No News is Bad News - Senegal EJC has been collaborating with partners, E-jicom and Ouestafnews on ad hoc media development and communications projects since 2010. Starting in January 2017 both organizations became the primary Boundary Partners for EJC’s press freedom and media development initiatives in Senegal as part of the No News is Bad News consortium of the Strategic Partnership. A Baseline workshop was conducted in January 2017 where a commitment to strengthening ethics, professional standards, investigative skills and fact-based journalism reportage outputs among Senegalese media professionals was prioritized. A platform facilitated by Boundary Partners where press freedom/freedom of access to information initiatives can be developed and advocated is also a key result of the Baseline. STRATEGY FOR L&A: Through its partnerships with E-jicom and Ouestaf News, EJC will support lobby and advocacy initiatives focused on the media environment and increasing government accountability, access to information and open data, and citizen engagement in media platforms via regular interactions with CSO stakeholders including Article 19 West Africa, Synpics, AfricaCheck and the Publishers/Broadcaster Council (CDEPS). The media partners will cooperate closely with civil society groups to promote women empowerment in the country. Government accountability—media’s watch dog role--will be supported through the production of investigative journalism reportages; champion best-practice solutions for journalism and higher quality development journalism; commissioning of investigative journalism pieces aimed at promoting good governance. STRATEGY FOR CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT FOR L&A: Strategy for capacity development for L&A of its partners will focus on the following key themes: Support and improve journalists' role as civil society watchdogs by increasing their capacity to produce high-quality, ethical/fact-based impactful accountability/investigative reports and coverage of under-reported social issues; Build local journalist capacity on safety & Internet security issues; Strengthen the capacity of media to interact and strategically network with CSOs; Improve the ability of media and citizen journalists to use data, innovative and fact-checking digital tool platforms in accountability journalism; Build capacity of partners to monitor and push back against biased/unprofessional journalism and self-censorship. GENDER EQUALITY will be approached through two kinds of interventions: Increasing awareness among BP organisations of the necessity of instituting gender policies and exploration of a developing a formal gender policy in order to ensure that current hiring practices, communications and all in-house materials/resources reflect gender sensitivity; Gender mainstreaming will be reflected in content production during capacity building on all levels: speakers, experts, sources of information and topics on gender will be highlighted and utilised in all interventions including small grants TORs programs. Specific safety/security situation of female journalist will also be focused on. SAFETY ASPECTS will be approached through three kinds of interventions: Safety and security measures (physical and cyber) will be mainstreamed into internal policies as well as external capacity building training materials; Safety/security matters will be monitored regularly and reported; Safety/Security/Ethics resources will be produced and made available to Senegalese journalists. Media professionals, journalism students, CSO stakeholders, women. CONTEXT ANALYSIS: Senegal is considered as one of the democratic “models” in Sub Saharan Africa. In its recent history it has undergone three important political changes without major troubles. The country has a long democratic tradition and the principles of liberal democracy and liberalism are deeply embedded in the political institutions. Senegalese citizens were introduced to multi-party politics during colonial times. From that time on, Senegal has been considered a “model of democracy”, even though the political leadership is very much criticised for not being “principled” and for its lack of consistency and ethics. Since 2012, the country is led by a president who was supported by a coalition to win the elections. The country is heading towards new parliamentary elections in July. The country’ economy is making progress with huge infrastructure projects started back in 2000. However poverty remains high affecting 46 % of the population, according to the World Bank. The “GDP growth is well below the rates necessary for significant poverty reduction», says the World Bank. The social situation is characterised by huge social inequalities, increasing poverty amongst large parts the population and the deterioration of people’s living conditions. Early in may 2017, the government has to recognise that about half a million people might be affected by food insecurity in some parts of the country. Unemployment rate is high among the youth, and the country also faces a low economic inclusion of the most vulnerable people and a a low level of education. PROBLEM ANALYSIS: In parallel with its political stability, Senegal has traditionally enjoyed a reputation of a country where freedom of the press is respected. Actually it is, in principle, guaranteed by the Senegalese constitution, along with other rights and liberties such as the right to plural information, the right to freely express and disseminate opinions. However, this statement can be misleading as the media is facing harsh times. To the point that between April and May 2017, a large coalition of media organisations (editors’ groups, trade-unions, reporters’ associations, etc.), felt it necessary to launch a nationwide campaign to protest against the plight of the media in the country and the status of the journalists. Among their main claims, the lack of support and real recognition by the State. They were also protesting against the long delay in adopting a new proposed media law, which has been on the table of parliament for several years now. This campaign culminated with a protest march on May 3rd, (International Press Freedom day). Though currently there is no journalist in jail, in the past some journalists have been imprisoned, harassed, attacked and the media still practices self-censorship on some issues considered as taboo in the country. The media can still be sent to court for defamation or other criminal offences if what they publish or broadcast is considered offending to the government, state, or private citizens. In the RSF 2017 report, Senegal ranks 58 and gains a few points: “The 2001 constitution guarantees freedom of information, and abuses against journalists have been relatively infrequent in recent years. But some subjects continue to be off limits and the staff of several media outlets have been summoned and subjected to intimidation for covering corruption. In 2016 » (RSF, Report 2017) Numerous constraints including religious ones restrict the freedom of press in Senegal. Offences such as dissemination of false news and offence to the head of state or religious leaders are still included in the press code. In recent decades, there have been significant developments in the media field, in particular due to technological advances, liberalisation, and globalisation. The 1990s marked a major turning point in the media sector. Senegal embarked on a process of liberalisation, which enabled the development of a “vibrant press”, the privatisation of companies, the growing importance of new players in this field and the end of the State monopoly in the sector. However this development of multiple privately owned media groups - some of which with little resources, others owned by politicians, others by ruthless businesspeople - have come with less control over quality, ethics, independence and therefore credibility. This has put journalists in a very weak position and has deteriorated the public image of the profession. The technological advances have also had an impact on the media. The development of new technologies set the pace of information production, increased the speed of information dissemination and magnified the amount of information accessible. The advent of online publications and social media, is also having a negative impact on the way the media operates and on the way people receive and consume media. Information is now disseminated at a fast pace without being checked or processed. Besides, there are now a growing number of distribution channels (online press) and modes of reception. There are also new players in the media field, including telecom operators, resulting in diversification of the offer. The changes in the media field are also due to economic constraints. The new economic environment is characterised by economic concentration, strong competition (communications industry is highly competitive) and privatisation. This situation is calling for further regulation in the media field. There is a lack of skills in the media industry. Except for a very few specialised schools, the journalism training is of poor quality, resulting in poor ways of informing and disseminating news or entertainment programmes. Furthermore, accessing the job is not regulated under the current laws, which makes of it an open space for any unemployed person. As a consequence, some media owners prefer to hire those not qualified and give them a low pay, rather than those who are trained professionals with higher demands. The media is not corruption free either at the level of owners/ editors or young reporters, and this is a source of serious concern when it comes to its credibility. There are numerous other challenges that need to be addressed in the media industry including an appropriate legal framework, a better representation of the most vulnerable groups in the reporting (and in the newsrooms), such as youth and women and other disadvantaged segments of the population. There is also space for more progress particularly when it comes to transparency, access to information, ownership, and long forms or new types of reporting: investigations, fact-checking, data-journalism. New Press Code Adopted June 2017: The latest development has been the vote on a new “press code”, adopted 20 June 2017 by the Senegalese parliament. The new text includes innovations that will lead to significant changes in terms of organisation, the business structure of the media houses and the legal status of the media houses. One goal of the new law is to enhance professionalism in the media field and improve the work environment through journalists being required to undergo training to exercise their profession: going forward journalists must be graduates of a recognised journalism school or holders of a university degree and undergo a few years of “traineeship in a newsroom” before applying for the “national press card”.  Only the holders of this press card will be considered as professional journalists.   The new code aims to improve the quality of information:  it includes the establishment of the Conseil National de Régulation de l'Audiovisuel (CNRA) as the supervisory body responsible for regulating the media field. It will ensure that broadcast media content "adheres to the rules of professional ethics and conduct". The online media will henceforth be under surveillance in Senegal. The law also aims to improve journalist working conditions. The previous State Subsidy (allocated to media houses) will be replaced by a Fund for the support and development of the press with the goal of providing media professionals with better economic opportunities. The press code supports further control of the funds allocated to the media.   The new law has drawn very strong criticisms particularly from some civil society organisations, numerous media professionals and press freedom activists, who are concerned about the repressive portions of the new code. According to media associations, the new press code retains the repressive elements of the previous text. Of particular concern to the media community is article 192 of law 14/2017 which states that government representatives can suspend a media house or its programme, or confiscate its equipment, or shut down a media house, if any press or media publication is deemed to be a "threat to national security."