From: barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us (Mr Aaron Barnhart)
Subject: IPS: AFRICA: JOURNALISTS SEE NO PRESTIGE
Originator: barnhart@gagme
Organization: Evanston, Illinois
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1992 07:48:49 GMT

Title: AFRICA: JOURNALISTS SEE NO PRESTIGE IN ENVIRONMENTAL COVERAGE


an inter press service feature

by methuen chinyuka

harare, aug 21 (ips) -- the general public in africa fails to
get a balanced grasp of environmental issues simply because
local journalists are reluctant to take on board environmental
information.

''there is no prestige in being an environmental writer'',
argues zambia's 'weekly post' managing editor, john mukela.

in addition to that the african media brush aside
environmental issues for financial and political reasons.
pressure for advirtisement space squeezes out environmental
reporting, a peripheral interest in africa.

democratisation processes under way in many countries have
also become the focus of attention of both the print and
electronic media. just as upcoming politicians want to be
recognised so are their constituencies eager to know the
platform of new parties.

in its 1992 'world development report', the world bank points
out that poverty, uncertainty and ignorance are the allies of
environmental degradation.

''ignorance is an important cause of environmental damage
and a serious impediment to finding solutions'', the report
says.

in sub-saharan african countries, land, forest and water
management are accorded top priority by governments, but the
people largely depend on the media to be informed and educated
about the gains from conservation against quick profits from
degradation of natural resources.

''journalists who show above-average interest in writing
environmental issues are looked down upon in many news rooms by
their colleagues, who regard them as weak and lacking aggression
to go after the big political scoops'', says mukela.

speaking at a workshop on ''media and environment'', held in
harare recently, the zambian editor said money was a crucial
element in environmental coverage.

''editors, conscious of the need to minimise editorial
expenditure, assign reporters to cover the environment only when
the story dwells on what a particular politician has to say'',
mukela added. (more/ips)


africa: journalists (2)

lack of specialised journalists and commitment have also
crippled coverage of environmental issues in africa.

''in rare times of environmental coverage, journalists in
africa focus on the effects of environmental destruction such as
drought, hunger and deaths instead of educating people on ways
of promoting environmental conservation'', says maxwell chivasa,
editor of a harare-based monthly, 'development dialogue'.

on the same note, zimbabwe's minister of environment and
tourism, herbert murerwa, says africa's mass media tend to
emphasise the effects of environmental destruction rather than
the means and ways to curb environmental damage.

chivasa also cites lack of commitment on the part of
journalists as another setback responsible for the little
coverage of the issues.

as the world bank observes, the most important effect of
improved information and environmental education is to change
behaviour. well-informed citizens are in a better position to
put pressure on governments and more likely to accept the costs
and inconveniences of environmental policies.

''a lot of vital information on environment is locked up in
offices instead of reaching the people because many
environment officials do not know their role of educating the
people through mass media'', says jon tinker, president of
panos, a london-based non-governmental information agency.

''owners of mass media in africa should allocate more funds
and space for environmental coverage to create awareness and
mobilise the public to participate fully in the ongoing struggle
against environmental destruction'', tinker told the workshop.

unless owners of the media in africa were involved in the
struggle against environmental destruction, environmental
coverage by the press would remain minimal, he said.

on account of rising operational costs in news organisations,
said radio tanzania news editor kassim mpenda, ''environmental
coverage in mass media tends to be a privilege to the people
rather than a right''.

''if environmental problems are not tackled by policymakers
and well-informed people, africa will always be politically and
economically weak,'' he added. (end/ips/mc/ar/92)




-- 
Mr. Aaron Barnhart@gagme.chi.il.us -- posting from Evanston, Illinois
Newsgroups: sanet.talk.politics,soc.culture.african