interviewees said on several occasions that regionalbusinesses from across West Africa are starting to relocate their headquarters to Accra because ofGhana’s more stable political and economic situation. One journalist called this “a dividend ofdemocracy” and noted that the influx of regional businesses meant that good Ghanaian economicjournalism was now even more important. Another journalist said that even Nigerian banks arebeginning to relocate some of their operations to Ghana.Accra is also home to a sprawling new American embassy complex, which serves as the U.S.’sregional hub <strong>for</strong> West Africa (rather than supporting full embassies in countries like Guinea, the U.S.government is basing more staff in Accra).ExtractivesWhile agriculture dominates Ghana’s economy, extractives are also an important part of itseconomy. The recent discovery of oil in Ghana is one of the main reasons that it was chosen <strong>for</strong>study in this report. Because the discovery is recent, proponents of Ghana’s steady and sustainabledevelopment hope that it may be able to avoid some of the problems that have plagued, <strong>for</strong>example, Nigeria. One of the problems to avoid – and a place where good journalism can be ofparticular importance – is the opacity of the contracts, deals and the industry in general.Ghana’s extractive industries’ sector is currently dominated by the mining of gold, diamond, bauxite,and manganese. According to the EITI’s profile of Ghana, gold represented 34 percent of thecountry’s exports (12 percent of GDP) from 2000 to 2003. 102 Indeed, until its independence fromthe British in 1957, Ghana was known as the Gold Coast <strong>for</strong> its rich gold stores. Ghana is currentlythe second largest producer of gold after South Africa. Ghana’s mining industry is dominated by themulti-national AngloGold Ashanti, the South African mining company Gold Fields Ltd and UnitedStates-based Newmont, all of which represent a large percentage of Ghana’s <strong>for</strong>eign directinvestment. 103Major oil deposits off Ghana’s Gold Coast were discovered in 2007. These deposits have beenestimated at between 1 and 3 billion barrels of oil. 104 Ghana is expected to reach an output of120,000 barrels a day by 2010, and 200,000 barrels a day by 2013, which could make Ghana theseventh largest oil producer in the world. 105 Oxfam America estimates that “depending on oil pricesand future production levels, Ghana could soon see more than $1 billion added to government101 Photo on previous page: Seneviratne, Isuru, photographer. “Yellow Beast.” Photograph. 2007. From: Flickr:isurusen’s photostream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/isurusen/2124495758/.102 Extractive Industries Transparency <strong>Initiative</strong> website, Ghana profile: http://eitransparency.org/Ghana103 “Ghana: Mining Overview,” Mbendi In<strong>for</strong>mation Services website. Accessed 12 December 2008:http://www.mbendi.com/indy/ming/af/gh/p0005.htm#top.104 Chris Hufstader, “The Coming Oil Boom in Ghana,” Oxfam America website, 1 October 2008. Accessed 11December 2008: http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/where_we_work/west_africa/news_publications/thecoming-oil-boom-in-ghana105 “Ghana consults stakeholders on managing oil,” Ghana Update, Spring 2008, The Whitaker Group. Accessed 13December 2008: www.thewhitakergroup.us/uploads/home/pdf/Ghana%20Update%20Spring%202008.pdf.– 36 –


evenues each year,” 106 which would far eclipse Ghana’s current revenues from mining. The majoroil companies involved in the planned extraction of these oil deposits include Irish-based TullowOil, British-firm Kosmos, and the American oil company Hess Corporation.Ghana has experienced political stability since 1992, when multi-democracy was re-establishedfollowing the introduction of a new constitution. This stability has encouraged <strong>for</strong>eign investmentinto Ghana. Ghana’s GDP per capita in 2005 stood at approximately $2,500, “roughly twice the percapita output of the poorest countries in West Africa.” 107 Ghana was accepted as an ExtractiveIndustries Transparency <strong>Initiative</strong> (EITI) candidate country on 27 September 2007. Ghana alsomaintains its own Ghana EITI 108 , to which mining company Newmont is a signatory. 109TelecommunicationsGhana’s telecommunications statistics and data reveal a surprising lack of infrastructure given thecountry’s overall development. Approximately 43 percent of Ghana’s population has access toelectricity, 80 percent of which is consumed in urban areas. 110 Telephone usage is dominated by thecellular sector: 7.6 million Ghanaians had cell phones in 2007 compared to only 376,500 landlines inuse.Internet penetration in Ghana is surprisingly low. According to Eric Akumiah, Secretary of theInternet Society, a Ghanaian NGO, the Internet reaches a mere 2.7 percent of Ghana’s populationas compared to a penetration rate of 5.3 percent <strong>for</strong> Africa’s population as a whole. 111 The biggestfactor <strong>for</strong> Ghana’s low Internet usage rates seems to be the high cost of equipment, installation andmonthly subscription costs, which <strong>for</strong> broadband <strong>for</strong> a household can cost $200 a month, anexorbitant amount in Ghana.Literacy and EducationWith its large number of primary, secondary, and post-secondary schools, Ghanaians have relativelyeasy access to education. Government spending on education is also quite strong. Between 1997 and2007, government spending on education was between 28 percent and 40 percent of thegovernment’s annual budget. 112 During this time, primary school enrollment increased considerably,from 57 percent in 1999 to 90 percent in 2006. 113 According to UNICEF, total public expenditureson education accounted <strong>for</strong> 5.4 percent of Ghana’s GDP in 2005. 114By 2009, according to USAID, primary school net enrollment and completion rates “were expectedto reach 73 percent and 75 percent, respectively,” while the percentage of primary school children106 Ibid.107 “Ghana,” The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 4 December 2008. Accessed 13 December 2008:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gh.html.108 See http://www.geiti.gov.gh.109 http://newmontghana.com/index.php?Itemid=40&id=69&option=com_content&task=view.110 Ghana Energy Foundation website: http://www.ghanaef.org/energyinghana/energyinghana.htm.111 Emmanuel K. Dogbevi, “Ghana’s low internet penetration, high cost and national growth,” Ghana Business News, 6December 2008: http://ghanabusinessnews.com/2008/12/06/ghanas-low-internet-penetration-high-cost-and-nationalgrowth/112 http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/education/113 USAID, “President's International Education <strong>Initiative</strong> Expanded Education <strong>for</strong> the World's Poorest Children:Ghana Fact Sheet,” September 24, 2007: http://www.usaid.gov/press/factsheets/2007/fs070924_3.html.114 UNICEF, Division of <strong>Policy</strong> and Practice, Statistics and Monitoring Section, www.childinfo.org, May 2008.– 37 –


eading at grade level was predicted to reach 20 percent. Enrollment rates, however, vary acrossGhana’s different regions. In northern Ghana in 2007, according to USAID, “more than 40 percentof girls at the basic level [were] not in school.” 115The literacy rate in Ghana stands at 57.9 percent of the national population. 116 English is Ghana’sofficial language, but ten other major Ghanaian and regional languages are spoken across thecountry. English is the predominant language of Ghana’s print and broadcast media; however, manypopular radio stations broadcast in local languages.Civil SocietyGhana’s stability and democracy-friendly climate has also resulted in many <strong>for</strong>eign NGOs, churchand aid organizations establishing significant presences in the country. Such organizations appear tobe able establish themselves without much in the way of bureaucratic hindrances. However, Ghana’sindigenous civil society, while vibrant, does not yet seem engrained into Ghanaian society, andpolitical and economic culture. Indeed, <strong>for</strong>eign organizations seem to have an easier time than localNGOs, particularly if those NGOs are critical of the ruling government, based on our researcher’sobservations.Media LandscapeGhana’s media environment is still developing. Ghana’s media, as a whole, is more stable andmature than in many of Ghana’s regional neighbors, but it still has a long way to go. Ghana’s recenthistory has not always been kind to media development. After Lt. General Jerry Rawling’s ascensionto power in 1981, political parties were banned and the media was repressed to some degree.Following the introduction of a new constitution and democratic elections in 1992 (which Rawlingswon in 1992 and 1996), Ghana’s political and media atmosphere improved significantly. However, astrict libel law continued to dampen Ghana’s media until its repeal in 2001, which resulted in anexplosion of private media outlets.The initial explosion in media that occurred after the repeal of the libel law seems to have beenfollowed by significant development within the media sector. Most of Ghana’s news outlets todayare small private outlets that focus on entertainment and political news.Substantial media development work, particularly to strengthen Ghana’s business and economicjournalism, is much needed. However, a comprehensive shift in the media landscape may benecessary be<strong>for</strong>e Ghana’s media can be strengthened. The biggest challenge to media developmentin Ghana may be Ghanaian society’s low regard <strong>for</strong> the media and the services it provides. Simplyput, the media won’t develop if there is no demand <strong>for</strong> improvement, nor will journalism attract thetalent needed to make the media thrive.The Ghanaian media’s business model presents another serious challenge to media development.Many journalists said that many newspapers discourage in-depth, substantive journalism because ofthe expense and time commitment involved. Editors and journalists alike also complained that toomuch media coverage is market-driven, meaning that stories get published only when there aremedia consumers <strong>for</strong> them. The media-consuming public, they said, is interested primarily in115 USAID: http://www.usaid.gov/press/factsheets/2007/fs070924_3.html.116 United Nations Development Program Human Development Report 2007/2008,http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_GHA.html.– 38 –


entertainment news, scandals, and political squabbles. Thus, that is what gets produced. Businessand economic reportage, in particular, have had a difficult time finding and cultivating a significantaudience. It seems that a major shift in media consumption patterns may be necessary <strong>for</strong> true mediadevelopment to occur.Ghana consistently receives high ratings from press freedom watchdogs. 117 Ghana’s private pressand broadcasters function, <strong>for</strong> the most part, without government interference or harassment. Mediacriticism of the government is generally tolerated, though not without exception.The 2001 repeal of the libel law resulted in an explosion of media “with a plethora of newnewspapers and radio stations coming into existence,” according to the African Media Development<strong>Initiative</strong>’s 2006 report on Ghana. 118 Ghana’s key medium of mass communication is radio, withhundreds of stations filling the dials across the country. The Internet is also making headway intoGhana, though Internet speed remains low and the service is expensive. A recent BBC WorldService report on Ghana’s media notes that “nearly one third of Ghanaians have access to theInternet, and mobile telephones are becoming a significant source of news.” 119Ghana’s print media is divided between a handful of state-owned newspapers (which have thehighest circulation in the country), and dozens of privately owned publications. Ghana’s state mediausually profess a strong commitment to national interests and do not explicitly back political parties(though they tend to support the ruling government), while the smaller private papers often backparticular political parties, serve a niche market, or act as populist muckrakers.Political anthropologist Jennifer Hasty, author of The Press and Political Culture in Ghana, writes that in“positioning themselves against the state media, [Ghanaian] private journalists rely on a globalrhetoric of liberal vocation, identifying themselves as watchdogs in the public interest, free fromstate control and ideological manipulation.” 120 While this observation may ring true <strong>for</strong> some outlets,we discovered that the smaller private papers, while perhaps more feisty, were also more dependenton the market and advertisers than their government-owned counterparts, which are better fundedand more financially (and politically) stable, on the whole.The Ghanaian private media’s fragile business model means that the global economic downturn ishitting it hard. A recent article published on the blog of the International Institute <strong>for</strong> Journalism atInwent (IIJ) noted that Ghana’s newspaper industry is being battered “by an array of challenging<strong>for</strong>ces ranging from changing trends in advertising, rising costs due to the worldwide financial crisisto a decline in circulation arising from economic constraints facing newspaper readers.” 121 Inaddition, print media is suffering because much of its content is increasingly being re-disseminatedby radio, television, and electronic media that consumers do not pay <strong>for</strong>, which undercuts print117 Ghana ranks 31 out of 173 (above the US at 37) on the Reporters Without Borders 2008 press freedom index:http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29031.118 Dr Samuel Kafewo, “Ghana: Research findings and conclusions,” The African Media Development <strong>Initiative</strong>(London: BBC World Service, 2006), p. 20.119 “Ghana: Country Profile,” BBC News website, 4 December 2008. Accessed 13 December 2008:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/country_profiles/1023355.stm#media.120 Jennifer Hasty, The Press and Political Culture in Ghana, (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005) p. 11.121 Kent Mensah, “Financial crisis crumpling Ghana newspapers,” The Daily IIJ,March 5th, 2009: http://inwent-iij-lab.org/Weblog/2009/03/05/financial-crisis-crumpling-ghana-newspapers/#more-477.– 39 –


sales. (However, some interviewees told us that <strong>for</strong> smaller papers, this practice is actually a boon tobusiness: radio readings can act like advertisements <strong>for</strong> publications.) While this trend, coupled withthe economic crisis, is bad <strong>for</strong> Ghana’s media in the short-term, in the longer term, these changesmay bring about a major consolidation of Ghana’s print media. This consolidation could actuallystrengthen Ghana’s print media by channeling resources to fewer outlets and, as a consequence,improving the quality of its print journalism.Circulation figures <strong>for</strong> Ghanaian newspapers are typically not made public. Several journalists, <strong>for</strong>example, cited different circulation figures <strong>for</strong> the same newspaper. According to Dr. Gadkzekpo ofthe University of Ghana, many of the smaller private newspapers only reach a few thousand dailyreaders, yet are unwilling to consolidate or merge because of their role as proxies and unofficialmouthpieces <strong>for</strong> Ghana's political parties.Ghana’s most prominent newspapers include:• The Daily Graphic, a state-run, well-funded daily with the largest circulation in Ghana. TheGraphic family includes several other publications including the Business Graphic, a newlyestablished business weekly.• The Ghanaian Times, Ghana’s other main state-funded newspaper.• The Daily Guide, one of Ghana’s largest private dailies, which boasts its own printing press;plans to spin-off a weekly business paper in 2009.• Public Agenda, Ghana’s only public interest newspaper; funded primarily by the prominentGhanaian NGO, The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC); small-circulation butheavy hitting and influential among policy and government circles.• The Chronicle, a medium-sized Accra-based private daily newspaper• Crusading Guide, a populist Accra daily that features muckraking journalism.• Business and Financial Times, a business-focused weekly newspaper modeled on the FinancialTimes.Business and Economic Journalism in GhanaBusiness and economic journalism, as a specialization, is still relatively young in Ghana, as manyjournalists acknowledged during interviews. Until quite recently, they noted, most of Ghana’snewspapers did not put any emphasis on business and economic journalism, and stories wereapparently written on an ad hoc basis rather than <strong>for</strong> specific sections or columns. However, withGhana’s strong economic growth under the New Patriotic Party government of John AgyekumKufuor (who ruled Ghana from 2001-2009), business and economic journalism picked upmomentum.Today, many of the main daily newspapers maintain a dedicated business section of perhaps two tofour pages. In addition, in recent years, new business- and economics=focused publications havebeen created in response to increased interest in business and financial reporting. These publicationsinclude Business Week, the daily Business and Financial Times, and the Business Graphic, a new weeklypublication published by the state-owned Graphic news company. Many of the journalistsinterviewed <strong>for</strong> this report stated that the creation of these new publications was a good sign <strong>for</strong> thedevelopment of Ghana’s business and economic reporting.– 40 –


The rise of business-focused journalism is bringing with it a new crop of business and economicsfocusedjournalists. However, the majority of these journalists have had little <strong>for</strong>mal training inbusiness and economics reporting save the training programs detailed in this report. Primarilybecause of the dearth of specialized reporters, all those journalists interviewed <strong>for</strong> this projectacknowledged that business and economic journalism has a long way to go in Ghana.Our researcher asked Ama Achia, a reporter with the public interest newspaper Public Agenda, if theGhanaian media is doing a sufficient job at covering business and economic matters. Her reply wasambiguous. “Yes,” she said, “in the sense that more papers are now specializing in business andeconomic issues, and that some papers like Public Agenda set aside more space <strong>for</strong> these issues,[but] no in that coverage is still focused on sensational issues, not substantive ones, such as thenational economy.” Many journalists repeated the view that the country’s appetite <strong>for</strong> news wasfocused only on entertainment and politics. Indeed, many journalists stated that the public’s lack ofinterest in such issues was the biggest impediment to business and economic journalism’s growth,and that the market <strong>for</strong> news required a fundamental shift if business and economic matters weregoing to get the attention they deserved.The private media’s dependence on advertising <strong>for</strong> revenue, as noted above, has had a pronouncedeffect on business and economic reporting, according to almost all of the journalists interviewed. Areporter with the Daily Guide, the largest private daily in Ghana, said that her paper avoided storiesabout their biggest advertisers <strong>for</strong> fear of disrupting an important income stream.In-depth reporting on business and economic matters also seemed to be rare, as most coverage fallswithin the realm of hard news and stories generated by press releases issued by businesses. Thus fewbusiness and economics feature stories or investigative reports are being produced in Ghana, whichmany journalists acknowledged as a significant weakness in economic and business coverage.Content AnalysisA basic content analysis of Ghanaian print media coverage of the extractive industries reveals a pressthat appears aware of the impact of the extractive industries on Ghana’s economy and society, but iseither unable or unwilling to report on these industries with the depth and substance that theydemand.Most print coverage of the extractives industries falls into two broad categories: promotional andpublic relations stories <strong>for</strong> the extractive businesses themselves, and critical stories that deride thesesame businesses <strong>for</strong> alleged abuses; the <strong>for</strong>mer being more common than the latter. Few articlesseem to cross this “praise/attack” divide by presenting a more comprehensive picture of theextractive industries in Ghana.Those articles which promoted the activities of the extractive industries range from press releasetypestories to company announcements to stories about the economic promise of the extractiveindustries, particularly in regards to Ghana’s new oil finds. Stories related to Ghana’s miningoperations are, of course, most frequent given that Ghana’s oil industry is only just getting started.Press release stories are newspaper articles that seem to be simply rewritten company press releases(and often are, according to journalists interviewed <strong>for</strong> this study). Many of these articles seem tooriginate from a mining company’s public relations department, such as Newmont, the American– 41 –


mining company active in Ghana. These stories might highlight Newmont’s support <strong>for</strong> malariaprevention (“Newmont Sponsors Malaria Prevention” 122 ), <strong>for</strong> example, or its funding of aneducation seminar <strong>for</strong> children on the benefits of mining (“Children Briefed On Importance OfMining” 123 ) and its support of local environmental clubs (“Newmont Supports Formation ofEnvironmental Clubs” 124 ).The stories themselves read like press releases, with perhaps a couple of quotes from a companyspokesperson, and a general description of the event or announcement. Promotional stories providebusinesses like Newmont with a positive media image. A recent article in The Ghanaian Chronicleabout Newmont’s funding of some classrooms reveals how sycophantic such coverage can be:“Newmont, one of the most prolific and magnificent mining companies in the world, wasestablished in 1921, and came to Ghana in August 2002” (“Newmont Akyem to Support FourCommunities” 125 ).More common in Ghana’s print media are news stories that cover official mining companyannouncements and initiatives. These stories, again, read like press releases, are usually singlesourced(a company’s written statement or a quote from a company representative), and generallyoffer positive coverage of the company (i.e., “Newmont Appoints Regional Vice President” 126 ).Print coverage of the mining industry in Ghana is not all positive, however, and many storiespublished are critical of the impact that mining is having on Ghanaian communities. These storiestend to focus on allegations made by civil society organizations concerning the environmentaldamage caused by a project (“Mining Coalition Objects to Surface Mining in Forest Reserves” 127 ),calls <strong>for</strong> better distribution of national wealth (“Wacam Calls <strong>for</strong> Better Royalties On Mining” 128 ), ora company’s poor or discriminatory treatment of its workers (“Newmont Denies Banning WomenFrom Getting Pregnant” 129 ). However, like the positive stories about the extractive industries, thesecritical stories tend to be minimally sourced, and do not usually attempt to investigate the allegationsor offer the accused an opportunity to respond. As a result, it’s difficult to get a balanced andnuanced picture of the mining industry in Ghana from media coverage.Notably, however, numerous Ghanaian newspapers appear to publish both types of stories aboutthe extractives, both negative and positive, suggesting that there is space within the same papers topresent different perspectives so that media coverage of the extractive isn’t totally imbalanced.Coverage of the oil discoveries in Ghana and plans <strong>for</strong> extraction is generally positive and optimistic,focusing on the discovery’s potential <strong>for</strong> wealth creation and economic development. However,122 “Newmont Sponsors Malaria Prevention,” Accra Mail, 17 May 2008.123 Kingsley E. Hope, “Children Briefed On Importance Of Mining,” The Ghanaian Times, 27 April 2006.http://www.newtimesonline.com/content/view/2575/245/.124 Michael Boateng, “Newmont Supports Formation of Environmental Clubs,” Ghanaian Chronicle, 6 March 2008.125 Isaac Akweetey, “Newmont Akyem to Support Four Communities,” The Ghanaian Chronicle, 7 April 2009:http://allafrica.com/stories/200904070624.html.126 “Newmont Appoints Regional Vice President,” The Ghanaian Times, 17 May 2008. Accessed 8 December 2008:http://www.newtimesonline.com/content/view/15822/147/.127 “Mining coalition objects to surface mining in <strong>for</strong>est reserves,” Ghana News Agency, 13 July 2008:http://gbcghana.com/news/21300detail.html.128 Daniel Nonor, “Wacam Calls <strong>for</strong> Better Royalties On Mining,” The Ghanaian Chronicle, 7 May 2008.129 Michael Boateng, “Newmont Denies Banning Women From Getting Pregnant,” The Ghanaian Chronicle, 7 January2008: http://allafrica.com/stories/200801071259.html.– 42 –


coverage of the oil industry is also somewhat guarded and perhaps in<strong>for</strong>med by knowledge of oil’spredilection <strong>for</strong> trouble in West Africa. The Ghanaian Times, one of Ghana’s state-fundednewspapers, published a series of editorials in 2008 about Ghana’s prospect <strong>for</strong> oil production(“Benefits of the Oil Find,” “Preparing <strong>for</strong> the Oil Future,” and “The Oil Find”) that illustrated asense of the paper’s responsibility in covering the oil finds. The editorials made severalrecommendations to political leaders to ensure that the oil becomes a blessing and not a curse.However, overall, the oil discoveries and plans <strong>for</strong> production received surprisingly little coveragegiven oil’s importance to Ghana’s economic future. In the run-up to Ghana’s presidential electionsin December 2008, oil was rarely mentioned in articles about the race, despite the fact that theelection winner would also gain substantial control over how to manage Ghana’s new oil industry.Most articles about the oil industry concerned new discoveries and prospects; these would makefront page news. Rarely did newspapers publish substantial reports about the oil discoveries, muchless the contracts being written up in back rooms to determine prices and royalties that ultimatelydecide how much of Ghana’s oil wealth will stay in country. Several journalists interviewed <strong>for</strong> thisproject said there simply wasn’t much to report until oil production goes online in 2010.Rather, the best coverage of Ghana’s nascent oil industry is appearing in <strong>for</strong>eign newspapers andmedia outlets like The Financial Times and BBC. Many journalists interviewed expressed regret thatsuch reporting isn’t being done by Ghanaian reporters given that the oil frenzy is taking place intheir own country.Of the Ghanaian newspapers surveyed <strong>for</strong> this content analysis, the most substantial coverage of theextractive industries was found in the pages of Public Agenda, the Accra-based public interest paper.Public Agenda is funded by one of the main civil society organizations in the country, IntegratedSocial Development Centre (ISODEC). Public Agenda regularly publishes in-depth articles about themining industry (“Who Benefits from Ghana's Mining Laws?” 130 ), the oil sector (“Ghana Must Playthe Oil Game its Own Way” 131 ), and editorials on important topics like the resource curse (“Ghana:Experimenting with the Resource Curse” 132 ).While substantial in its coverage of the mining and oil sectors, Public Agenda is also openly biasedtowards presenting those perspectives not offered in the more mainstream press, with an emphasison the environment, gender issues, worker and human rights, and equitable economic development.Of course, openly subjective media outlets can still be important resources <strong>for</strong> news andin<strong>for</strong>mation, particularly in a country like Ghana where the media is either unable or unwilling tocover certain stories.As a whole, Ghana’s print media coverage of the extractive industries is unimpressive. Coverage isgenerally insubstantial and skin-deep. Different perspectives on the mining industry are offered, <strong>for</strong>example, but rarely do articles engage the totality of the issue at hand or evenly present both pro andcon arguments. In-depth investigative articles, crucial to monitoring an industry notoriously lacking130 Asks Ebenezer Hanson, “Who benefits from Ghana's mining laws?,” Public Agenda, 20 April 2009:http://www.ghanaweb.com/public_agenda/article.php?ID=13091.131 Frederick Asiamah, “Ghana must play the oil game its own way,” Public Agenda, 9 February 2009:http://www.ghanaweb.com/public_agenda/article.php?ID=12799.132 Dayo Olaide, “Ghana: experimenting with the resource curse,” Public Agenda, 9 March 2009:http://www.ghanaweb.com/public_agenda/article.php?ID=12919.– 43 –


in transparency, are simply not being written. Like most other Ghanaian print reporting, coverage ofthe extractive industries is limited⎯almost entirely⎯to hard news stories: announcements,statements, allegations, and events. Hard news stories are important, but the extractive industriesrequire much more comprehensive reporting. Based on this very limited analysis of Ghanaian printcoverage of the extractives, it would appear that the Ghanaian media could be doing a much betterjob at covering an industry that is increasingly vital to Ghana’s economic development.Challenges to Journalism in GhanaCross-cutting challengesThe African Media Development <strong>Initiative</strong> (AMDI), a project launched by the BBC World ServiceTrust in 2006 to increase support <strong>for</strong> the development of African media, estimated in 2006 thatthere were 2,000 working journalists in Ghana, a third of whom were graduates of the GhanaInstitute of Journalism’s post-secondary school training program. Journalism in Ghana is a difficult,often temporary profession <strong>for</strong> people in their 20s and 30s that offers few enticements. Ourresearcher found that while many of the journalists interviewed were passionate about journalism,the realities of the profession⎯low pay, unreliable work, few opportunities <strong>for</strong> advancement, andthe poorly regarded professional status of journalism⎯meant that many journalists inevitably leavetheir beats <strong>for</strong> higher salaries in the private sector, especially public relations, and <strong>for</strong> diplomaticwork. That they gain contacts <strong>for</strong> their new jobs while working as journalists is certain, and probablyone of the few real perks of the profession.Journalism in Ghana suffers from being poorly regarded as a profession. Journalism’s status, in turn,affects the quality of reporting and the talent it can attract and retain. Several veteran journalistsinterviewed <strong>for</strong> this report expressed their frustration over their chosen profession’s poor standingin Ghanaian society. Francis Kokutse, a 20-year veteran journalist who now writes <strong>for</strong> the WallStreet Journal and international wire services, told a story that highlights journalism’s status in thecountry: “My colleague from journalism school, who went into the army, is now a colonel. He meetsme in the street, and his younger junior officers assume that the colonel is better off than me.Because we journalists don't use ranks, to them I’m just a bloody reporter walking the streets ofAccra.”Another veteran journalist, over an interview at the Ghana Press Association’s lush open-airrestaurant, says that it’s easy to tell who has stayed in journalism and who has gotten out just by howthey get around Accra. He pointed to two women getting into a sparkling black SUV and said thatthe woman driving was the owner and left journalism some years ago <strong>for</strong> a career in public relations.She was giving a ride to the other woman, a <strong>for</strong>mer colleague who never left journalism, and whogets around town by catching rides from friends because she can’t af<strong>for</strong>d her own car.Journalists’ low, sometimes non-existent pay in Ghana also means that the profession is highlysusceptible to interference from business interests. 133 As a result, businesses regularly offer much-133 From asking a few journalists, it seemed that the better paid journalists (working <strong>for</strong> Ghanaian newspapers) were paidaround $350/month, while journalists at the smaller private papers probably average around $85/month, though many– 44 –


needed supplementary income to cash-strapped journalists in exchange <strong>for</strong> positive coverage. Thisinfluence-peddling is apparently especially common in the extractive industries. Direct cashpayments are also apparently commonplace in business-reporting in general. Our researcher was toldon numerous occasions that the outright buying of the news is a regular phenomenon, and evenconsidered routine and not necessarily problematic by many journalists. (It must be noted that noneof the journalists interviewed claimed to have taken any direct payments in exchange <strong>for</strong> positivecoverage, only that they’d witnessed it regularly.)Anas Anas, editor with the Crusading Guide and a well-known Ghanaian investigative reporter, saidthat another challenge to the media in Ghana – also related to the poor regard in which the publicholds the media – is “the lack of confidence” that people have in the industry to be a positive <strong>for</strong>ce.Anas said that Ghanaians, in general, “do not see the media as a business entity itself that can spuron economic development,” which, he argues, is very problematic <strong>for</strong> a media industry that needsinvestment and a better image if it is to develop.Challenges specific to business and economic journalistsSomewhat surprisingly, almost every journalist interviewed <strong>for</strong> this report identified the samechallenges to being a business and economic journalist. Far and away, the most commonlymentioned challenges were:1. Poor access to in<strong>for</strong>mation2. The capabilities and expertise of the journalists themselves, including a lack of specializationand training in business and economics reporting3. Lack of resources within media organizations, including funding <strong>for</strong> travel, expenses, andaccess to equipmentChart 2: Among the Ghanaian journalists who completed the survey, the biggest obstaclesto their work were lack of knowledge and skills (including new media) and poor pay.reporters do not receive a salary from the publication but rather receive income from writing stories that businesses pay<strong>for</strong>.– 45 –


Access to in<strong>for</strong>mationNearly every journalist interviewed told a story about how difficult it is to get in<strong>for</strong>mation in Ghana,both from the private and public sectors.Businesses, journalists said, were usually very reluctant to share in<strong>for</strong>mation with the media. Manyjournalists attributed this to a lack of trust between the private sector and the media. And manybusinesses, according to journalists, simply don’t see the rationale or benefit in working with themedia, or why and how it might be in their best interest to do so.Government is just as closed as the private sector when it comes to in<strong>for</strong>mation, if not more so,according to all journalists interviewed. Journalists say Ghana’s government knows very well thatin<strong>for</strong>mation is power, and it doesn’t intend to cede much of it to the Fourth Estate, particularlyaround sensitive issues such as budgetary matters and royalty agreements over Ghana’s vast naturalresources. Many journalists complained that access to even uncontroversial documents likeannounced budgets and government policy is sometimes never granted.Jo Ellen Fair, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, wrote a recent article in Dissent magazine inwhich she examined the Ghanaian government’s “soft control” of the press:A media system that is private, commercial, but acutely aware that it serves a nationbound to the state – in other words, a “normal” media system in our neoliberal age –is constantly but softly controlled by the interests that it serves…In early January[2008], the current minister of in<strong>for</strong>mation told the press, “Although you havesometimes been critical of government, you have really enriched good governance inthis county. While I urge you toward greater professionalism and accuracy, I assureyou all that this government appreciates your contribution and will continue to workwith you to ensure the preservation of your freedoms and the protection of yourrights.” Journalists understand that such words are both hortatory and cautionary.They also understand that if they do not heed calls to shape up, their work may drawthe ire of the National Media Commission, which sets ethical guidelines andbroadcast standards, monitors news content, and en<strong>for</strong>ces the right of personsoffended by press reports to reply.Fair’s critique of the “soft control” wielded by Ghana’s government corresponds with what manyjournalists complained about in their dealings with both the government and the private sector.The journalists unanimously agreed that passage of the Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Act bill, delayed inthe Parliament since 2003, would significantly improve the ability of journalists to gatherin<strong>for</strong>mation from the government.Many journalists also said that access to sources and experts was also extremely limited, and greatlyaffected the quality of journalism produced in the country. To some degree, journalists said that thiswas because there simply are not many experts on the relevant issues in Ghana, particularly aroundtechnical business and economic matters like the extractive industries. However, even when thereare experts and knowledgeable sources, getting them to agree to an interview can be very difficult.Edmund Mingle of the Ghanaian Times said that many sources didn’t want to comment because ofpolitical concerns, <strong>for</strong> fear that if they say something (even uncontroversial), they might be perceived– 46 –


as supporting one political party or another. In Ghana, where the ruling party has suchdisproportionate influence (and where business contracts are made and broken by a company’sinfluence over those in power), even short interviews can apparently have serious consequences.Mingle said that media audiences read into comments far too much. Even though the Ghanaian Timesis state-owned (and there<strong>for</strong>e generally considered to be without party bias), Mingle said he still hastrouble tracking down comments, as the problem cuts across the media landscape. Journalists acrossthe board thought that developing trust between business and the media was crucial if business andeconomic journalism is to improve.Limitations imposed by journalist capacity and lack of expertiseMost journalists interviewed were <strong>for</strong>thright about their lack of business and economics expertise,even those who had participated in substantive training programs like the IIJ program in Berlin. Asnoted above, the journalism diploma programs on offer in Ghana do not provide any specializedtraining in business and economics reporting. While our researcher was unable to obtain curriculums<strong>for</strong> the university and diploma degrees in journalism, interviews suggest that these programs do notoffer any specific training in business and economic journalism. However, several of the journalistsinterviewed were either enrolled or planned to enroll in an economics or business university degreeprogram in Ghana in order to develop some expertise around these very important issues.Another problem arising from many journalists’ lack of expertise in business and economic issues,according to numerous journalists interviewed, is that companies seem to intentionally bombardjournalists with technical language and quantitative data that journalists find difficult to decipher,much less trans<strong>for</strong>m into something digestible to the Ghanaian public.One consequence of journalists’ lack of expertise in business reporting, which is also due to otherfactors, is the common practice of basically regurgitating company press releases <strong>for</strong> the front pageof the business section. Many journalists complained that much of business reporting in Ghanainvolves only the re-writing of private sector releases and announcements into news stories thatrarely go beyond anything skin-deep, much less investigate company claims or facts and figures.This, of course, is not a problem unique to Ghanaian journalism.Lack of resources available to journalistsThe general lack of resources available to journalists in Ghana is a major challenge <strong>for</strong> journalistscovering business and the economy, according to every journalist interviewed, even those at therelatively well-funded state media publications like the Daily Graphic. Journalists complained that theyhad little or no access to basic resources such as reimbursement <strong>for</strong> travel expenses, even to getaround within Accra, which given the cost of owning a car or taking taxis can be very expensive.Travel outside of Accra <strong>for</strong> reporting purposes was almost always prohibitively expensive, and oneof the main reasons why private-sector “travel sponsorship” and organization of junkets is soproblematic. If the media organizations themselves can’t pay <strong>for</strong> journalists to travel to the miningareas independently, they are almost always happy to send journalists on trips organized by thecompanies themselves. These company-sponsored trips (often luxurious <strong>for</strong> poorly paid journalists)inevitably color the reporting done on the relevant industries.Journalists said that access to equipment was also a problem. While most newsrooms our researchervisited seemed to have working computers, Internet access was not at all common. Access to apersonal laptop (taken <strong>for</strong> granted by journalists in the developed world) was very uncommon. The– 47 –


state-funded newspapers seemed to have the best computers – new Apple desktops – and it seemsfair to assume that they may have been donated to the government.Moreover, given the relatively low salaries of journalists, many are unable to cover even basicjournalism-related expenses themselves, like travel or research materials (though many said theywould if they could). A few dedicated journalists said they spent their own money to travel to otherparts of Ghana to report on important stories, but that this practice was costly and unsustainable.George Frimpong, of the Chronicle, said that “as long as there is poverty, there will be a problemwith resources <strong>for</strong> journalists.” Hopefully, some alternative can be developed to provide suchresources to journalists be<strong>for</strong>e Ghana eradicates poverty.Challenges to reporting on the extractive industries in GhanaReporting on the extractive industries in Ghana presents a series of challenges specific to the sector.These challenges include the vast resources of the extractive sector businesses themselves (which areused to great effect at self-promotion and the buying-off of media organizations), a profound lack ofexpertise on extractive issues among Ghanaian journalists, government intervention in stories criticalof the extractives and a general lack of interest among the media-consuming public (and journalists)about the negative impact of extractive industries on Ghana.Foremost among these challenges is the great imbalance between the resources of the Ghanaianmedia and the resources of the extractive sector companies. The latter, of course, dwarf that of theGhanaian media. Indeed, the Ghana public relations budget <strong>for</strong> Newmont, a prominent Americanmining company with major operations in Ghana, is probably comparable to the budgets of severalof Ghana’s larger private dailies combined.Extractive sector businesses use their resources in several different ways, some direct and someindirect, to influence coverage of their activities, according to those Ghanaians interviewed <strong>for</strong> thisreport.Firstly, extractive industry businesses are major advertisers in Ghanaian newspapers. Theseadvertisements affect coverage because, oftentimes, newspaper publishers don’t want to risk loss ofincome by publishing stories critical of the extractives sector companies that are also buying space inthe newspaper. Ama Achia, a reporter with Public Agenda, said that mining companies effectivelybought off much of Ghana’s media, because, she says, the media “cannot bite the hand that feedsyou.”The extractive industry companies are also able to affect coverage by controlling the stories that arewritten about the industry. On the one hand, some journalists allege that some companies essentiallypay journalists directly <strong>for</strong> positive coverage. Much more common, according to journalists, is thepractice of companies funding junkets <strong>for</strong> journalists to travel to areas in Ghana where the extractiveindustries are present (most often the mining areas of Ghana, as oil is still a new sector). Thesejunkets, usually luxurious, with journalists put up in extravagant hotels and fed in expensiverestaurants, are usually scheduled down to the minute, so that journalists only receive the companyline. As noted above, journalists are not able to take these trips on their own, <strong>for</strong> lack of fundingfrom their media houses. There<strong>for</strong>e, these trips are often the only occasions during which reportersexperience the extractive industries firsthand. If these company-organized trips are the sole influenceon journalists’ perception of extractives, then obviously their reporting will reflect that perception.– 48 –


Numerous journalists recounted how these trips serve to influence the media’s reporting ofextractive issues. Mustapha Suleman, with the Daily Graphic newspaper, said that “most of thecoverage of the extractive industries has been from sponsorship from the mining company.”Suleman recounted a trip organized by AngloGold (a major South African mining company) to oneof the mines it operates. Mustapha said the trip included stays in “fine hotels” and “fine meals” butwas surprised by the naïveté of many of the journalists who didn’t consider the company’s ulteriormotives in keeping them “happy.” Suleman said the two-day trip was chock full of in<strong>for</strong>mationabout everything the company had done <strong>for</strong> its employees, but never brought up the project’simpact on the surrounding community. Suleman said that he tried, with difficulty, to pull away fromthe junket to visit the community himself. The company instead insisted on “providing” acommunity member to interview, who Suleman said was obviously put up to the job. Eventually,Suleman ducked out, saying he would fund his own way back, and managed to interview membersof the local community, who told a very different story.Another challenge to reporting on the extractives in Ghana is simply getting permission to travel tocertain areas where businesses are in operation. According to Joss Cephas, a freelancer and writerwith the Daily Guide, Ghana’s Ministry of Mining is responsible <strong>for</strong> granting passes to journalists tovisit mining areas. Cephas said it’s often very difficult to come by these passes, further restricting themedia from covering the extractives.Ghanaian journalists face especially severe restrictions on access to in<strong>for</strong>mation when reporting theextractive industries. Cephas said that when he visits the Ministry of Land or the Ministry of Miningto inquire about something related to the extractives, most of the relevant documents are strictlyembargoed, and more so than <strong>for</strong> other industries. Other journalists said that a major challenge toextractive journalism, like business and economic reporting in general, is lack of access to expertsand sources. Veteran journalist Francis Kokutse said that <strong>for</strong> there to be better coverage of theextractives, more people (including civil society, academics and analysts) need to be engaged andinvolved in the industry. This would mean more resources <strong>for</strong> journalists.Even when advocacy groups try to present their own point of view to the media about the impact ofthe mining companies, the extractive businesses often interfere, according to Emelia Ennin, of theDaily Guide. She recalled a meeting organized by the Wassa Association of Communities Affectedby Mining (WACAM), the largest and most organized mining community organization in Ghana.Many journalists were invited and showed up to the meeting in Accra. However, Ennin said,Newmont also sent their public relations team to the meeting and “worked the audience” be<strong>for</strong>e themeeting began, in an apparent attempt to discredit the NGO’s findings be<strong>for</strong>e they could evenpresent them. Ennin said that it is difficult <strong>for</strong> non-profits like WACAM to counter “the powerfulPR machines” behind the extractive sector companies.Government intervention presents another problem <strong>for</strong> journalists seeking to report on theextractive industries. Amos Safo, editor of Public Agenda, said that his newspaper broke a story in2008 about a junket that Anglo-Gold funded <strong>for</strong> government Members of Parliament, whichresulted in all sorts of positive perks <strong>for</strong> the South African mining company. Public Agenda thenrevealed that AngloGold was also funding these same politicians’ reelection campaigns. No othermedia outlet pursued this story, no doubt <strong>for</strong> fear of retribution, which Public Agenda experiencedwhen the MPs brought the newspaper be<strong>for</strong>e Ghana’s National Media Commission <strong>for</strong> penalization.– 49 –


Public Agenda escaped without being penalized, but not be<strong>for</strong>e expending precious time andresources to fight the litigation.Dr. Audrey Gadzekpo, director of the University of Ghana at Legon’s School of Communications,said that extractive industry journalism also suffers from a polarization in the stories that arepublished about the industry. Gadzekpo said that almost all extractive stories can be broken downinto two types: (1) press release and event stories promoted by the extractive companies, and (2)advocacy-type stories that criticize industry practices or impacts. Gadzekpo said that “not muchholistic reporting is happening,” which represents a weakness in the Ghanaian media’s coverage ofthe extractives. Numerous journalists interviewed <strong>for</strong> the project expressed similar sentiments. Manyjournalists recognized the importance of the extractive industries and wanted to produce stories thatlooked at the full impact, both positive and negative, of the extractives. However, they said thatchallenges they face make such stories exceedingly difficult to pursue.Another problem related to extractive industry coverage involves the section under which stories arereported. Rayborn Bulley, of Institute <strong>for</strong> Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), said that toomany extractive industry stories end up in the environmental section of newspapers, and are nottreated as business stories in their own right, which ultimately discredits coverage of an importantaspect of the economy.Several journalists also said that a major challenge to covering the extractives was simply the lack ofinterest among the reading public and journalists themselves. Veteran journalist Francis Kokutsesaid he was surprised when he found that no one, except him, was covering the construction of theWest African Gas Pipeline, a major regional infrastructure project. He also said there was littleinterest among publishers in running with the story, simply because it wouldn’t be of interest toreaders. Readers do, however, seem to respond to positive coverage of the extractives. Manyjournalists said stories about the potential riches of the extractive industries (from the recent oildiscoveries, <strong>for</strong> instance) were well-received by Ghanaians hoping to get rich.Worryingly, news coverage of the recent oil discoveries and plans <strong>for</strong> extraction has beenunderwhelming, according to many journalists interviewed <strong>for</strong> this project. “Coverage of the oilindustry emanates almost entirely from the oil companies that publish and promote very technicalpress releases that aren’t explained,” said Rayborn Bulley of IFEJ. Another oft-heard frustrationfrom journalists is that breaking news about Ghana’s oil finds (a new discovery or development)usually originates from company press conferences or statements made in New York or London,and not from within Ghana.All in all, coverage of the extractive industries in Ghana seems woefully insufficient, given theseindustries’ impact on the national economy, particularly considering that Ghana’s nascent oilindustry is about to grow significantly. When asked what Ghana’s media should focus on, MarianAdjei of the Concorde – without prompting – said “the extractive sector.” Coverage of theseindustries, Adjei said, is “less than 10 percent of what needs to be done.”The Impact of Training ProgramsThe following section focuses on the impact that various journalism-training programs are havingon Ghanaian journalism.– 50 –


Training programs available to business and economic journalists in GhanaFor no discernable reason, a large number of Ghanaian interviewees had attended the IIJ training inBerlin; thus, much of the interview data is focused on this program. Also, many interviewees hadattended multiple training programs. Indeed, it seems that participation in one program often led tomore training opportunities, such that a core of some of the best-trained journalists in Ghana werefamiliar with many of the programs, and each other from these programs.Impact of training on journalistsAll the journalists interviewed in Ghana that had participated in substantial journalism trainingprograms, such as those listed above, were extremely enthusiastic about their experiences. The twoeditors-in-chief interviewed <strong>for</strong> this project were also very positive about the training programs <strong>for</strong>their journalists (and had participated in several of the programs themselves).For many of the journalists, their participation in one of the training programs marked their firstexperience with an in-depth, specialized journalism-training program. Most of the journalistsinterviewed were graduates of the Ghana Institute <strong>for</strong> Journalism (GIJ). Ghana’s diploma programsare two-years in length, and roughly the equivalent of a junior college degree in the United States.Most of the journalists described their GIJ diploma as insufficient <strong>for</strong> any sort of specialization.Notably, the GIJ curriculum does not put any emphasis on business and economic journalism. 134One journalist with the Ghana News Agency said that the GIJ’s curriculum was “lacking” and“mostly theory, which was not useful.” Walter Kudzodzi, a <strong>for</strong>mer journalist who now works <strong>for</strong> theAustralian Embassy, said that Ghana’s journalism schools “barely scratch the surface” of journalism,and that much of the training takes place after rookie journalists get out into the field. Many veteranjournalists interviewed said that the lack of specialization among Ghana’s journalists is a majordetriment to the media’s coverage of business and economic matters.Some of the journalists interviewed had completed a university degree, or were in the middle of sucha program, usually in journalism or communications. A few of the <strong>for</strong>mer and veteran journalistshad studied in journalism or communications programs abroad, notably at Cardiff University inWales.Training programs, while imparting real business and economic specialization, also serve tounderscore fundamental journalistic practices <strong>for</strong> many of the participants. Many of the journalistsdescribed their training programs as trans<strong>for</strong>mational experiences <strong>for</strong> them as journalists. Severalsaid that the training exposed them to important journalistic principles that they hadn’t be<strong>for</strong>estudied in any depth. Samuel Ablordeppey of the Daily Graphic said that the training taught himabout the importance of the “so what” in a story, which “changes everything and makes you go <strong>for</strong>the essence of the story.” Another Daily Graphic reporter recounted being taught about theimportance of being balanced in one’s reporting. After the World Bank Institute training, thisreporter said that he endeavored to show both sides of any story, which he realized he hadn’t beendoing prior to the training.All interviewees said that the programs allowed them to cover new topics and beats when theyreturned to their newspaper. Journalists told of different new topics that they had received training134 On a related note, some journalists said that restructuring GIJ’s curriculum is an important task and should be apriority <strong>for</strong> any organization wanting to impact media coverage in Ghana.– 51 –


on that they then were able to cover with much more confidence and expertise. The topics mostfrequently mentioned as having been helpful to their work were budget monitoring and reporting,the insurance industry, banking, the stock exchange and international financial institutions (IFIs) likethe World Bank and the IMF. Interestingly, the topic that journalists identified as most lacking fromthe various training programs was the extractive industries; the three-month IIJ program includes ashort segment on the extractives, which journalists said was useful but not sufficient to meet theirneeds. 135In addition to being able to cover new topics, many journalists enthusiastically described the impactthat the trainings had on their ability to interpret and use figures and in<strong>for</strong>mation. One journalisttold me that she had been on the World Bank’s media list, but had mostly ignored it be<strong>for</strong>e shecompleted the IIJ training, whereas after her crash course in the IFIs she now takes the “time toread through it and see what I can include in my column on social business stories.”Another journalist, Marian Adjei, of the Concorde newspaper, said that the trainings taught her how towrite business and economic stories that would appeal to her readers, and make abstract issuespertinent and interesting to the man or woman on the street. After the IIJ training, Adjei said shewas “able to analyze [world trade issues], understand them, and write a gripping story about themthat someone could pick up that wasn’t just another minister-said-this-story.”Some reporters noted some unexpected downsides to the training. Ama Achia, a reporter withPublic Agenda, explained a common downside: “When you come back from the training program,you yearn to do more, but you don’t get the opportunity to really focus on one area.” While Achiawas given new topics upon her return to the paper after the three-month IIJ program, she also hadto go back to covering her old beats, which limited her capacity to try out her new skills. SamuelAblordeppey, a journalist with the Daily Guide, also said he couldn’t pursue stories he wanted towrite after the training because they were too technical and apparently not suitable <strong>for</strong> the paper.Edmund Mingle, of the Ghanaian Times, told our researcher that the IIJ training significantlydeveloped his features writing skills, but that he hadn’t been able to use them since returning to thejob, as features aren’t very common in Ghanaian newspapers. Many journalists complained that theyweren’t able to fully incorporate their training into their work.Criticisms of the training programs themselves were minimal and were generally about the relevanceof particular topics (several journalists complained that the IIJ’s component on corruption usedGerman case models that had little relevance to Ghana) or the poor per<strong>for</strong>mance of a particulartrainer.Newspaper editors on the impact of the training programsFortune Alimi, editor-in-chief at the Daily Guide, one of the largest private dailies in Ghana, said thatthe IIJ trainings in particular “diversified [the journalists’] work, with more background, and moresubstantial content.” Alimi said that because of journalists’ training on how to conduct onlineresearch, his journalists’ “reports are now much richer.” Alimi noted with pride that six of hisreporters are pursuing university degrees while on the job, and said he noticed a trend across theindustry where more journalists are getting advanced degrees than in the past.135 Please note that all subjects covered in the trainings are included in the survey data section of this report.– 52 –


Amos Safo, editor-in-chief at the public interest newspaper Public Agenda, also found the trainings tobe extremely valuable: “there is always improvement when someone goes out <strong>for</strong> training.” Safoadded that after his reporters have completed trainings he gives them new roles and responsibilitieswithin the news organization.While the Ghana researcher interviewed only three newspaper editors, it seemed that most editorswere happy to send their best reporters out <strong>for</strong> trainings (whereas our researcher had suspected theopposite might be the case), and see the trainings as valuable opportunities to build theirnewsroom’s capacity and the skills sets of their journalists. Alimi said that an additional benefit tothe trainings was that he encouraged journalists that had attended the training programs to help trainother journalists in the newsroom in their new skills. It seemed that the training programs affectedmore journalists than those who were able to attend them.The impact of trainings on journalist careersIn terms of the impact these programs had on the journalists’ careers, the majority of journalistsindicated that they had received some sort of promotion as a result of their attending the training.However, these promotions did not necessarily result in substantial or any pay increases, if pay wasincreased at all – sometimes only their titles were changed. Several journalists said they werepromoted from reporters to editors or assistant editors. Our researcher also noted an obvious trendwhereby the most senior reporters at a given publication had also attended the most trainingprograms, with the exception of some of the most senior editors at the larger publications, whoseemed to have entered journalism be<strong>for</strong>e such training opportunities were available. Interestingly,this generational difference within the newsrooms meant many of the younger journalists, with allthe trainings under their belt, felt that they had much more knowledge and specialization than theireditors. Inevitably, this led to some conflict whereby the younger journalists (with all this newexpertise) felt stymied by their more traditional editors.Given that journalism is a poorly regarded career in Ghana, we were also interested in finding outwhether journalists were using the training programs as stepping stones to new, more lucrative andstable careers. Several ex-journalists told our researcher that training programs had improved theirnon-journalism careers, but the programs had had no direct impact on them getting out of the mediaindustry. Rather, these journalists said that the trainings led to promotions and greater opportunities,which in turn led to their gaining more contacts and visibility, which ultimately probably helpedthem find other employment. That said, it did not seem that journalists were “using” the trainingprograms to find better jobs. Rather, the problem seems to be that journalism, as a career, is notmeeting the needs of many of its best practitioners.Workshop training programsShort-term training programs or workshops are quite common in Ghana. Usually organized by anorganization with a stake in a particular issue, these workshops tend be quite partial and specific.However, some organizations, like the Third World Network (TWN) regularly organize journalistworkshops that cover a range of issues. While they certainly have express advocacy goals, likeeducating journalists as to a particular environmental problem or to train journalists on the effects ofcyanide used in mining areas, organizations like TWN have gained credibility from journalists <strong>for</strong>their thorough approach to the issues and their availability as a resource on certain issues.– 53 –


Other groups, like the Institute <strong>for</strong> Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), have beenestablished specifically to respond to the needs of business and economic journalists. IFEJ, <strong>for</strong>example, regularly hosts short-term trainings (perhaps one or two days in length) around a specificeconomic issue, like budget reporting, or a workshop on the oil industry (IFEJ planned to organizejust such a training in the spring of 2009). The conveners and executive officers of IFEJ arejournalists or <strong>for</strong>mer journalists themselves, and there<strong>for</strong>e know what training and expertisepracticing journalists need. Interviewees frequently mentioned Oxfam as another group thatorganized helpful, short-term workshops <strong>for</strong> journalists.However, while short-term workshops serve a certain niche, and are appreciated by journalists(many of whom were very enthusiastic about IFEJ in particular) most journalists agreed that they donot provide sufficient training <strong>for</strong> many business and economic reporting topics.– 54 –


Notes on conducting research in GhanaJonathan Hulland, the Ghana researcher, arrived in Accra on December 30, 2008, two days after apresidential election run-off vote, and in the middle of Ghana’s Christmas holiday. During ourresearcher’s two and a half week-stay in Accra, it proved difficult to track down journalists <strong>for</strong>interviews due to the election. The election itself remained unresolved until January 5, 2009, with theoccasional violent skirmish that threatened to spill over into something more serious. As such, thecity was more or less paralyzed <strong>for</strong> the first few days of the trip.Even after the election was resolved, many newspapers remained shut <strong>for</strong> an annual Christmas/NewYear’s holiday that dragged on until the middle of January, making it impossible to reach certainpublications. Many journalists went back to their family homes during this time, and were notavailable in Accra. However, Jonathan still managed to conduct 22 interviews with a variety ofinterview subjects, including past and present journalists, NGO workers, and academics.Other than the time constraint imposed by the trip’s length and the un<strong>for</strong>tunate timing of the trip,the main challenges to the research involved trip logistics (expenses and transportation) and severalno-show interviews. Accra’s brutal traffic, <strong>for</strong> instance, limited the number of meetings possible in aday. The capitol city was also more expensive than anticipated, which contributed somewhat toresearch difficulties (avoiding taxis was almost impossible, and fares quickly added up, <strong>for</strong> example).Eating out was also quite costly, <strong>for</strong> all but the cheapest street food was priced comparably to foodin New York. Development gaps also impeded ease of research. Internet in Ghana, <strong>for</strong> instance, isstill making inroads. Good connections exist, but they are rare. A reasonably high bandwidthconnection <strong>for</strong> personal household use is still prohibitively expensive, costing upwards of $200 permonth. Basic hotels with even spotty, slow Internet were, as a result, quite expensive (starting at $60a night). Indeed much of Accra seemed to function on a dual-economy: with richer-country prices<strong>for</strong> any products or services used by the well-to-do and those engaged in development and business,and local prices <strong>for</strong> much everything else.Overall, however, Accra proved to be an easy-going, welcoming city that seemed well accustomed toinfluxes of researchers and NGO-workers.– 55 –


Uganda– 56 –


Background 136Literacy and EducationUganda introduced its Universal Primary Education (UPE) program in 1997. Since the program’simplementation, the number of children in primary education has more than doubled, from 3million to 7.4 million today. Approximately 49.4 percent of children in primary schools are girls 137Just under 50 percent of children are estimated to reach fifth grade, with 15 percent of youthreaching secondary school. Between 2002 and 2005, public expenditure on education accounted <strong>for</strong>18.3 percent of total government expenditures, or 5.2 percent of GDP. Sixty-two percent of thepublic money spent on education is targeted toward primary education, 24 percent toward secondaryand 12 percent toward tertiary. Approximately 67 percent of Uganda’s adult population (58 percentof women and 76 percent of men) can read and write. The youth (ages 15-24) literacy rate is slightlyhigher, at 76.6 percent. 138Media Landscape 139Fewer than 1000 practicing journalists currently work in Uganda, according to a 2006 report by theBBC World Service Trust. Of these, approximately 12 are full-time business and economicsreporters.RadioUganda’s media landscape is dominated by radio. In 2006, the BBC World Service Trust reportedthat more than 90 percent of the country’s population had weekly access to the radio, and just under50 percent of households listed radio as their primary in<strong>for</strong>mation source in Uganda’s 2002 census.Many radio broadcasts take place in local dialects, of which Uganda has more than 50, or in a blendof local dialect and English, which is Uganda’s official language.The majority of Uganda’s nearly 100 radio stations are privately owned, though the governmentdoes attempt to exert control over program content. During the 2006 presidential elections, theradio frequency of KFM, a station owned by the largest private media group in Uganda, was jammed<strong>for</strong> several days after broadcasting election results which contradicted those reported by the stateownedStar FM; in 2004 a church-owned radio station in northeastern Uganda was shut down <strong>for</strong>more than a week <strong>for</strong> reporting on the insurgency in the area. 140TelevisionA 2005 survey conducted by InterMedia estimated that less than one third of Uganda’s populationhad watched television in the last year. Three of Uganda’s four television stations are privatelyowned, though, as with radio, they face pressure to avoid broadcasting content that might be viewedas critical of the government or the ruling party.136 Photo on previous page: Gara, Stefan, photographer. “Street life.” Photograph. 2005. From: Flickr: Stefan Gara’sphotostream, http://www.flickr.com/photos/gara/68052000/.137 UNESCO, “Education: Literacy: Africa,” http://portal.unesco.org/education138 UNDP Human Development Reports, “2007/2008 Human Development Report: Uganda,”http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_UGA.html139 John Watsuna Khamalwa, “Uganda: Research findings and conclusions,” BBC World Service Trust: Africa MediaDevelopment <strong>Initiative</strong> (2006). All in<strong>for</strong>mation in the Uganda Media Landscape section is from this report unlessotherwise indicated.140 Ugandan police close church-owned radio,” afrolNews, June 25, 2004, http://www.afrol.com/articles/11088.– 57 –


NewspapersUganda’s print media are dominated by two major newspapers, the state-owned New Vision and theDaily Monitor. The New Vision and its local language publications, Bukedde (published in Luganda),Etop (Ateso), Orumuri (Runyakitara) and Rupiny (Luo) have the largest market share, with a combineddaily circulation of over 60,000. The Daily Monitor, owned by the Kenya-based Nation Media Group,has a daily circulation of 15,000. Other notable publications include the weekly East African, RedPepper, Observer and Sunrise.Though newspapers cover the widest range of topics and provide the most extensive politicalcoverage of all media in Uganda, less than 1 percent of households report print media as theirprimary source of in<strong>for</strong>mation, according to the BBC World Service Trust. Newspapers are alsosubject to the same government pressures as radio and television, and several journalists reporthaving been physically attacked and/or charged with crimes ranging from sedition to the moregeneral “media offenses” after publishing stories seen as threatening to the ruling party.Business and Economic JournalismMost of those interviewed were disappointed with the quality of business and economic journalismin Uganda. The general consensus is that business reporting does not receive enough emphasis inthe Ugandan media (business journalism is “used as filler” in most papers, said one associate editor).Newspapers often fail to support the business desk to the satisfaction of business editors andreporters. Summing up this view, one reporter <strong>for</strong> a major daily emphasized the need to “convincemanagement to attach more importance to business reporting.” 141 Several interviewees did note thatthings have improved in the last three to five years: one indicator of this is that both the DailyMonitor and The New Vision began publishing weekly business inserts in late 2008.Several of those interviewed attributed the overall lack of focus on business journalism to Uganda’sgeneral business climate: “the Ugandan economy is resurrecting from a long slumber” after IdiAmin’s destructive economic policies, said one reporter, and the country has little industrial activityon which to report. Still, many others complained that most stories are reported from theperspective of businesses or exporters and fail to relate business news to consumers and ordinarycitizens. In 2005, the World Bank estimated that 90 percent of Uganda’s non-farm privateemployees operate in the in<strong>for</strong>mal sector 142 , but Ugandan business stories usually focus exclusivelyon the <strong>for</strong>mal sector, ignoring a substantial part of the country’s economic activity.Regardless of the reasons <strong>for</strong> this weakness, the majority of those interviewed agreed thatstrengthening business journalism in Uganda is vital: “politics will never stabilize when the financesare not okay,” said one editor, stressing the need <strong>for</strong> better and more comprehensive businessreporting. “Everything is business-oriented somehow.”Extractives JournalismUgandan media began reporting on the oil industry in 2006, when the discovery of oil was firstannounced to the public. One reporter who covers the industry <strong>for</strong> a major daily paper said there is“all sorts of lively commentary…all the time” about oil in the media, and he believes the public has141 Ugandan Interviewee #11. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 9.142 World Bank, “Urban In<strong>for</strong>mal Sector in Uganda,” April/May 2005,http://info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/library/211247/Uganda_Urban percent20In<strong>for</strong>mal percent20Sector.pdf.– 58 –


“sufficient in<strong>for</strong>mation” about developments in the industry. 143 Another journalist at a daily paperbelieves extractives reporters have sufficient freedom and ability to “avoid or mitigate” the “negativeimpacts” of oil by educating the public. 144 The consensus among those interviewed is that the mediaare doing a good job covering oil to the extent that the financial resources and specializedknowledge necessary to do so exist, but that more funding and knowledge would greatly increase thequality of coverage.Content AnalysisThe 2006 discovery of oil in Lake Albert in the Hoima district of southwestern Uganda set off aflurry of interest across the country, which has been reflected in the media. Given the oil industry’srecent emergence in Uganda, print media coverage thus far seems relatively good, with attentionbeing paid to details of agreements and articles pushing <strong>for</strong> greater transparency. Most coveragedoes not heavily vet the oil companies themselves, perhaps reflecting the country’s hopes that theydeliver an economic trans<strong>for</strong>mation. Overall, the Ugandan media seems to be adjusting, albeitslowly, to Uganda’s impending economic changes.Public relations stories concerning Tullow Oil and Heritage Oil and Gas, the two oil companiesoperating in Hoima, have already begun to bubble up in the press, such as a story on Tullow’ssponsorship of a team of rugby-playing orphans touring the UK (“Tullow Oil to Send 13 Kids toUK” 145 ). Such articles are still relatively few in number, though they will likely increase as Tullow andHeritage establish themselves in Uganda.For now, the Ugandan print media seems to be focusing primarily on the prospects <strong>for</strong> theirnewfound wealth. Many articles have focused on still-unpublished details of oil agreements betweenthe government and the oil companies. Interestingly, the state-owned New Vision has been at the<strong>for</strong>efront of the media’s ef<strong>for</strong>ts to push <strong>for</strong> greater transparency in these agreements. A recent articlein the New Vision (“Oil Sharing Deal Still Clothed in Secrecy” 146 ) is tough on the government <strong>for</strong> notbeing more transparent: “Although the ministry of energy and mineral development asserts that thecountry will receive 70 percent of all revenue generated during the oil production period, theassertions cannot be verified independently because the agreements have never been released to thepublic.” A recent editorial in the New Vision described the negative impacts of oil in Nigeria andurged Uganda’s administration to “begin with utmost transparency – let people see and know whatexactly is going on, involve local leaders in the planning on environmental assessments,environmental protection, oil-revenue sharing, and attendant development <strong>for</strong> locals when theproject begin to yield oil.” 147Other articles educate the public about the importance of transparency and accountability in theextractive industries, as in this except from a recent Sunday Monitor article (“Lack of TransparencyMay Threaten Uganda’s Future as an Oil-Producer” 148 ):143 Ugandan Interviewee #10. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.144 Ugandan Interviewee #16. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 12.145 Ismail Dhakaba Kigongo, “Tullow Oil to Send 13 Kids to UK,” Daily Monitor, September 26, 2008.146 Ibrahim Kasita, “Oil Sharing Deal Still Clothed in Secrecy,” New Vision, December 10, 2008.147 Opio Oloya, “Uganda: Use New Oil Resources to Improve Lives of Citizens,” New Vision, February 29, 2009,http://allafrica.com/stories/200902260157.html.148 Elizabeth Palchik Allen, “Lack of transparency may threaten Uganda’s future as an oil-producer,” Daily Monitor,September 14, 2008,– 59 –


As Uganda becomes an oil-producing state, its ability to avoid conflict andstrengthen its economy will depend on the kind of planning that happens now. Inthis regard, the in<strong>for</strong>mation contained within documents called “production sharingagreements” – which are contracts signed between the government and various oilcompanies – becomes critical.This article lucidly explains various complex aspects of oil industry. In addition, Uganda has adedicated business weekly, the East African Business Week, which regularly publishes articles on thebusiness aspects of the extractives industry.Concern at the falling price of oil and its potential to stunt Uganda’s promised boom has also led tonumerous articles and editorials questioning Uganda’s reliance on such a fast-changing commodity(New Vision: “What is Plan B <strong>for</strong> Oil,” “Is Uganda’s Oil Boom in Danger?”). Print media have alsopublished in<strong>for</strong>med articles and opinion pieces on the specter of the resource curse (New Vision:“Why Oil Revenues Could Spell Doom <strong>for</strong> Country?”, Daily Monitor: “Norway Warns Country OverOil”).Though the government’s continued refusal to release the details of its production sharingagreements with the oil companies has prevented journalists from engaging in detailed analysis ofhow the discovery will affect individual citizens, the Ugandan media seem to be rising to thechallenge of reporting the trans<strong>for</strong>mation brought by the development of a major new oil industry.Challenges to Journalism in UgandaGovernment PressureFreedom of expression and freedom of the media are protected by Uganda’s constitution, but thecurrent regime has not hesitated to bring charges of defamation against journalists whom it feltposed a threat. 149 Many journalists practice self-censorship to avoid arrest 150 , and the past five yearshave shown a marked crackdown on media, with government agents raiding the offices ofindependent newspapers 151 and arresting reporters critical of the ruling party. 152 The governmentalso interferes by tapping journalists’ phones, and one editor <strong>for</strong> an independent paper carriesseveral mobile phones to avoid having his calls traced. 153Though government pressure mostly affects political journalists, business and economics writers arenot immune. Nearly half of those interviewed reported having stories pulled, having faced lawsuitshttp://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/insights/Lack_of_transparency_may_threaten_Uganda_s_future_as_an_oil-producer_71576.shtml.149 Tone Bratteli, “The media sector in Uganda. Norwegian report,” Norway Development Co-operation in Uganda,http://www.norway.go.ug/Development/social/brattelimediarapport.htm.150 Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, “Uganda: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006,”United States Department of State, March 6, 2007, http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78763.htm.151 Reporters Without Borders, “Police raid newspaper at the end of a week of harassment,” November 18, 2005,http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15658.152 Reporters Without Borders, “Government continues to tighten its grip on the press with elections now 50 daysaway,” January 2, 2006, http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16075.153 Ugandan Interviewee #10. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.– 60 –


or criminal charges <strong>for</strong> content the government deemed threatening, or knowing a colleague whohad experienced such pressure. “The hardest part of being a journalist in Uganda is there are some'untouchables,'” or people who cannot be criticized in the media, said one editor. 154 Anotherjournalist writing <strong>for</strong> an independent weekly was more blunt: “the first family owns almost half ofKampala,” he said. If reporters “write about them, the next day they'll come hunting <strong>for</strong> you.” 155The most common <strong>for</strong>m of government pressure involves legal charges against reporters fromMinisters, military officers and other government offices or representatives who feel they have beennegatively portrayed. The Ugandan police have a Media Offences Department dedicated to theprosecution of these cases, and journalists can lose multiple days of work at a time as they wait to bequestioned. Though many of these cases ended without jail time or fines <strong>for</strong> the journalists involved,the constant harassment can take a toll on reporters, who may choose to avoid coveringcontroversial topics in the face of legal threats. Such pressure “kills your passion <strong>for</strong> writing,” said afreelance business writer <strong>for</strong> a major daily paper. 1Business PressureAdvertising pressure is a major source of concern <strong>for</strong> Ugandan business reporters. “Media has todance to the tune of the advertisers,” said one reporter at a major newspaper. 156 “If you don’t writePR [public relations] stories, you won’t get adverts,” said another journalist <strong>for</strong> a major daily. 157Banks and telecommunications companies, which, along with government, are the biggestadvertisers, tend to exert the most pressure. “No one can criticize MTN [the largesttelecommunications company in the country]” because papers rely so much on the company’sadvertising, said an editor at a weekly paper. 158Chart 3: Ugandan journalists found a lack of knowledge and skills and political and governmentpressure not to publish to be the biggest obstacles to their work, followed by poor pay.154 Ugandan Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 5.155 Ugandan Interviewee #18. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 14.156 Ugandan Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.157 Ugandan Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.158 Ugandan Interviewee #13. 2009. Interview by author. Kampala, Uganda, January 10.– 61 –


Limited ResourcesUganda has made serious ef<strong>for</strong>ts to correct its current power shortage, including a recent pledge touse its own resources to construct a $1.2 billion dam on the Nile River. However, the electricitypenetration rate is still low, and local manufacturers estimate that power and fuel shortages willcause a 5 percent drop in GDP in 2009. 159 Load-shedding, or a controlled rolling blackout, iscommon in Kampala, and is expected to increase this year as a result of the energy crisis. 160Uganda’s Internet penetration rate grew from 0.2 percent to 2.5 percent between 2000 and 2006. 161Most Ugandans who can af<strong>for</strong>d to use the Internet go to public cafés, which are prevalent inKampala. Access generally costs between 1500 and 6000 Ugandan shillings ($0.70 to $2.78) perhour. 162 Large businesses, including most major media organizations, are able to offer theiremployees regular Internet access. Still, expensive, unreliable bandwidth makes browsing slow.Multiple journalists expressed frustration at either lack of access to Internet or a lack of time to fullyutilize online resources.While fewer than one percent of Ugandans have landline telephones, approximately 80 percent ofthe population has access to a mobile phone. 163Lack of Access to In<strong>for</strong>mationNearly everyone interviewed mentioned lack of access to in<strong>for</strong>mation as a major obstacle to his orher work. The Access to In<strong>for</strong>mation Act of 2005 and Article 41 of the 1995 Constitution ofUganda both guarantee citizens the “right of access to in<strong>for</strong>mation and records in the possession ofthe state or any public body, except where the release of the in<strong>for</strong>mation is likely to prejudice thesecurity or sovereignty of the state or interfere with the right to the privacy of any other person,”but many of those interviewed reported delays of up to a year when requesting access togovernment records supposedly covered by the law. 164 The biggest case of this recently has beenwith regard to the profit sharing agreements between the government and the oil companiesworking in southwestern Uganda. These contracts are technically public in<strong>for</strong>mation, but journalistsat nearly every media organization our team member visited said they had been trying to get copiesof the agreements <strong>for</strong> four months without success.Obtaining in<strong>for</strong>mation from businesses is also difficult. Multiple in<strong>for</strong>mants complained thatbusiness journalism “is like public relations” in Uganda, as companies are willing to give out so littlein<strong>for</strong>mation that many papers simply republish press releases. In<strong>for</strong>mants reported that businessesoften claim in<strong>for</strong>mation is classified or too sensitive to release, and one business editor at a majorpaper complained that his reporters often resort to “conjecture and extrapolation” because they159 “Fuel, power shortage to cost Uganda economy 400 mln dollars,” China View, January 7, 2009,http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/07/content_10620000.htm.160 Ismail Musa Ladu, “Load-shedding to resume, says Eskom,” Daily Monitor, January 10, 2009,http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Load-shedding_to_resume_says_Eskom_77997.shtml.161 World Bank, “ICT at a Glance: Uganda,”http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/DATASTATISTICS/0,,contentMDK:20459133~menuPK:1192714~pagePK:64133150~piPK:64133175~theSitePK:239419,00.html.162 Samuel Gitta and J.R. Ikoja-Odongo, “The impact of cybercafés on in<strong>for</strong>mation services in Uganda,” First Monday 8,no. 4 (2003), http://www.firstmonday.org/ISSUES/issue8_4/gitta/index.html.163 MobileActive, “Uganda,” http://mobileactive.org/countries/Uganda.164 Ugandan Access to In<strong>for</strong>mation Act, 2005, Section 5.1, July 19, 2005.– 62 –


have such difficulty obtaining in<strong>for</strong>mation from reliable sources. 165SalariesThe 2006 Africa Media Development <strong>Initiative</strong> (AMDI) report on Uganda noted, “Journalists arepaid relatively well compared to other occupations, such as teaching.” 166 The report estimatedaverage salaries <strong>for</strong> freelance journalists at $165 per month and <strong>for</strong> salaried reporters at $380 to$3200 per month. Journalists in Uganda, however, reported monthly salaries of between $100 and$350. 167 The AMDI report compares this salary to an average monthly salary of $165 <strong>for</strong> secondaryschool teachers, which it claims is a comparable profession. However, media organizations oftencannot af<strong>for</strong>d to supply journalists with the transportation, mobile phone airtime, audio recorders oreven notebooks and pens necessary to report, meaning journalists must pay <strong>for</strong> these supplies out oftheir own pockets. The majority of those interviewed mentioned low pay as a serious challenge tothe quality of their reporting.Lack of funds causes journalists to miss out on reporting opportunities: one editor <strong>for</strong> anindependent weekly was unable to travel to Ruhiira, approximately three hours by car fromKampala, to report on the Millennium Villages Project there. Several reporters working at both dailyand weekly newspapers felt the quality of their reporting on the oil industry had suffered becausethey had been unable to travel to the oil fields in Hoima in southwestern Uganda.Several reporters and editors noted that journalists are often reluctant to do investigative reportingbecause attending corporate- or government-sponsored events, where travel and food expenses arecovered, is easier. One editor said that in Ugandan journalism, “hard work doesn’t pay.” 168This lack of funding affects reporters’ resources on the job, but a reporter at an independent weeklypaper noted that it also makes it difficult to cultivate sources. Several reporters said they were unableto go to the places where major businesspeople spend their time – including Kampala’s major clubsand casinos – to make contact with them. One reporter at a daily newspaper noted that during hertraining experience with the International Institute <strong>for</strong> Journalism she had been encouraged to takecontacts out <strong>for</strong> drinks to cultivate them as sources, but that few freelancers or even staff journalistshave the financial capacity to do this. 169CorruptionBusiness is “one of the most corrupt journalist beats in this country,” said a reporter <strong>for</strong> anindependent weekly magazine. 170 Because salaries are low, journalists are more easily susceptible tobribes: “Some reporters receive the brown envelope, and even when the bank governor talks trashthey will praise him,” said a reporter at a weekly magazine. 171 Some writers reportedly work side jobsas public relations officers <strong>for</strong> the companies they cover as journalists.165 Ugandan Interviewee #8. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.166 John Watsuna Khamalwa, “Uganda: Research findings and conclusions,” BBC World Service Trust: Africa MediaDevelopment <strong>Initiative</strong> (2006).167 Ugandan Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 5; Ugandan Interviewee#18. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 14.168 Ugandan Interviewee #13. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 10.169 Ugandan Interviewee #3. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 5.170 Ugandan Interviewee #7. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.171 Ugandan Interviewee #18. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 14.– 63 –


RetentionMany of those interviewed said that a substantial number of their colleagues had left journalism <strong>for</strong>other professions, mainly corporate and non-profit communications, due to stress or low salaries.An editor <strong>for</strong> a weekly paper said the salary in Uganda is “peanuts” compared to what journalistsmake in Kenya. One reporter at a major daily estimated that 80 percent of her colleagues had left themedia, and several of those interviewed described their plans to leave the field <strong>for</strong> jobs ranging fromagriculture to small businesses. Many attributed this trend to the fact that opportunities <strong>for</strong>promotion are rare at most media organizations in Uganda, and the director of the MakerereUniversity Department of Mass Communications noted that many graduates from the school usejournalism as a “transition to more established careers.” 172Still, many of those interviewed expressed a passion <strong>for</strong> journalism and a determination to stay in themedia industry. “Business reporting demands a lot…but I like what I do,” said one freelancer. 173Business is “one of the best beats,” said another reporter who writes <strong>for</strong> a weekly paper. 174Potential Challenges <strong>for</strong> Training OrganizationsOf the challenges described above, including a sometimes unreliable infrastructure and generalobstacles <strong>for</strong> journalists, several are particularly relevant <strong>for</strong> organizations attempting to conductmedia trainings in Uganda. The first of these is the general attitude toward business journalism in thecountry: while business journalists are clamoring <strong>for</strong> more training, the effects of this training maybe difficult to discern until both media companies and media audiences take business journalismmore seriously. While an increase in trained journalists is certainly an important step toward greaterdevelopment of business journalism, training organizations should keep this in mind.Cost is also an issue. While major media companies tend to be able to af<strong>for</strong>d to send journalistsabroad <strong>for</strong> training and to continue to operate smoothly in their absence, most independentnewspapers and most radio stations lack the necessary funding and manpower. Trainingorganizations should work to avoid disproportionately offering training to journalists who alreadyhave access to greater resources and should target reporters at smaller media companies.The Impact of Training ProgramsOf the 20 journalists interviewed in Uganda, seven had attended a training sponsored by theInternational Institute of Journalism (IIJ) in Berlin, six had attended a training sponsored byThomson-Reuters (Reuters) in London, and three had attended a local training sponsored by theWorld Bank (WB). Five had attended trainings sponsored by various American universities, by theUnited States Department of State or by smaller media organizations. Some journalists had attendedmultiple trainings; three had not attended any <strong>for</strong>mal training programs aside from degree orcertificate programs at Ugandan universities.172 George Lugalambi. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 14.173 Ugandan Interviewee #17. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 13.174 Ugandan Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 14.– 64 –


The majority of those interviewed believed that training is the best way to improve business andeconomic journalism in Uganda. “The biggest problem we have is training,” said one broadcastjournalist 175 ; “training, training, training,” emphasized a <strong>for</strong>mer reporter. 176Training programs available to business and economic journalists in UgandaNearly everyone interviewed said a lack of training was one of the biggest challenges <strong>for</strong> businessand economics reporters. Local training opportunities are rare, and many editors complained thateven university-educated journalists enter the job market lacking basic reporting and writing skills.The Uganda Management Institute, widely cited as the top journalism school in the country, recentlyclosed its journalism program due to lack of funding, and Makerere University offers no businessjournalism courses. Existing training opportunities <strong>for</strong> business journalists are so infrequent that anassociate editor <strong>for</strong> a weekly magazine said that as far as business and economic journalism goes,“you make it up as you go.” 177UniversitiesMakerere University in Kampala was widely cited as offering the best undergraduate degree programin journalism, though no specialized business courses are currently available. In 2008, theDepartment of Mass Communications hired a curriculum consultant, and the school is dividing thecurrent Bachelor of Mass Communications program into two degrees, one in communications andone in journalism. The department would like to encourage specialization in topical areas, includingenvironment, health, business and politics, but the director noted that school’s ability to offer thesetracks depends on the funding they receive from the university and on the expertise of the peoplethey are able to hire with that funding.Several of those interviewed said that the Uganda Management Institute used to have the bestjournalism degree program in the country, but that it closed recently due to a lack of funding.Additional universities offering degree programs in journalism include Kampala InternationalUniversity, Mbale University, Uganda Christian (Mukono) University and the Islamic University inUganda.Many editors and experienced journalists criticized recent graduates from Makerere and otheruniversities, however. New graduates “leave a lot to be desired,” said one broadcast reporter, and itcan take two to three years on the job <strong>for</strong> someone with a degree in journalism to developappropriate reporting and writing skills. 178 The business editor <strong>for</strong> a major daily said the best way toimprove the quality of business journalism in Uganda would be to improve university programs.Additional Training OpportunitiesFew organizations in Uganda offer specialized business journalism training opportunities. Severalreporters have attended workshops at the Capital Markets Authority and the Uganda SecurityExchange, and one editor said the Uganda Media Development Foundation offers free, one-daytrainings.175 Ugandan Interviewee #6. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.176 Ugandan Interviewee #2. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 5.177 Ugandan Interviewee #7. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.178 Ugandan Interviewee #6. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.– 65 –


The Daily Monitor and the New Vision offer their employees in-house training in general reportingskills. The Monitor occasionally sends reporters to Nairobi <strong>for</strong> short trainings with its parentcompany, the Nation Media Group.Impact on Reporting“I’m a changed person completely,” said a business editor at a major paper about his training withReuters. “Until the first training in London, I wasn’t thinking outside the box.” 179 An editor at aradio station described his ability to analyze business issues from a broader, more in<strong>for</strong>medperspective after attending an IIJ training, saying, “Be<strong>for</strong>e I went there, I was like a man who iswalking on the ground. But now I move in [a] helicopter.” 180 These sentiments were echoedrepeatedly by journalists who had attended trainings abroad, the majority of whom credited theirtraining experiences with helping them hone their reporting skills and with expanding theirknowledge of important business and economics issues.“Business is the most abused area” of journalism, said an associate editor at a weekly magazine, inthe sense that both readers and writers use terms like “inflation” without knowing exactly what itmeans or how it affects Uganda’s economy. 181 Trainings educate reporters on economic concepts,both basic and advanced, and both editors and journalists said that increasing the level of businessand economics knowledge through training had a direct positive impact on the quality of businessreporting. Journalists need the flexibility to apply concepts to different sectors, and trainings helpthem develop this skill so they can focus on complex issues instead of repeatedly asking the samebasic questions. One <strong>for</strong>mer editor who has worked at multiple media organizations said that thetrainings gave journalists the “confidence to tackle these [business] issues” that they had previouslyavoided. 182The trainings also helped reshape or further develop reporters’ approaches to business reporting andto journalism in general. One reporter <strong>for</strong> a major newspaper said the training “opened [trainees’]minds to the potential of business reporting,” teaching them how to be more creative in identifyingand sourcing business stories. 183 The in<strong>for</strong>mation on how to develop stories “is the one thing thathas remained” relevant since the training, said an editor who attended several years ago, and many ofthose interviewed continue to use the new sources introduced during the trainings, includingdatabases of economic in<strong>for</strong>mation, various business-focused web sites and other online tools. 184 Inaddition, the exposure to and interaction with concepts, organizations and people outside of Africawere invaluable to many reporters, helping them to place their work in a larger context.The most useful topics covered in the trainings, according to survey results, were business reporting(12 of 18 survey respondents ranked this as “very helpful”); economic development (9 respondents);and a tie between government budgets and fiscal spending, investigative reporting, stock markets,corporate reporting, macroeconomic indicators and online resources of economic in<strong>for</strong>mation (8respondents). In interviews, several journalists also mentioned ethics training and in<strong>for</strong>mation onhow to avoid corruption. Those who had received training in ethics said it helped them renew their179 Ugandan Interviewee #10. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.180 Ugandan Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 5.181 Ugandan Interviewee #7. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.182 Ugandan Interviewee #14. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 11.183 Ugandan Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.184 Ugandan Interviewee #10. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.– 66 –


commitment to their profession and encouraged them to write more thorough, better researchedstories.Impact on Media CommunityMany of those who had attended trainings abroad said that the connections they had made withcolleagues in other countries were one of the most valuable and long-lasting parts of their trainingexperiences. Ugandan journalists use online social networking tools, such as Google Groups andFacebook, to stay in touch with training colleagues and trainers, and they report that this has beenuseful both socially, as journalists are able to share their struggles and get input from others whohave been in similar situations, and professionally, as they share and help each other source stories.Impact on Career OpportunitiesOf the journalists interviewed, only four were promoted within their companies after attending atraining organized by an international media organization, and only three of these promotions wereaccompanied by an increase in pay. Three other journalists took jobs in other organizations: twowent to different media companies and a third now works as director of communications <strong>for</strong> acompany in the private sector.The business editor at a major daily said that some of the reporters he has sent to trainings havemoved from junior to senior reporting positions, and one became deputy editor. At another majornewspaper, the business editor said reporters are not generally promoted after the trainings becausehis newsroom lacks the appropriate structure <strong>for</strong> this. Many of the reporters he has sent to trainingsare still freelancers, but some have had their pay increased after trainings.Editors at several of Uganda’s smaller independent papers have seen some of their reporters leave<strong>for</strong> larger media companies after receiving training. One editor called his own paper a “trainingground” <strong>for</strong> Uganda’s major dailies and said that 25 percent of the staff at the Daily Monitor hadpassed through his company at some point in time. 185Criticisms of TrainingsWestern FocusThe majority of the criticisms Ugandan journalists had about their training experiences concernedwhat they felt was an overly Western or developed world approach. Several reporters mentionedthat the IIJ trainings they attended had included too many Western examples, particularly withrespect to corruption in government and businesses. A reporter at a daily paper said these examples“didn't help [him] at all.” 186 One associate editor at a major weekly magazine criticized the Reutersprogram because it “takes people away” from their home countries and treats participants “as ifjournalists in Malawi and journalists in South Africa had the same needs.” He remarked that the“only thing” business journalists in different African countries have in common is that they “bothget their stories from Reuters” and said that more localized trainings would help address countryspecificneeds. 187While trips to stock exchanges, banks and business were inspiring <strong>for</strong> some journalists, othersmentioned feeling frustrated after their trainings because they could not immediately apply what they185 Ugandan Interviewee #13. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 10.186 Ugandan Interviewee #12. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 9.187 Ugandan Interviewee #7. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.– 67 –


had learned abroad in the Uganda media environment. One editor described a field trip to a powerplant in Berlin. The plant was designed to be quiet enough to be located near apartments andoffices. The plant “blew [him] away,” but the trip was “useless” as an educational tool because “itwill be years <strong>for</strong> [Ugandans] to have something like that.” 188Program DesignSeveral participants reported feeling overwhelmed by the amount of in<strong>for</strong>mation they were expectedto digest during the training program. One reporter at a daily paper said she needed more time toprocess and practice what had been taught and that some colleagues were just “copying and pastingfrom the Internet” to complete their training assignments. 189 An editor from an independent weeklyagreed, “The course is big and it is compressed in a very short period of time.” 190Participant Selection and CostOne broadcast journalist said he believes training is the best way to overcome the challengesbusiness and economics journalists face, but he cautioned that the Ugandan government is currentlysponsoring a number of loyal reporters to go to trainings. These journalists return from the trainingsand are hired <strong>for</strong> editorial positions over those who have had less training but are perhaps, in hisview, more impartial journalists. 191 Cost can be a major obstacle to training, particularly <strong>for</strong> smallermedia organizations, and it is important to make sure that those who are sponsored by thegovernment are not the only ones who can attend international training programs.Some journalists also expressed a need <strong>for</strong> a better vetting process <strong>for</strong> training program participants.Several reported that many of their colleagues returned from trainings and failed to utilize the skillsthey had learned abroad. These journalists were frustrated and asked <strong>for</strong> more follow-up by trainingorganizers to ensure that those selected to attend make use of the trainings in their daily work.188 Ugandan Interviewee #19. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 14.189 Ugandan Interviewee #15. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 12.190 Ugandan Interviewee #13. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 10.191 Ugandan Interviewee #6. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.– 68 –


Notes on Conducting Research in UgandaPreparation <strong>for</strong> the January 2009 research trip to Uganda went smoothly, as our researcher, RebekahHeacock, had previously spent time in the country. During the trip, an hour or more each day wasspent calling contacts and arranging meetings, and five to six hours per day interviewing or travelingto interviews. This system worked well, and our researcher was able to meet with 20 current and<strong>for</strong>mer journalists and with the head of the Mass Communications Department at MakerereUniversity, Uganda's largest tertiary educational institution.Smaller than both Accra and Lagos, Kampala is comparatively easily navigable. Still, traffic can beproblematic at times, and transportation proved to be the biggest expense: fuel prices in the countryrose during the Kenyan post-election crisis in late 2007/early 2008 and have yet to go back down,making transportation costs higher than expected. Our researcher was familiar with the city, and shewas able to use reliable motorcycle taxi drivers <strong>for</strong> the bulk of her transport, cutting both taxi costsand transportation times.The majority of respondents were eager to help with the project, though some meetings were rusheddue to interviewees' schedules. The written survey caused the most difficulty, and our team membermade several revisions in the field to make the questions and <strong>for</strong>mat easier <strong>for</strong> interviewees tounderstand.– 69 –


Recommendations– 70 –


Recommendations <strong>for</strong> Revenue Watch InstituteSummary of RecommendationsOur research team has compiled recommendations <strong>for</strong> potential trainings in business and extractivesjournalism based on our extensive interviews and survey results. While we expected to only gatherrecommendations <strong>for</strong> training programs, our research convinced us of the importance of otherfactors in improving business journalism in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. Journalists often citedtraining as a key strategy, however, training will not alone solve the challenges these journalists face,and we have included country-specific non-training recommendations below as well.In terms of business journalism trainings, we found that most recommendations are specific to eachenvironment, while a few are relevant to holding trainings in all three countries. These commonthemes include:• Provide both local and international perspectives• Offer financial assistance to make attendance feasible• Incorporate reporting skills training• Follow up with training participantsRecommendations <strong>for</strong> NigeriaRecommendations <strong>for</strong> Trainings in NigeriaLength of TrainingsIn terms of length, there was disagreement among our interviewees in Nigeria as to whethertrainings should be a few days, a few weeks or several months. The benefit of shorter trainings,perhaps two to three days, is that they are less of a burden on the schedules of working journalists.Yet, most journalists interviewed felt that two to three days is not enough time to leave a longlastingimpression and ensure behavioral change. They said it is too easy to go back to work andcontinue doing their work as they had be<strong>for</strong>e the training, without incorporating what they hadlearned. Longer trainings, with more sustained contact, were more likely to produce incorporation ofnew skills and knowledge. Learning requires repetition. There<strong>for</strong>e, we recommend that trainings belonger than two to three days, and sustain contact with the new material and education in some <strong>for</strong>m<strong>for</strong> several months. The School of Media and Communications’ two-month Business and EconomicReporting course and IIJ’s two-month Economic and Financial Reporting course provide twoeffective models <strong>for</strong> longer trainings.Another opportunity <strong>for</strong> providing longer training with sustained contact would be to have asummer program to enhance the study of university students, which Professor Nwuneli concurredwould be viable <strong>for</strong> undergraduate students. 192 He said it is very common <strong>for</strong> those students to “justsit on the couch in the summer,” rather than fully utilizing their time. To be able to participate,students would need transportation and a small stipend. However, as <strong>for</strong> master’s students, Nwunelisaid 75 percent are working while taking courses, and would not have time.192 Emman Onuora Nwuneli. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.– 71 –


Extending TrainingsDevcoms provides a good model <strong>for</strong> how to lengthen trainings and increase behavioral change.Akin Jimoh said that there is a need <strong>for</strong> continuous mentoring alongside of training, with a longterminterpersonal relationship between the trainer and trainee. 193 Lanre Arogundade recommendedthat trainings should also be extended through materials. This includes producing training materialson CD-ROMs, and not just printed versions of them, so that journalists can share these materials.Another way to continue training is to create online “discussion <strong>for</strong>ums.” 194 Devcoms does this,posing a question of the week <strong>for</strong> journalists respond to and discuss, addressing an aspect ofjournalism, such as a particular challenge they are facing.Size of TrainingsThe size of the trainings interviewees participated in averaged 20 to 30 trainees. This appears to bethe norm, no matter which organization is doing the training. It could be a function of spaceconstraints; the facilities in places like the School of Media and Communications and theInternational Press Centre, where trainings are frequently held, are classrooms that holdapproximately this number of people. Trainings of this size are also beneficial because they providetrainees an opportunity <strong>for</strong> two-way discussion, in addition to lectures, which facilitates a valuableexchange of ideas. Many of our interviewees not only cited this as one of the key benefits of thesetrainings; they also emphasized the value of having trainees from more than one media house. Thisexpanded their network, within Nigeria and internationally, exposing them to different practices andtechniques. Such exposure to new practices played an important role in their ability to change andimprove their own methods as journalists.Training TechniquesThe trainings in Nigeria should focus on utilizing a diverse range of techniques, including lectures,workshops, field assignments, field trips and two-way discussion. Our interviews revealed that thereis not universal agreement on which of these works best, though none were flatly rejected as beingunhelpful. Our survey revealed that 87.5 percent of respondents reported seminars 195 to be “veryeffective.” Fifty percent of respondents said that they found lectures 196 to be “very effective,” while25 percent found them “fairly effective.” Regarding workshops 197 , 56.3 percent said they were “veryeffective,” and 25 percent said they were “fairly effective.” The conclusion is that, while seminarsare considered the most effective style of teaching, each of these styles should be incorporated intotrainings. Moreover, none of these techniques should necessarily be excluded as ineffective giventhat there was almost no response against them (0 percent found any of the three “very ineffective,”and only 12.5 percent said that lectures and workshops were “fairly ineffective”).What is more important is who is doing the teaching and what approach that person is taking. Thosedoing the training should primarily be people who have worked as journalists. Far too often, thetrainings done in Nigeria, particularly those by the CBN and the Stock Exchange, are done by193 Akin Jimoh. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.194 Lanre Arogundade. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 16.195 Seminars were defined as trainings in which trainers and students interact in active discussion.196 Lectures were defined as trainings in which trainers were the only ones speaking.197 Workshops were defined as trainings in which students were able to practice their learned skills in reporting.– 72 –


people who have no journalism background. Akin Jimoh recommended that trainings be led byexperienced business journalists and media specialists. 198However, there are benefits to recruiting a mix of trainers and presenters who are not strictlyjournalists. In fact, we heard from several in our sample who said that they would like more peoplefrom the business community to speak at trainings. This would give journalists an opportunity tolearn about the complexities of various industries and the challenges they face, from the insiderperspective. Since many journalists lack finance training, according to one <strong>for</strong>mer journalist nowworking in a bank, they do not fully understand the intricacies of the companies they cover or theimplications of what they write. 199 Jimoh also recommended bringing in development experts, suchas representatives from the United Nations Development Program. 200.The other training technique issue is whether to employ a conceptual style versus a practical style.The education journalists receive in university tends to be very conceptual, with very little practicaltraining, as is also the case of the trainings conducted by organizations like the CBN and the StockExchange. Journalists have very little exposure to hands-on training, on the whole, and wouldbenefit greatly from trainings of this kind. It is important, though, not to strictly deviate from theconceptual side of training. Dean Emevmo Biakolo, of the School of Media and Communications,recommended mixing academic teaching with practical skills, which is what he finds many editors inNigeria are looking <strong>for</strong>. 201Trainings <strong>for</strong> Editors and PublishersTrainings should not be <strong>for</strong> journalists alone; they should also include editors and publishers. Thiswill raise their understanding of the business issues their journalists are covering. According to thejournalists we spoke with, the majority of their editors have had little business reporting training.Training editors and publishers will also increase the likelihood that they will allow their journaliststo adopt their new skills resulting from trainings, as the knowledge of business reporting spreads.Devcoms, <strong>for</strong> example, holds trainings <strong>for</strong> editors so that they can better understand certain beatsand identify false and biased stories. These trainings also update editors on the latest trends in thesector. Furthermore, Joke Omotunde of the United States Consulate Public Affairs Section in Lagossaid that journalists often tell her that their trainings should teach editors and publishers tounderstand the importance and benefit of increasing journalists’ pay. 202Funding <strong>for</strong> TrainingsIn order to ensure that Nigerian journalists will utilize trainings, it will be important to remove thecost barrier to attending. Media houses have very limited resources to pay <strong>for</strong> training, and severaljournalists noted that it is the first thing to go in times of economic downturn. If possible,journalists should have these trainings provided to them without cost. Otherwise, it will greatlydecrease the likelihood of journalists attending.198 Akin Jimoh. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.199 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.200 Akin Jimoh. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.201 Emevmo Biakolo. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 14.202 Joke Omotunde. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 8.– 73 –


LocationThe location of trainings plays an important role. We received very mixed reviews from journalistsabout whether trainings should be held in the city where the journalists work or should require themto travel within their country. Holding trainings so that journalists do not have to travel is certainlycheaper, and allows journalists to tend to their responsibilities outside of work. However, manyjournalists felt that in order to be effective, trainings should be held somewhere away from thedistractions of everyday life. Distance also makes it possible <strong>for</strong> journalists to experience somethingoutside of their normal reality; said one <strong>for</strong>mer journalist, “the more you travel, the more you bringback to your newspaper.” 203 On the other hand, holding trainings that require travel come with someconstraints. First, it can be very difficult <strong>for</strong> journalists to pay to travel to these trainings out of theirown pockets. Second, traveling <strong>for</strong> trainings can take journalists away from their jobs, especially <strong>for</strong>extended trainings, which can affect their income in turn. For these reasons, it is recommended that,<strong>for</strong> trainings requiring travel, the training organization should cover trainee expenses. If the trainingis extended beyond a few days, the organization should also consider providing some <strong>for</strong>m ofcompensation <strong>for</strong> lost income, such as a stipend.There is also the issue of choosing between local and regional trainings. Local trainings – holdingtrainings in Nigeria and restricting them to Nigerian journalists – would certainly make it easier totarget the training needs specific to Nigeria, and would be a cheaper way to maximize the number ofNigerian journalists who could attend the trainings. However, it is important to consider significantbenefits that can come with holding regional trainings, in which journalists from multiple countriesmeet in one setting. The journalists we spoke to who had gone to regional trainings said thesetrainings had helped them in at least two important ways. First, they helped to expand their networkof journalist contacts, which they tapped into <strong>for</strong> in<strong>for</strong>mation and perspectives <strong>for</strong> stories fromabroad. Second, they gave them a chance to broaden their own perspectives on how journalistsconduct their work in other countries, and place their work in the international context of theseissues. Given that each type of training – local and regional – provides its own unique benefits, it isour recommendation that opportunities <strong>for</strong> both local and regional trainings be built into theprogram when designing trainings to assist Nigerian journalists.Suggested Training TopicsTraining on Trends and AnalysisTrainings, according to a vast majority of people in our sample, need to focus on predicting trends.According to a <strong>for</strong>mer journalist, journalists in Nigeria are good on basics, but really need to be ableto dig deeper into their stories, analyze the material to see and <strong>for</strong>ecast trends and understand theimplications of their reporting. 204 A Guardian journalist argued that journalists should be able touncover the factors that lead to an event, rather than just reporting that it happened, to “get thestory behind the story.” He said that journalists who report in this way are considered the best inthe industry. 205A journalist with The Punch pointed to the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, who he said hadclaimed that there was no recession in Nigeria resulting from the global financial crisis and that therewill not be in the future. “But why will it not come to Nigeria when it has hit the world capitols?”this journalist asked. He said journalists need to learn how to answer questions like this. “CNN203 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.204 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.205 Nigerian Interviewee #1. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.– 74 –


analyzes business,” he said, “even politics. You saw the analysis just be<strong>for</strong>e the November election.You saw clearly who was going to win where. I have never seen such fantastic predictions. And itcame to pass! But in Nigeria it does not happen. And it will not happen maybe in our generationbecause they prefer to lie. If we had analytical journalists, it wouldn’t matter what they think. Andwhen it happens, they will be heard by society. Look at CNN, look at Real Clear Politics. Fantasticanalysis, and it doesn’t fail.” 206A key component of reporting on trends and per<strong>for</strong>ming analysis is teaching journalists how tomonitor these stories over time and write follow ups. The tendency now is <strong>for</strong> journalists to focusmore on grabbing the latest headline of a breaking story. This makes it difficult <strong>for</strong> journalists to beable to detect patterns in industries and government budgeting, and uncover not just wrongdoingbut also report what is missing.Training on Monitoring BudgetsTraining should teach journalists how to identify corruption by monitoring budgets. According toLanre Arogundade, journalists need be trained to read budgets and compare them to those of theprevious year. Moreover, trainings should include cases of how budgets and corruption aremonitored and reported in other countries to give journalists an international perspective.Arogundade said that, “I think it is partly a lack of analytical skills. But it is also a problem o<strong>for</strong>ientation. We’re used to just fast news, fast issues. We don’t really go behind the news. Corruptionin Nigeria is largely linked to the budget process. You need a business reporter that will do ananalysis on the lifespan of a laptop – why must we buy new ones every year <strong>for</strong> the samegovernment departments? These are critical elements in the budgetary process that we rarely talkabout. The focus is not there. If you have an objective, then it guides what you tell your reporters todo. What I don’t see is <strong>for</strong> that middle class element, that average person, that puts his money in thestock market, <strong>for</strong> him what does this global financial crisis mean?” 207Additional Training TopicsThere are a number of specific topics in business and economics reporting which should beconsidered <strong>for</strong> training. Professor Utomi recommended covering corporate governance, mergersand acquisitions, and the concept of shareholder value and company valuation. 208 Our surveyreported the following topics as “very helpful” to journalists’ ability to report on economic issues(with the percentage of respondents): 209• Government budgets - 70%• International trade – 65%• Economic Development – 70%• Business Reporting - 89.5%• Stock Markets – 63.2%206 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.207 Lanre Arogundade. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 16.208 Patrick Utomi. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.209 It is important to note that investigative reporting was found to be “very helpful” by only 50% of our surveyrespondents. This is significant <strong>for</strong> those considering trainings on this topic. While our research did not examine theavailability and impact of investigative reporting training specifically, we have found this topic to be popular amonginternational journalism training organizations. Thus, it is possible that investigative reporting training alone might notbe as helpful to raising transparency through journalism as popularly perceived, and warrants further study.– 75 –


• Macro-economic indicators – 63.2%• Online resources of economic in<strong>for</strong>mation – 70%Chart 4: Number of Nigerian journalists ranking the above training topicsas “very helpful” to their careersThere were a number of topics respondents said were not covered in their trainings, further reflectingtopics which should be considered <strong>for</strong> future trainings:• Accounting – 52.6%• Economics of extractive industries – 47.4%• Corporate finance – 63.2%• Retail companies – 63.2%• New media/new technology – 65%There is also a pressing need to train journalists on development issues. As a developing country,Nigeria is closely involved with the programs and policies of international development institutionslike the World Bank and the IMF. However, business journalists in Nigeria have relatively littleaccess to training (save <strong>for</strong> programs like the IIJ’s) on how these institutions work towards povertyreduction, the politics that influence their policies, and how to analyze the implementation of theseprograms. There<strong>for</strong>e, if journalists are going to monitor their development work and report back tothe public, it is vital that they receive trainings in this area.Training on Relating Economic Reporting to ReadershipCoverage of economics and business in Nigeria tends to be hard <strong>for</strong> average people to relate to. Thisdiscourages average people from being able to truly comprehend the causes and effects of theseindustries. Journalists should be encouraged to use less technical language – which they often usewithout understanding, but still wanting to appear knowledgeable to gain respect – and shouldexplain these terms in their reporting.– 76 –


A journalist with The Punch said, “The majority of newspapers just report press releases because theissues at stake, which you should break down <strong>for</strong> the general understanding of the average reader,they have not done that properly. How do you explain GDP to the average reader? They don’t, theyjust write ‘GDP,’ that’s all. As a business reporter who has the interest of the reader at heart, there’sa way that you break them down so that the average reader should be able to read and appreciate it.There’s no explanation, nothing. When they interpret the stock exchange, ’Closing index,’ ‘openingpoint.’ You need to come down to the level of the reader. It is so you don’t know anything at theend of the day. We have not reached a point where we are taking our readers into consideration.” 210Training on Watchdog JournalismTrainings <strong>for</strong> journalists in Nigeria should incorporate a segment on journalists’ rights and how toadvocate <strong>for</strong> them. “The greatest asset that one should have is enlightenment,” said a journalist withThe Punch. Ignorance is a big problem. Exposing journalists to the rudiments of transparency, ofadvocacy, would open their eyes, to know what you are entitled to, what are your rights. When youknow that, you will be able to demand. Training is empowerment. If you are empowered, you will beable to know what to do. It emboldens you, you will not be afraid.” 211In addition to being familiar with the legal aspects of journalism, there is a need to strengthen theability of Nigerian journalists to hold their government accountable. The same journalist at The Punchsaid that training journalists to think of themselves as watchdogs will help. “Being properly trainedand properly remunerated an amount that will enable them to resist any temptation to play down orto mortgage their conscience [is essential]. The watchdog role enables you to ‘publish and bedamned.’ When you publish and be damned, it should be so truthful that you damn theconsequences. I am a poor journalist today because I have refused to take sides, and collect. Weneed such journalists in Nigeria. We are not many.” 212Training on Journalism as a ProfessionIt is very common <strong>for</strong> Nigerian journalists to think of their profession either as a stepping stone to abetter paying job in another industry, or merely as a means of survival. Any training should presentand rein<strong>for</strong>ce journalism as a profession. According to a journalist from The Punch, “Four out of tenjournalists today enter the trade fully aware of why they are journalists, and they know thatjournalism is a tool <strong>for</strong> liberation and to trans<strong>for</strong>m society. The rest, they are just streaming intojournalism as a refuge. Their ambition is not there.” 213Training on New MediaGiven the severe lack of New Media training in Nigeria available to journalists, and the tremendousfuture ramifications this could have <strong>for</strong> Nigerian journalism, any training should feature a NewMedia component. Most online versions of Nigerian newspapers are just that – online versions ofthe newspaper. According to one <strong>for</strong>mer journalist, this is because most Nigerian newspapers do noteven have an online editor. 214 Newspapers are not customized <strong>for</strong> the unique qualities of themedium. Training on how to write <strong>for</strong> New Media would help to change that. This <strong>for</strong>mer journalist210 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.211 Ibid.212 Ibid.213 Ibid.214 Nigerian Interviewee #5. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery and Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.– 77 –


we spoke with recommended trainings like one he attended with the BBC in Nigeria on onlinepublishing, featuring instruction in online-style writing style.Training should include how to set up and write <strong>for</strong> blogs to give journalists the ability not only towrite <strong>for</strong> New Media, but also to fully utilize these tools and compete with other journalists aroundthe globe who are doing so already. “If you see 100 journalists in Nigeria,” said a journalist with ThePunch, “those who have blogs would not be up to ten. I’ve been asking. I’ve even tried to help themset up blogs.” In fact, this journalist said that when he talks about HTML with his colleagues, theystare at him and have no idea what he is talking about. It was his assessment that teaching them howto blog, and use other New Media tools, is “very, very important. In fact, I think it is indispensable.It is something that should be pursued earnestly.” 215Non-Training Recommendations <strong>for</strong> NigeriaSupplemental Funding <strong>for</strong> Media CoverageIf media houses in Nigeria are going to promote transparency of extractives, it is vital that theybecome businesses that can sustain themselves, and overcome the tremendous commercial pressuresand capital constraints they face. In reporting on business and economics, they risk losingadvertising revenue that they cannot af<strong>for</strong>d to lose. If they report something their top advertisersdon’t like, those companies can pull their advertising, crippling the media houses and making it verydifficult <strong>for</strong> them to promote transparency.Moreover, it is very common <strong>for</strong> media to not be able to pay their journalists adequately. Nearlyninety-five percent of journalists in our survey said that low pay was a “very important” challengethey face as business journalists; ten percentage points higher than the next highest challenge listedat “very important,” which was the lack of a Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation bill. Unless media outlets canincrease their revenues and improve the sustainability of their businesses, they face the threat oftheir more qualified journalists leaving <strong>for</strong> other industries. “Because the media are not strongfinancially,” said a stringer <strong>for</strong> The New York Times, “they find it is also hard to keep their very finehands. A lot of them drift away to banks, oil companies, or telecommunications. They do not havethe funds to keep them.” 216 Providing resources to overcome these issues could play a significantrole in promoting media as a source of transparency.As Professor Utomi posited, without improvements to the business of media, and raising the pay ofjournalists, training may not be the answer. 217 Any solution should take into account how to addressthe business end of media.This can be done in a few ways. One, through investment in media houses themselves, in terms ofthings like capital and infrastructure. Nigerian media, like much of the media in West Africa, faceshigh costs of production; the current global financial crisis and the drop in oil prices threaten todeplete media further. As banks and oil companies – critical to the Nigerian economy andadvertising revenue <strong>for</strong> Nigerian media – see their own revenues dry up, it is very likely they willhave less to spend on advertising.215 Nigerian Interviewee #4. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 13.216 Nigerian Interviewee #24. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 16.217 Patrick Utomi. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.– 78 –


The Media Foundation <strong>for</strong> West Africa (MFWA) is already working to address these issues. Thisorganization is spearheading a fund called the West African Media Development Fund (WAMDEF).According to MFWA’s website, “The Fund is conceived as an open-ended loans and investmentsscheme targeting small and medium-sized media organizations that are substantially owned andmanaged on a full-time basis by private media investors and which operate in any part of theECOWAS region.” 218 According to Kwame Karikari, Executive Director of MWFA, “The idea is tohalt the tendency <strong>for</strong> media businesses to collapse. You know, many newspapers are shrinking, andsome might go under in the coming year or coming years. Of course they can’t have access to thebanks; the banks don’t really finance media investments, so this is the premise to support them.” 219The WAMDEF fund will draw from the consultation and support of media owners andrepresentatives of banks and other financial institutions from across West Africa and internationally.With so many prominent organizations involved in this fund, it is our recommendation that anyorganization wishing to provide capital assistance to media in Nigeria consider supportingWAMDEF.Two, funding should be directed at journalists to cover their salaries and expenses. In addition,grants <strong>for</strong> investigative reporting assignments could help overcome the tendency journalists have toreport breaking news rather than pursuing deeper, more investigative stories. These stories tend tobe considerably more expensive <strong>for</strong> journalists and media houses.And finally, journalists in Nigeria should have training on finding and securing opportunities <strong>for</strong>funding. One type of funding would be <strong>for</strong> reporting a story, such as an investigative report, thatwould require them to travel and develop the story over a long period of time. A second type offunding would be <strong>for</strong> fellowships that pay <strong>for</strong> training opportunities and travel. Devcoms providesan example of this, organizing a seminar that focuses on fellowship opportunities and explains howjournalists can apply, including essay writing advice. Akin Jimoh felt that trainings should end withsuch a session, focusing on future ways journalists can continue to improve their craft. He said thattrainings should also reward the best trainees with a prize, like a paid fellowship where they canattend a longer training. 220 As a stringer <strong>for</strong> The New York Times said, “to do a story in the Delta costsa lot of money. The New York Times can pay <strong>for</strong> someone to travel to cover a story, but not localmedia. The capital base is not so strong.” 221It was very common in our research to come across journalists who would like to study abroad,particularly in pursuit of graduate degrees. There<strong>for</strong>e, it would be very beneficial to these journaliststo be presented with in<strong>for</strong>mation on these kinds of opportunities, and how best to approach them.AdvocacyAdvocating <strong>for</strong> legal re<strong>for</strong>m has the potential of significantly impacting the media’s ability topromote transparency in Nigeria. This can take many <strong>for</strong>ms including advocating <strong>for</strong> passage of theFreedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation (FOI) bill by the government. As there is currently no law requiringgovernment officials to provide in<strong>for</strong>mation, there is no legal mechanism <strong>for</strong> journalists to rely on in218 Media Foundation <strong>for</strong> West Africa, “Media Foundation Hosts Roundtable”,http://www.mediafound.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=288&lang=en219 Kwame Karikari. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. New York City, New York, March 16.220 Akin Jimoh. 2009. Interview by Adriana Diaz. Lagos, Nigeria, January 12.221 Nigerian Interviewee #24. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 16.– 79 –


obtaining it. In Nigeria, this can come from FOI advocacy groups, like Open Society Institute WestAfrica (OSIWA) and Media Rights Agenda, a Nigerian NGO.The importance of legal re<strong>for</strong>m is further reflected in our survey results. Eighty-four percent ofrespondents said that the lack of a Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation bill was a “very important” challengethey face in reporting on economic and business issues. When asked which <strong>for</strong>ms of promotingtransparency of government revenues from extractive industries were “very important,” the matterof legal re<strong>for</strong>m ranked among the highest percentages:• Require companies to publish what they pay to government – 100%• Require local government to be more open about how they spend their money – 87.5%• Promote greater freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mation – 100%• Promote legal re<strong>for</strong>m and government adherence to laws – 87.5%However, while many journalists see the potential benefits of an FOI bill, it is not conclusive thatpassing it will make a significant difference automatically. For example, one <strong>for</strong>mer journalist saidthat the better solution is training, “because it is the journalist’s job to seek in<strong>for</strong>mation. Whetheryou provide him that access or not, his basic training teaches him to get that in<strong>for</strong>mation one way orthe other. So the FOI bill just enhances that function…Train the journalists to fish out the stories,and deliver them excellently and professionally. Most of them have the stories and they don’t knowthey have them. There is a huge gap between what we do and what we should be doing.” 222 Manyinterviewees said that journalists occasionally use the lack of an FOI bill as a crutch <strong>for</strong> not diggingdeeper into stories.Kwame Karikari of the Media Foundation <strong>for</strong> West Africa agreed that advocacy <strong>for</strong> the FOI bill isnot enough. “In Nigeria… I would put 75 percent of my resources into training and 25 percent intoadvocacy <strong>for</strong> legislation,” he said. “Because all the groundwork is done, there is nothing new to bedone about the legislation. The drafts are there. The coalitions know what they want. There’snothing new to add to the work that they are doing. Perhaps resources will help them deepen andexpand advocacy activities. But even if the law were passed, media and other citizen organizationswould still need training on how to utilize the legislation, and conducting their investigation to makebetter use of the legislation. Both can go hand in hand.” 223Advocating <strong>for</strong> governments to publish what they earn in revenues from extractive industries, andextractive companies to publish what they pay to governments, is another <strong>for</strong>m of advocacy thatcould have significant impact in Nigeria. In our survey, 85 percent of respondents who had coveredextractive industries said that promoting legal re<strong>for</strong>m and government adherence to laws is “veryimportant” to promoting transparency of government revenues from extractives.Recommendations <strong>for</strong> GhanaRecommendations <strong>for</strong> Trainings in Ghana222 Nigerian Interviewee #20. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. Lagos, Nigeria, January 15.223 Kwame Karikari. 2009. Interview by Ben Colmery. New York City, New York, March 16.– 80 –


Length of TrainingRoughly three-quarters of the journalists interviewed in Ghana who had participated in substantialjournalism programs said that they preferred longer-term training programs. Journalists said thatlonger-term programs, such as IIJ’s three-month training, allowed them to immerse themselves inthe course material. Shorter-term programs, while helpful <strong>for</strong> very specific topics, often felt rushed.When asked whether longer-term programs might take good journalists away from the action <strong>for</strong>too long, most everyone said that as long as the programs are scheduled and planned ahead of time,this would not cause any problems. None of the journalists interviewed in Ghana mentioned anyconcerns about loss of income during the training period.A handful of journalists felt that shorter-term programs are sometimes better because they are easierto incorporate into busy work schedules. Other journalists were simply practical about the trainingprograms on offer. Ama Achia, with Public Agenda, said that while she tried to take advantage of asmany programs as possible, many programs simply weren’t worth her time. For Achia, the length ofthe program is irrelevant as long as she is learning something useful. The IIJ program, Achiaexplained, was full of in<strong>for</strong>mation and practical training, and thus worth the time, even the threemonths spent abroad without salary.Training Follow-UpA common suggestion offered by journalists in Ghana was to add some sort of follow-up in thetraining program. Many journalists regretted that the IIJ program, <strong>for</strong> instance, did not include anysubstantive follow-up. Journalists seemed to want a follow-up component in which trainers wouldcheck in on participants, comment on their work, and be available <strong>for</strong> consultation.Many journalists also expressed a desire to see more on-going training programs that stick withjournalists over a substantial period of time beyond an initial training. These journalists felt thatbuilding up a strong core of journalists might be better <strong>for</strong> Ghanaian journalism than training alarger number of journalists.Financial AssistanceOther more specific suggestions made by several interviewees included the addition of asponsorship program which would provide some sort of funding or grant to training participants tohelp them pursue stories related to the training upon their return to the news desk. Rayborn Bulley,a veteran journalist and trainer with the Accra-based Institute <strong>for</strong> Financial and EconomicJournalism (IFEJ), said that he would like training programs to include a certification process. Hesaid that those editors who might be reluctant to send their best journalists off to a long trainingprogram might be more willing to bless their participation if such programs included certification.Training DesignSamuel Ablordeppey, of the Daily Graphic, also suggested that a training program like IIJ’s wouldbe improved if during the training journalists were set up with a media outfit outside of Ghana. Hesuggested that in a three-month program, perhaps the last month might involve some sort ofintensive internship-like component.Interestingly, the editors, academics, and NGO staffers interviewed all felt strongly that a goodtraining program needed to benefit from the participation of Ghana’s veteran journalists. Ghanadoes apparently have some very good veteran journalists, several of whom were interviewed <strong>for</strong> thisproject. These veteran journalists have also had a lot of experience in the very fields in which the– 81 –


younger journalists interviewed struggled, including the extractive industries. Two of the veteranjournalists interviewed had been reporting on the mining industry <strong>for</strong> decades and seemed to knowhow to extract in<strong>for</strong>mation about the notoriously controlled industry, and write a comprehensivemining story. Such experience is extremely valuable and should be utilized in any potential trainingsbased in Ghana.A couple of journalists interviewed said that they were wary of attending trainings in which the hostor funding organization had an obvious position or bias on the subject of the training. Thesejournalists said that whether an oil company or a mining area community group was leading thetraining, they would be skeptical of its intended objectives.Chart 5: Number of journalists in Ghana ranking the above training topics as“very helpful” to their careersTraining LocationOn that note, the location of the program is an important component. Location is not as importanta consideration <strong>for</strong> a broad training program, such as IIJ’s Economic and Financial Reportingprogram, which covers numerous topics in an introductory manner. However, it would seem thatGhana would benefit greatly from a more focused program that is hosted within the country. Thisway the program could focus on West African and/or Ghanaian issues that are specific to theregion. In addition, such a program could bring some of Ghana’s best young journalists together inone place, which would encourage the development of a professional core of business and economicjournalists in the country. A local program would also benefit greatly by being able to partner withexisting institutions with relevant and shared missions, such as the Accra-based Institute <strong>for</strong>Financial and Economic Journalism. Of course, a local training program would also be cheaper toorganize and implement, <strong>for</strong> both the organization funding and/or hosting the training, and thejournalists themselves. Finally, such a program could allow journalists to continue working <strong>for</strong> theirmedia houses, perhaps on a part-time basis, or in a manner in which they are only publishing articleswritten as a result of the training program.That said, many journalists were very positive about the advantages of trainers from other countries,particularly seasoned, specialized journalists. A domestic training program in the extractive– 82 –


industries, <strong>for</strong> instance, ought to bring in external resources and veteran <strong>for</strong>eign journalists familiarwith the issues.Training on the Extractive IndustriesAs previously discussed, the extractive industries present a wide range of challenges to journalists.Many journalists said that specialized training on how to cover the extractives would be the best wayto improve coverage of this sector. Notably, none of the more substantive training programs (IIJ,WBI, Reuters) cover the extractive industries in any depth. The three-month IIJ program, <strong>for</strong>example, allots only two days to the subject. Thus there is a real and urgent need <strong>for</strong> a substantialextractive industries training program <strong>for</strong> Ghanaian journalists, particularly as Ghana’s nascent oilindustry develops. Veteran journalist Francis Kokutse said that "a major impediment to bettercoverage of the extractives is simply getting journalists interested in the industry," which anextractives training could accomplish. Kokutse said he was surprised that so few of his journalistcolleagues were interested in the West African Gas Pipeline Project, a major regional infrastructureinitiative.Non-Training Recommendations <strong>for</strong> GhanaAccess to In<strong>for</strong>mationAll of the journalists interviewed <strong>for</strong> this project agreed that access to in<strong>for</strong>mation is a majorobstacle to good reporting in Ghana, particularly on business and economic matters. As previouslyexplained, in<strong>for</strong>mation is often hoarded by both the private sector and Ghanaian governmentagencies. Without improved access to in<strong>for</strong>mation, Ghana’s media will have great difficulty in itsfurther development.Ghana’s 1992 constitution, which ushered in an era of democracy and rule of law after years ofrepressive government, guarantees a “Right to In<strong>for</strong>mation.” 224 However, this right to in<strong>for</strong>mationonly receives lip service from the government, and not the en<strong>for</strong>cement that it deserves under thelaw. Christian Okerlie, of the Ghana News Agency, said that while NGOs are ready to providein<strong>for</strong>mation and are very <strong>for</strong>thcoming, “the problem is with the government.” “If you want to crosscheckfacts with the government,” Okerlie said, “it becomes very difficult.”A Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Act, based on similar laws in the United States and the United Kingdom,is currently pending within Ghana’s parliament. If passed, the new law will, according to itschampions, greatly improve the media’s access to government in<strong>for</strong>mation, including budgets,royalty agreements with extractive companies, and national economic indicators. However, the Acthas been on the government’s docket <strong>for</strong> more than six years, and has yet to be brought to a vote inparliament. 225 Ghanaian civil society appears to have put its weight behind passage of the bill, withprominent organizations like the Media Foundation <strong>for</strong> West Africa advocating <strong>for</strong> its passage, butthe reluctant government has stalled the bill at every opportunity.224 “Public in<strong>for</strong>mation belongs to the people: Give it out!,” Ghana News Agency, 14 April 2009:http://www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=8402&section=7.225 Prof Lungu, “Right to In<strong>for</strong>mation Bill & Politics in Ghana,” GhanaWeb, 9 October 2007:http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/features/artikel.php?ID=130395.– 83 –


Support, financial and political, <strong>for</strong> freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mation legislation should be a priority <strong>for</strong> anyorganization, <strong>for</strong>eign or otherwise, hoping to improve Ghana’s media. It would appear that with therecent election of a new government in Ghana the time is right <strong>for</strong> a renewed push <strong>for</strong> passage ofthe bill, be<strong>for</strong>e the government becomes weighed down by the various interests intent on keepingthe bill’s passage indefinitely postponed.Supplemental funding <strong>for</strong> media coverageMany journalists and non-journalists interviewed suggested that some sort of sponsorship programor journalism fund should be established to improve media coverage in Ghana. As previously noted,journalists’ lack of resources is a major impediment to good media coverage in Ghana. Even editorssuch as The Daily Guide’s Fortune Alimi regretted that his newspaper often does not have the fundsto send his journalists out into the field, especially to places like the mining areas and to whereGhana’s oil has been discovered. According to Alimi, The Daily Guide simply does not have themoney to pay <strong>for</strong> journalists’ travel and expenses, although he wishes he could fund such trips.Most of the recommendations <strong>for</strong> a program to provide funding <strong>for</strong> media coverage fell into threebroad schemes:1. The creation of a fund that journalists could apply to <strong>for</strong> funding <strong>for</strong> a particular businessstory or series of stories;2. The establishment of some sort of sponsorship program which would work with ajournalism-training institution (like the GIJ) or specific media outlets and fund affiliatedjournalists to pursue themes and stories in an area of reporting that is currently lacking suchas the extractive industries;3. The direct financial support and establishment of media outlets along the lines of the NGOfundedPublic Agenda, which could target specific issues like the extractive industries.Optimally, one of these schemes could be developed in tandem with the creation of a business andeconomic journalism training program. Graduates of a new training program in the extractiveindustries, <strong>for</strong> instance, could then apply to a fund dedicated to covering costs <strong>for</strong> stories on miningor the oil industry. Many journalists complained that while they learned a great deal on their trainingprograms, they often couldn’t pursue stories they wanted to after the program ended because theirnews organization simply couldn’t fund such endeavors.Anas Anas, editor with the Crusading Guide, said that while sponsorship programs are useful, theyhave potential downsides as well, particularly if the funding organization has a stake in the issue athand. Anas said that if a story that attacks an oil company is funded, directly or indirectly, by anorganization that advocates <strong>for</strong> environmental issues, it could undermine the story. The oil companymight ‘cry foul,’ and fight back with much greater resources and public relations campaigns,ultimately damaging the report’s credibility. That said, <strong>for</strong> now, the oil and mining companies seemto participate in their own sponsorship in the media as it is. Even if an organization perceived to be"biased" funded advocacy journalism, it would probably only serve to balance out the current stateof affairs, rather than discredit a media that many journalists said was already “bought off.”Finally, there is the model represented by Public Agenda, the hard-hitting public interest newspaperfunded by the Ghanaian-NGO ISODEC. Public Agenda was established precisely as a way to getstories out into the public realm about issues important to Ghanaian civil society that weren’t– 84 –


otherwise being published in the private and state-funded media. While non-profit funding of anewspaper may not be a sustainable enterprise, it does seem to work to some degree.Many interviewees said that Public Agenda was the only publication in Ghana to pursue certainstories, particularly those that might threaten the private sector and there<strong>for</strong>e jeopardize a privatenewspaper’s advertising revenues or directly confront the government over a controversial matter.Precisely because Public Agenda is unique, its influence seems much greater than its circulation(around 10,000/month) might indicate. Moreover, because Public Agenda pursues controversialstories, its reports and articles are regularly re-disseminated, according to several journalists, throughother media, including radio and television. Thus, Public Agenda’s impact is greater than its output.Of course, Public Agenda’s unabashed advocacy journalism meant that some journalists found theirmethods and reporting too provocative.Recommendations <strong>for</strong> UgandaRecommendations <strong>for</strong> Trainings in UgandaLocation, Length and DesignUgandan journalists were fairly evenly split over where to hold the trainings. Some argued that local,inexpensive trainings are the best way to improve the quality of Ugandan journalism because morepeople would be able to attend. Others believed that trainings should take people out of Uganda sothey can focus on the program instead of on daily responsibilities, saying that the exposure this givesjournalists to other environments and developed markets is crucial.The business editors at Uganda’s major daily papers approached the concept of training differentlythan most of those interviewed. One, who said his experience working as a Reuters correspondentwas more useful than any of his trainings, suggested creating an internship program where reportersspend a month with Reuters or with papers in larger media markets, such as South Africa or theUnited States, so they can learn on the job. 226 Another suggested “organizing synergies” withnewsrooms at Reuters, the Financial Times and other major business publications to allow Ugandaneditors to interact with and learn from more experienced colleagues. He also recommended bringingin external facilitators – training editors or consultants – to spend three months at a media companytraining journalists in-house. 227 Both indicated that local media companies need an outsideperspective and that local trainers are less likely to be taken seriously by journalists.Opinions on the optimal program length also differed. Some of those interviewed were in favor oflonger programs – two weeks or more – to give journalists more time to become familiar with newconcepts and skills. Others believed shorter workshops focusing on a single topic would be morebeneficial.Many of those interviewed agreed that more trainers should come from the developing world,mainly Africa and Asia, as they are more likely to be able to relate to journalists in Uganda. Thosewho preferred local trainers emphasized the importance of working with highly experienced226 Ugandan Interviewee #8. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.227 Ugandan Interviewee #10. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 8.– 85 –


journalists. One broadcast journalist said that his greatest inspiration had been a Ugandan reporterwho had covered the Amin era; he believed veteran reporters have the most in common withcurrent journalists and are there<strong>for</strong>e best suited to train them. 228Training <strong>for</strong> EditorsMultiple journalists mentioned the importance of training editors as well as reporters, saying thateven the most highly trained reporters can do little without their editors’ support. One freelancebusiness reporter said that some journalists return from trainings abroad and feel the need to hidewhat they have learned to avoid offending editors who may see reporters’ new knowledge andenthusiasm as an attempt to outper<strong>for</strong>m their superiors. 229 Another reporter at a daily paper saidthat the most helpful part of the training he attended was a section on relating to editors because itmade his transition back to work much easier. 230 Training editors at the same time as reporters willincrease the likelihood that journalists can use the skills they have learned at the training.Extractives TrainingAs oil is a relatively new industry in Uganda, many of those interviewed expressed a desire <strong>for</strong> moretraining in this area. One journalist mentioned, unprompted, “trainings where they teach you aboutoil prices” as an example of something that would help increase the quality of business journalism inUganda. 231 “So many people are covering it as a curse,” said one business reporter, and journalistsneed to know more about its financial implications in order to present a more balanced picture tothe public. 232 Lack of access to reliable in<strong>for</strong>mation from both governments and companies poses aserious challenge to extractives journalism in Uganda. One business reporter at a daily paper said itwould be helpful if a group of local and international extractives experts were regularly available <strong>for</strong>comment. 233Chart 6: Number of journalists in Uganda ranking the above training topics as228 Ugandan Interviewee #6. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.229 Ugandan Interviewee #15. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 12.230 Ugandan Interviewee #11. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 9.231 Ugandan Interviewee #6. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 6.232 Ugandan Interviewee #17. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 13.233 Ugandan Interviewee #11. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 9.– 86 –


Non-Training Recommendations <strong>for</strong> Uganda“very helpful” to their careersLegal AssistanceSeveral reporters and editors mentioned the need <strong>for</strong> journalists to know their rights as reporters.One editor described a reporter who had recently sold his notes <strong>for</strong> a story on one of Uganda’scabinet ministers to that minister to avoid being sued in court <strong>for</strong> libel. 234 Another journalist, AngeloIzama of the Daily Monitor, agreed to be interviewed between interrogation sessions at the MediaOffences Department. Ugandan police had threatened him with arrest <strong>for</strong> exposing military tactics,aiding the enemy, or disrupting public order after he and a coworker published a story on theUgandan military’s recent offensive against the rebel Lord’s Resistance Army in eastern DemocraticRepublic of the Congo. 235Uganda’s current legal climate poses a challenging environment <strong>for</strong> many independent journalists,and more legal training would support reporters who are sued or charged with media offenses <strong>for</strong>political reasons.The government’s apparent disregard <strong>for</strong> the Access to In<strong>for</strong>mation Act of 2005, particularly withrespect to the recent profit sharing agreements with the oil companies operating in southwesternUganda, is also troublesome. Legal training and, perhaps to a greater degree, legal support targetingaccess to in<strong>for</strong>mation, would greatly benefit extractives journalism.Financial AssistanceAs previously described, lack of funding is a major obstacle <strong>for</strong> business journalists. One editor <strong>for</strong>an independent weekly said that international organizations and donors tend to ignore media andnoted that “training is good, but it is not sufficient <strong>for</strong> keeping these [local media] organizations inbusiness.” He recommended some sort of fellowship or travel grant program that would providetargeted funding to sponsor reporters doing in-depth investigative reporting outside of Kampala,such as a trip to the oil wells in southwestern Uganda. 236Role of Media CompaniesThe director of Makerere University’s Department of Mass Communications expressed a desire <strong>for</strong>the industry to take some responsibility <strong>for</strong> improving journalistic quality in Uganda. He mentionedthe Nation Media Group’s internship program <strong>for</strong> East Africans in Nairobi as a good example ofthis. 237 Working with the Nation Media Group and with Uganda’s major media organizations,including the Daily Monitor and the New Vision but also some of the larger weekly publications andradio and television stations to help them develop in-house training programs focused on basicreporting skills would likely be more cost-effective than flying journalists to other countries <strong>for</strong>regional trainings. In terms of improving transparency in the extractives industries, however, these234 Ugandan Interview #1. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 5.235 “Ugandan reporters under police harassment,” Committee to Project Journalists, January 7, 2009.http://cpj.org/2009/01/ugandan-reporters-under-police-harassment.php.; Angelo Izama. 2009. Interview by RebekahHeacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 10.236 Ugandan Interviewee #13. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 10.237 George Lugalambi. 2009. Interview by Rebekah Heacock. Kampala, Uganda, January 14.– 87 –


programs may have limited success, particularly at the New Vision and other state-owned or heavilystate-influenced media organizations.– 88 –


Appendix A: NigeriaPotential PartnersJournalism Training OrganizationsInternational Press CentreThe International Press Centre is a Nigerian-run NGO that conducts trainings on reporting onbudgeting and corruption. Their facility has a library of resources <strong>for</strong> journalists, and a classroomthat can be used <strong>for</strong> conducting trainings. They also publish regular reports monitoring budget andcorruption reporting in Nigerian media, as well as training guides. One of our researchers met withArogundade, who was very helpful in providing materials and insight <strong>for</strong> this report.Website: www.ipcng.orgContact: Lanre ArogundadePosition: DirectorCity: LagosPhone: 08078494722, 08023186845 or 01-8112422Email: larogundade@gmail.comUnited States Consulate General, Public Affairs SectionThis office periodically conducts trainings <strong>for</strong> Nigerian journalists. They have covered a range oftopics, not just business and economic reporting, depending on State Department priorities. Thisfacility has a library that includes past editions of Nigerian newspapers.Website: nigeria.usembassy.govContact: Joke OmotundePosition: In<strong>for</strong>mation Specialist – Broadcast MediaCity: LagosPhone: 01-263-3395, 01-263-3713, 263-4868, 263-4869, 0803 825 5021Email: omotundejo@state.govBusiness Day NewspaperBusiness Day frequently conducts in-house trainings <strong>for</strong> journalists of this and other newspapers,including business and economic reporting trainings. Aigbogun, a <strong>for</strong>mer journalist, seemscommitted to raising the level of his journalists. Their office has a very professional feel, among theNigerian media houses we visited. Aigbogun himself is very professional, and should be considered aviable potential partner <strong>for</strong> coordinating trainings.Website: www.businessdayonline.comContact: Frank AigbogunPosition: PublisherCity: LagosPhone: 08034019000, 234 1 2799111Email: frank@businessdayonline.comRuyi Communications Ltd– 89 –


Ruyi is a marketing company, and not strictly a journalism training provider. However, Irabor hasconducted journalism trainings in partnership with the US Consulate, and is currently preparing atraining with them.Website: ruyicommunications.comContact: Soni IraborPosition: Chairman/CEOCity: LagosPhone: 234.1.4613885, +234.1.7202002, +234.0.8044444444, +234.0.8034012149,+234.0.8055555500Email: soni@ruyicommunications.comNigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ)NIJ conducts trainings <strong>for</strong> journalists. Emman Nwuneli spoke very highly of Lizzie Ikem.Website: nijlagos.com/index.htmContact: Lizzie IkemPosition: DirectorCity: LagosPhone: 234017912496, 23408059196459Email: ikem1@yahoo.com, info@nijlagos.comLagos Business SchoolProfessor Patrick Utomi is one of the founding members of Lagos Business School and of BusinessDay newspaper. He studied journalism at the University of Nigeria be<strong>for</strong>e getting his MBA and MAin Journalism at the University of Indiana. He’s involved in academics, politics, business, andconsulting. He has a public policy and management consulting company called UtomAPP as well asa communications consulting company called PATIKE Communications. He is also the author ofWhy Nations Are Poor, where he discusses six key variables to economic development. He wasPresident Shehu Shagari’s advisor on political affairs be<strong>for</strong>e the 1983 coup. He also worked incorporate communications and was COO of Volkswagen in Nigeria.Contact: Patrick UtomiPosition: ProfessorCity: LagosPhone: 803818111Email: dinachiutomi@yahoo.com, pat.utomi@yahoo.comDevelopment Communications Network (Devcoms)Devcoms organizes journalism trainings. Akin Jimoh also happens to be a <strong>for</strong>mer reporter at TheGuardian.Website: www.devcomsnetwork.orgContact: Akin JimohPosition: Program DirectorCity: LagosPhone: 23418196309, 23408033053713Email: ajimoh@devcomsnetwork.org, devcoms@yahoo.comSchool of Media and Communications (SMC)SMC is part of Pan-African University, along with Lagos Business School. It provides graduateprograms in journalism as well as certificate courses, including business reporting, <strong>for</strong> working– 90 –


journalists. Biakolo is very professional, was very helpful in providing in<strong>for</strong>mation and appears veryserious in his commitment to promoting journalism education.Website: www.smc.edu.ngContact: Emevmo BiakoloPosition: DeanCity: LagosPhone: 014703436, 0146161702, 271161720Email: ebiakolo@smc.edu.ngUnilag (University of Lagos) Department of Mass CommunicationsThis is one of the top schools in mass communications in Nigeria, and produces a large number ofgraduates with undergraduate and graduate degrees in mass communications. They also organizetrainings <strong>for</strong> working journalists. Akinfeyele is one of the <strong>for</strong>emost experts on mass communicationsin the country, has published several books on the matter and has lobbied the government <strong>for</strong>passage of the Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Bill. However, in terms of considering potential partnershipwith him <strong>for</strong> trainings, we have some concerns about the way he treats his subordinates.Website: www.unilag.edu.ngContact: Ralph AkinfeyelePosition: Head of DepartmentCity: LagosPhone: 08023021980Email: rakinfeleye@unilag.edu.ngNnamde Azikiwe University (Unizik)Unizik has a mass communications program as part of its degree programs. Professor EmmanOnuora Nwuneli, who said he has taught a large percentage of editors working in Nigeria today,helped found this program, after years of teaching at Unilag. Nwuneli is extremely knowledgeable onmass communications education in Nigeria, and a potential partner in coordinating journalismtrainings. He is also an extremely friendly and enthusiastic person. However, he does not teachbusiness reporting, and thus might not be appropriate <strong>for</strong> conducting business reporting trainings.Website: www.unizik.edu.ng/Contact: Emman Onuora NwuneliPosition: ProfessorCity: LagosPhone: 08033028206Email: eonwuneli@yahoo.comLegal Re<strong>for</strong>m and AdvocacyOpen Society Institute <strong>for</strong> West Africa (OSIWA – in Nigeria)OSIWA focuses on advocacy themes in Nigeria including government budget transparency;constitutional re<strong>for</strong>ms to support a people-owned constitutional process; electoral re<strong>for</strong>ms topromote the establishment of a credible electoral process, justice sector re<strong>for</strong>m to enhance theeffective administration of justice; and human rights to support the promotion and protection ofwomen’s rights, citizenship rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights.Website: http://www.osiwa.org/spip.php?id_rubrique=10– 91 –


Contact: Nana Asantewa AfadzinuCity: AbujaPhone: 23494137289Email: nafadzinu@osiwa.org, osiwa-abuja@osiwa.orgMedia Rights Agenda (MRA)/Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation CoalitionThe Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation Coalition (FOIC) is a network of over 150 civil society organizationsin Nigeria comprising of civil rights, grassroots, and community-based Non-GovernmentalOrganizations campaigning <strong>for</strong> the passage of the Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation (FOI) Bill and eventualimplementation when it becomes law in Nigeria.Website: www.mediarightsagenda.org, www.foicoalition.orgContact:Position:City: LagosPhone: 23414936033 & 4936034Email: mra@mediarightsagenda.orgInstitute <strong>for</strong> Media and Society (IMS)/Nigeria Community Radio CoalitionIMS is working to promote community radio in Nigeria. They manage the group of 200organizations known as the Nigeria Community Radio Coalition.Website: nigeriacommunityradio.org/About.htmContact: Akin Akingbulu,Position: Executive DirectorCity: LagosPhone: +234 1 773 0308, Fax +234 1 773 0308Email: imeso@hyperia.com, info@nigcomradio.org,crcnigeria@hotmail.comNigerian Media OutletsNewspapers• The Guardian - influential, privately-owned national daily• The Champion - Lagos-based daily• Daily Times - Lagos-based government daily• The Punch - privately-owned daily• New Nigerian - government daily, separate editions in Lagos and Kaduna• The Daily Independent - Lagos State-based daily• Daily Trust - Abuja-based daily• Leadership - Abuja-based daily• The Comet - private, daily• Vanguard - Lagos-based, widely-read daily• ThisDay - widely-read Lagos-based daily• The Daily Sun - Lagos-based• Newswatch - weekly news magazine• Tell - weekly news magazine– 92 –


Television Stations• Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) - state-run, operates scores of national andregional stations; national services broadcast in English• Degue Broadcasting Network (DBN) - private• AIT - private, owned by DAAR Communications, broadcasting in Lagos and Abujaand via pan-African satellite service• Minaj TV - private, serves eastern Nigeria and operates cable and satellite service• Silverbird TV - private, serves Lagos, Port Harcourt• Galaxy TV - private, serves western Nigeria• Channels TV - privateRadio Stations• Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) - state-run, operates "Radio Nigeria"stations in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Enugu• Voice of Nigeria - external service, via shortwave• Ray Power - private, owned by DAAR Communications, runs music-based andspeech-based FM stations• Freedom Radio - private, based in northern city of KanoNews Agencies• News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) - government-ownedInternational Media in Nigeria• BBC – online and radio• Voice of America – online and radio• CNN – onlineJournalism Education in Nigerian UniversitiesThere are real challenges in the national education system that provides the foundation <strong>for</strong> up-andcomingjournalists. In Nigeria, there are 58 journalism-training institutions: 25 universities and 33polytechnic schools. Yet, according to Professor Ralph Akinfeyele, across the board, the facilities aresubstandard <strong>for</strong> gaining hands-on skill with modern technology – classrooms used to be ahead ofnewsrooms, now newsrooms are far ahead of classrooms.Business and economic reporting has not, historically, been considered an important part of mediaeducation in Nigeria. In fact, there have been relatively few opportunities to pursue universitydegrees in these areas. The three department heads whom our researchers spoke with all agreed thatbusiness and economic journalism is not adequately represented in Nigeria’s university curriculum.“Part of the problem [of business journalism in Nigeria] is a question of a weak foundation,” saidLanre Arogundade. “To look at the journalism departments and the mass communications schools,the foundation is not really there. Look at the curriculum. It is very poor. You don’t have theauthorities dealing with the issue of business and economic reporting as part of the curriculum. Sopeople come on the job and they report on this by chance. You come in as a reporter and you areasked to go to the business desk.” It has not been until recently that that has started to change.– 93 –


However, given that the curriculum is reviewed every two years, according to Nwuneli, there willcertainly be an opportunity <strong>for</strong> altering the curriculum in a business and economic reportingdirection.Three examples of available undergraduate degrees at universities in Lagos reveal the current lack ofopportunity <strong>for</strong> journalism students to have <strong>for</strong>mal training in business and economic reporting. Forexample, in UNIZIK’s mass communications department, a student can earn a Bachelor’s of Sciencein mass communications, but has no opportunity within the available curriculum to take a coursespecifically on business and economic reporting. They have four options within the degree to gainsuch experience. One, students can take it upon themselves to study business and economicreporting through the research project they are required to do in their fourth year. Two, students canbe placed with a business desk in their required two-month internship. Three, students can opt <strong>for</strong>the course Specialized Reporting that mixes reporting on the economy with other topics such asagriculture, medicine, religion, sports, and science and technology reporting. Four, students can electthe course Economic Problems of Nigeria.According to Professor Nwuneli, it is difficult to gain business and economic reporting training inundergrad but such training could be part of graduate work. Un<strong>for</strong>tunately, journalists wishing totake a class in extractives would not have an opportunity to do so at UNIZIK. This lack of businessand economic training Nwuneli attributed to all undergraduate schools in Nigeria. He said, “Ifyou’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.” He said he is writing the curriculum <strong>for</strong> their graduateprogram now, and that he could add more business and economic reporting to the curriculum,though he admitted that it hadn’t previously occurred to him to do so.In Nwuneli’s estimation, UNIZIK graduates 15 to 20 students per year with a Masters of Science inMass Communications, and 6 to 8 students per year with a PhD. Neither their one-year MSc, northeir PhD offer dedicated coursework <strong>for</strong> business and economic reporting, this topic may bestudied at the student’s discretion in his or her required Dissertation.Unilag is another Nigerian university that offers degrees in mass communications. The head of theMass Communications department, Ralph Akinfeyele, boasts that his department has produced over90 percent of media practitioners and trainers in Nigeria. According to Akinfeyele, there areopportunities to study business and economic reporting in their undergraduate program, withrequired classes including Reporting the Economy and Science and Technology Reporting. ForReporting the Economy, they mix theory and practice, assigning students to beats including banks,the stock exchange, and insurance companies. They invite bankers and business people to letstudents hear “from the horse’s mouth.” In the third year, students choose one of these tracks:print journalism, advertising/PR, and broadcast. Advertising/PR is the largest track, and has grownin popularity in recent years. Unilag was named a center of excellence by UNESCO, the first inAfrica. However, <strong>for</strong> journalists wishing to study extractive industries, it appears that there are noclasses available in this area.The third, and perhaps most significant, example of a university presenting coursework in businessand economic reporting is the School of Media and Communication (SMC) at Pan-AfricanUniversity, which also houses the Lagos Business School. SMC was founded in July 2008, whichmeans it is a very new player in Nigerian mass communications. They offer a Master of Science inMedia Communication, with a class size of approximately 25, shorter seminars and workshops, and– 94 –


have two to four month professional training programs. They utilize adjuncts from the journalismfield as well as professors.Opportunities within the MSc degree at SMC to study business and economic journalism are greaterthan at UNIZIK or Unilag. SMC’s Writing <strong>for</strong> the Media stream offers a core course called BusinessJournalism, while the Media Enterprise stream offers one called Financial Analysis in the Media.Also available are elective courses including Technology and the Media, as well as Economics andthe Business Environment. Finally, students are required to complete a three-month internship togain practical experience at a media house.As mentioned earlier in the report, New Media education is an area where Nigeria has been severelylacking <strong>for</strong> journalists on the whole. Professor Nwuneli said that New Media is rarely taught, and isgenerally brand new to journalism schools.UNIZIK’s course listings offer no specific classes in New Media, and little to no mention of it intheir course descriptions. Nwuneli proposed adding more New Media to his department, andreported that they didn’t understand why it was important. However, he has found that his youngmasters students “lap it up”. He requires that his students use the Internet <strong>for</strong> reports, and haveemail accounts. Many struggle with this requirement, but in ten years, he said, they will thank him.The PhD program offers the most room <strong>for</strong> New Media, with the compulsory course GlobalCommunication, New In<strong>for</strong>mation Technologies & Cultural Synchronization, as well as Twenty-First Century Advertising.SMC’s masters program, because it is newer, has incorporated more New Media into its curriculum.Among the electives they offer, there are classes such as Writing <strong>for</strong> the New Media, The Internetand the New Media, and Technology and the Media.– 95 –


Appendix B: GhanaPotential PartnersJournalism Training and Journalist Association OrganizationsAbantuWebsite: www.abantu-rowa.orgCity: AccraGhana Journalists AssociationCity: AccraPhone: +233 (021) 234692Email: gja@ncs.com.gh, gjaghana@hotmail.comInstitute <strong>for</strong> Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ)City: AccraContact: Rayborn BulleyEmail: raybulley@yahoo.comMedia Foundation <strong>for</strong> West AfricaThe West Africa Media Development Fund (WAMDEF) works to mobilize resources <strong>for</strong> lendingand investment to meet the growing demand <strong>for</strong> improved and expanded access to finance andtechnical assistance by media organizations owned and managed by private entrepreneurs in theECOWAS region (including Nigeria). This Fund is being spearheaded by Media Foundation <strong>for</strong>West Africa (MWFA).Website: http://www.mediafound.org/, http://wamdef.comCity: AccraContact: Kwame Karikari, Executive DirectorEmail: kkaakari@yahoo.comThe Panos Institute West AfricaWebsite: http://www.panos-ao.org/City: Dakar, SénégalPhone: +221 849 1666Academic Institutions and Formal Journalism Training OrganizationsAfrican University College of Communications (AUCC-Ghana)Website: www.aucc.edu.ghCity: AccraTelephone: +233 (021) 258584Ghana Institute <strong>for</strong> Journalism (GIJ)Website: http://www.gij.edu.gh/– 96 –


City: AccraTelephone: +233 (021) 228336University of Mines and Technology at TarkwaWebsite: http://umat.edu.gh/City: TarkwaTelephone: +233 (0362) 20324University of Ghana at Legon – School of Communications StudiesWebsite: http://www.ug.edu.ghCity: Legon (Accra)Contact: Dr Audrey GadzekpoEmail: agadzekpo@ug.edu.ghCivil Society and Environmental OrganizationsGreen Earth OrganizationCity: AccraPhone: +233 (021) 232762Email: greeneth@ghana.comIntegrated Social Development Center (ISODEC)Website: http://www.isodec.org.gh/City: AccraThird World NetworkWebsite: http://www.twnafrica.org/City: Legon (Accra)Contacts: Joyce O<strong>for</strong>i Kwafo (Publications Officer), Abdulai Darimani (Program Officer –Environment), Cornelius Adedze (Editor)Phone: +233 (021) 511189Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM)Website: http://www.wacam.orgCity: TarkwaPhone: +233 (0362) 20137– 97 –


Appendix C: UgandaPotential PartnersBased on the interviews our researcher conducted in Uganda, few established media organizationsare currently conducting journalism trainings in Uganda. However, the organizations listed belowmay be able to lend organizational experience, contacts or other assistance.Independent Media Council of UgandaThe Independent Media Council of Uganda (IMCU) is a registered non-governmental organizationin Uganda. Its mission is to “promote the growth of a responsible and independent media in Ugandathat con<strong>for</strong>ms to the highest standards of journalism.” IMCU was <strong>for</strong>med in 2006 by 42 mediaorganizations and associations and is headed by Kintu Musoke, Uganda’s <strong>for</strong>mer Prime Minister.Telephone: +256 312 111 376Web: http://imcu.ug/index.phpAmber HousePlot 29/33 Kampala Road3rd Floor, Block B, Rm B309P.O. Box 8123Kampala, UgandaMakerere University Department of Mass CommunicationsContact: Dr. George LugalambiTelephone: +256 782 577 605Web: http://www.mak.ac.ug/Faculty of ArtsMakerere UniversityKampala, UgandaNation Media GroupThe Nation Media Group (NMG), based in Nairobi, is the largest independent media company inEast Africa. It owns print and broadcast operations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, including theDaily Monitor and the regional East African Business Daily. NMG also conducts both trainings and aninternship program <strong>for</strong> East African journalists.Telephone: +254 203 208 8000 or +254 203 208 8001Fax: +254 202 111 30Web: http://www.nationmedia.com/Nation Center, 2nd FloorKimathi StreetP.O Box 49010Nairobi, Kenya 00100Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF)The Uganda Media Development Foundation (UMDF) advocates <strong>for</strong> press freedom. UMDF holdsone-day local trainings <strong>for</strong> journalists, and in 2007 they partnered with the International CriminalCourt on a training session <strong>for</strong> journalists covering the Court’s activities in northern Uganda.Telephone: +256 414 532 083– 98 –


Fax: +256 414 255 495E-mail: umdf@africaonline.co.ugPlot 18 Kanjokya Street, KamwokyaP.O. Box 21778Kampala, UgandaUganda Media Women’s AssociationThe Uganda Media Women’s Association (UMWA) is a non-government organization <strong>for</strong> womenjournalists. Its mission is “to promote interactive communication and to enhance visibility and statusamong the less advantaged groups so that equal gender relations can be realized.” UMWA hasexperience organizing workshops and trainings sessions <strong>for</strong> rural media consumers.Telephone: +256 41 543 996 and + 256 77 469 363Fax: +256 41 543 996E-mail: umwa@africaonline.co.ugWeb: http://www.interconnection.org/umwa/P.O. Box 7263Kampala, Uganda– 99 –


Appendix D: Interview QuestionsQuestions <strong>for</strong> editors• Ask editors about the access to Internet and long distance phone calls• How many people in your newsroom have been on economic journalism trainings?• Organized by which organization?• Do you have a view as to the most effective economic journalism training programs? Anyyou have found particularly effective or ineffective?• What differences have you seen in their coverage be<strong>for</strong>e/after the economic journalismtraining?• Do they get promoted? /leave their jobs? Is brain drain a problem?• What is needed to improve the quality of journalism in your newsroom and in Africa?Questions <strong>for</strong> journalists• Have you had any training on the extractives? Budget reporting? Understanding contractswith oil/mining companies?Questions on the impact of the economic journalism trainings• What are some examples of issues or stories the economic journalism training led you tocover that you hadn’t previously looked into?• What aspect of the economic journalism training has been most helpful to you?• What, if anything, about the economic journalism training has made your job more difficult?• What was your least favorite part of the economic journalism training? How would youchange the training?• What were skills you learned in the economic journalism training that you’ve wanted to usein your reporting, but couldn’t?• Are there stories you want to cover but cannot? If not, why not?• Is economic journalism training the best way to overcome the challenges journalists face?Questions on the impact of the economic journalism trainings on extractive industriescoverage• How has economic journalism training affected your ability to cover extractives, like oiland/or mining?• Is economic journalism training the best way to promote transparency of governmentrevenues from extractive industries (oil, gas, mining, etc.)?Questions on media coverage of economic and business issues and overcoming challenges• Do you think that the media are doing a good enough job in covering economic andbusiness issues in your country, or should they improve? Why do you think this?• What are the most significant challenges media face when reporting on economic andbusiness issues?– 100 –


• What do you think are the most effective and least effective ways in trying to solve thesechallenges? Why?• Are there any particular universities, local NGOs, international NGOs, press associations,etc. that you think are the most effective at trying to solve these challenges? Why?• For organizations seeking to help solve these challenges, which challenges and solutionswould it be best to focus on? Why?Questions on media coverage of the extractives industries and overcoming challenges• Do you think that the media are doing a good enough job in reporting on extractiveindustries in your country, or should they improve? Why do you think this?• What are the most significant challenges media face when reporting on extractive industries?• What do you think are the most effective and least effective ways in trying to solve thesechallenges? Why?• Are there any particular universities, local NGOs, international NGOs, press associations,etc. that you think are the most effective at trying to solve these challenges? Why?Questions on the daily challenges of covering economic and business issues• What are the biggest challenges you, in particular, face in trying to cover economic andbusiness, or other stories you think are important?• What would most help you overcome the challenges you face?Questions on the daily challenges of covering the extractive industries• What are the biggest challenges you, in particular, face in trying to cover extractiveindustries?• What would most help you overcome the challenges you face?Questions <strong>for</strong> those who have left journalismQuestions on media coverage of economic and business issues and overcoming challenges• Do you think that the media are doing a good enough job in covering economic andbusiness issues in your country, or should they improve? Why do you think this?• What are the most significant challenges media must overcome to report on economic andbusiness issues?• For organizations seeking to help solve these challenges, which of these challenges would bebest to focus on? Why?• What do you think are the most effective and least effective ways in trying to solve thesechallenges? Why?• Is economic journalism training the best way to overcome the challenges journalists face?• Are there any particular universities, local NGOs, international NGOs, press associations,etc. that you think are the most effective at trying to solve these challenges? Why?Questions on challenges and the impact of the trainings• When you were a journalist, what would have helped you most to overcome the challengesyou faced?– 101 –


• After completing the economic journalism training you had, and after leaving journalism,what job did you move into?• Why did you decide to leave journalism?• Did the credentials given to you after completing the economic journalism training help youget a new job, and if so, how?• Did the economic journalism training have any effect on your decision to move, and if so,how?• Did you get a salary increase after moving out of journalism?– 102 –


Appendix E: Survey Questions1. Name/Address __________________________________________________________________________________________2. Occupation _____________________________________________3. Educational background _____________________________________________4. Years as a journalist _____________________________________________5. In your career as a journalist, have you covered extractive industries (oil, mining, gas, etc.)?____ Yes____ No6. Is your most recent employer in the media industry private or state-owned? (Choose one)____ Private____ State-owned7. How would you describe the type of journalism you practice? (Choose one)____ Print____ Broadcast____ Both8. How often do you travel out of the city <strong>for</strong> reporting trips? (Choose one)____ Once a month or more____ Four times a year____ 2 times a year____ Less than 2 times a year9. How are those trips paid <strong>for</strong> (Choose all that apply)____ Employer ____ By an NGO____ By a private business ____ Paid <strong>for</strong> out of your own pocket____ Government-funded ____ Other _______________10. Of all the options in the previous question, who sponsors your trips MOST often?(Choose one)____ Employer ____ By an NGO____ By a private business ____ Paid <strong>for</strong> out of your own pocket____ Government-funded ____ Other _______________11. Does who sponsors these trips affect your reporting?____ Yes____ No12. If yes, how?– 103 –


13. In your job as a journalist, which new media tools do you use to gather and report in<strong>for</strong>mation<strong>for</strong> stories? (Choose all that apply, if any)____ Email____ Internet Websites____ Blogs____ Internet Video____ Skype or a similar Internet telephone____ Twitter or a similar Internet SMS website____ Other _______________________________14. Which two of those new media tools, if any, are the most helpful to you <strong>for</strong> gathering andreporting in<strong>for</strong>mation <strong>for</strong> stories?15. Which organizations sponsored the economic journalism trainings you have attended? (Chooseall that apply)____ IIJ____ Reuters____ World Bank____ Other___________________________ I have not attended any economic journalism trainings16. Which economic journalism training program(s)/workshop(s) have you attended?Training Program and Host Organization Length ofProgramDate(s)1.Location2.3.17. How were you chosen to participate in the economic journalism trainingprogram(s)/workshop(s)? (Please circle all that apply)By your editor By application to the training organization Other– 104 –


18. How effective were the teaching techniques used in the economic journalism trainings youattended? Please rate them in terms of their effectiveness in helping you improve your ability tocover business and economic issues? (Please choose)Type of Teaching TechniqueLecture (trainers are the onlyones speaking)VeryEffectiveSomewhatEffectiveNeutralSomewhatIneffectiveVeryIneffectiveNotApplicableSeminar (trainers andstudents interact in activediscussion)Workshop (Students practicetheir learned skills to reporton stories)Other:19. How many stories did you have to write during the economic journalism trainingprogram(s)/workshop(s)? ___________20. Were any of the stories written during your economic journalism trainingprogram(s)/workshop(s) published? (Choose one)____ Yes____ No21. Were trips involved in the economic journalism training program(s)/workshop(s)? (Choose one)____ Yes____ NoIf yes, please list where you traveled and how the trips were useful to you in your work:22. What topics were covered in the economic journalism trainings you had? Please rate them interms of their impact on your ability to report on economic issues.If a topic was not covered, please mark the "Not covered" box and rate it according to howhelpful you believe it would be.TopicGovernment budgets and FiscalspendingInternational TradeVeryhelpfulSomewhathelpfulNeutralSomewhatunhelpfulVeryunhelpfulNotcovered– 105 –


AccountingEconomics of Extractive Industries (i.e.oil, mining, gas)Investigative ReportingCorporate FinanceEconomic DevelopmentBusiness ReportingStock MarketsCorporate Reporting/Financial ResultsRetail CompaniesMacroeconomic IndicatorsNew media/new technologyOnline resources of economicin<strong>for</strong>mationOther:23. After completing the training, did you switch jobs in your organization?____ Yes____ No24. If Yes, what was your new job?25. If yes, did your pay increase?____ Yes____ No26. After completing the training, did you take a job in another organization?____ Yes____ No27. If yes, what was your new job and what kind of organization was it?– 106 –


28. What are the most important challenges journalists face when reporting on business andeconomics?Type of ChallengeLack of Freedom of In<strong>for</strong>mation ActLibel LawsPolitical and Business Pressure Not to PublishThreat of Violence Against JournalistsLack of Adequate Knowledge and Skills of JournalistsPoor Pay <strong>for</strong> JournalistsInadequate Internet Access <strong>for</strong> JournalistsLack of New Media and Internet Skills AmongJournalistsOther:VeryImportantImportantNotImportantIf you have covered extractive industries (oil, mining, gas, etc.) please answer the followingquestion:29. In your opinion, rate the importance of each way to promote the transparency of governmentrevenues from extractive industries in your country? Please mark them as very important, importantor not important.Way to Promote TransparencyVeryImportantImportantNotImportantRequire companies to publish what they pay to governmentRequire central government to release what the districts are gettingRequire local government to be more open about how they spend theirmoneyPromote greater freedom of in<strong>for</strong>mationPromote legal re<strong>for</strong>m and government adherence to lawsReduce Censorship of JournalistsImprove Economic Reporting Knowledge and Skills of JournalistsPromote citizen journalism (teach everyday people how to blog andreport using New Media)– 107 –


Appendix F: Selected Survey Data1. Journalists by Country …………………………………………………………….......……...1082. How would you describe the type of journalism you practice? …………………….......……...1083. Is your most recent employer in the media industry private or state-owned?…………………1094. Length of Career in Journalism ………………………………………………………………1095. How often do you travel out of the city <strong>for</strong> reporting trips? …………………………………1106. Who sponsors these reporting trips most often? ……………………………………………..1107. Does who sponsors these trips affect your reporting? ………………………………………..1118. How many business and economic journalism trainings have you attended? …………………1119. Which organization(s) sponsored the training(s) you attended? ………………………………11210. After completing the training(s), did you switch jobs within your organization? ……………...11311. After completing the training(s), did your pay increase?………………………………………11312. After completing the training(s), did you take a job in another organization? ………………...11413. If you took a job in another organization after completing the training(s), what kind o<strong>for</strong>ganization was it? …………………………………………………………………………..114– 108 –


1. Journalists by Country2. How would you describe the type of journalism you practice?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaPrint 38 15 8 15Broadcast 4 3 0 1Both 3 1 0 2– 109 –


3. Is your most recent employer in the media industry private or state-owned?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaPrivate 30 17 2 11State-owned 9 2 1 6Not reported 7 1 5 14. Length of Career in JournalismAll Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaAverage 11 14 7 9Minimum 4 6 4 4Maximum 24 24 8 15Median 9 15 8.5 7Mode 7 18 7 14Not reported 4 1 1 2– 110 –


5. How often do you travel out of the city <strong>for</strong> reporting trips?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaOnce a month or more 18 8 2 8Four times a year 12 7 3 2Two times a year 11 4 3 4Less than twice a year 4 1 0 36. Who sponsors these reporting trips most often?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaEmployer 15 8 5 2Business 9 6 2 1NGO 4 3 1 0Government 2 1 0 1Self-funded 1 1 0 0Not reported 15 1 0 14– 111 –


7. Does who sponsors these trips affect your reporting?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaYes 14 7 1 6No 25 10 6 10Not reported 6 3 1 28. How many business and economic journalism trainings have youattended?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaNo training 7 2 0 5Journalists attending16 5 5 6multiple trainingsJournalists attending23 13 3 7only one trainingTotal journalists 46 20 8 18– 112 –


9. Which organization(s) sponsored the training(s) you attended?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaIIJ/Inwent 18 3 8 7Reuters 11 3 2 6World Bank 9 4 2 3BBC 2 2 0 0Local training 11 8 2 1University training5 2 1 2abroadOther training 3 2 0 1– 113 –


10. After completing the training(s), did you switch jobs within yourorganization?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaYes 14 5 5 4No 24 11 3 10Not reported 8 4 0 411. After completing the training(s), did your pay increase?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaYes 15 8 4 3No 11 5 4 2Not reported 20 7 0 13– 114 –


12. After completing the training(s), did you take a job in anotherorganization?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaYes 10 6 1 3No 28 10 7 11Not reported 8 4 0 413. If you took a job in another organization after completing the training(s),what kind of organization was it?All Countries Nigeria Ghana UgandaMedia organization 7 4 1 2Private sector 3 2 0 1– 115 –

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