Attack on free media must be condemned
President Museveni. PHOTO/ FILE
What you need to know:
The issue: Ad revenues
Our view: The government should rethink the ban on advertising in private media because it could deprive the public of independent journalism.
The carbon copy decision of the Uganda Editors Guild (UEG) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to boycott covering media briefings of the executive branch of the government is confident and courageous.
This follows President Museveni’s decision to completely and without qualification withdraw state-owned companies’ ads from critical media and transfer them to state-owned media houses.
Withholding public sector advertising, it must be noted, is the latest governmental action geared at turning the independent media in Uganda from watchdogs to lapdogs. Previously, the threat of tax raids via state tax authorities has been waved menacingly by the state. Similarly, the introduction of repressive and restrictive media legislation continues to have a chilling effect.
All of this points to the cold fact that the future of serious journalism is facing an existential threat. This should worry all well-meaning Ugandans. Our country—perhaps more than ever—still needs reliable, verifiable sources of serious news. The independent media provide just that.
There is a clear and present danger if media entities, starved of cash, are forced to depend on income that comes with strings attached. The censorship—soft or self—that such a status quo triggers is a worrisome problem. The role of the media as a public watchdog in a democratic society cannot be understated. When a free, pluralistic, and independent media holds leaders to account, democratic processes and institutions are strengthened.
Needless to say, journalism must be protected from the menacing gaze of power. We, like several others, believe there can be no semblance of media independence if financial independence is conspicuous by its absence. The sad reality, though, is that evidence of the media’s capitulation to political pressure is increasingly becoming the norm in Uganda. This vexing development is inextricably interwoven with a shrinking wallet.
The financial status of journalism in our country has to be reified to the point that it can take huge risks to expose corruption, hypocrisy, or deception in high places. The private sector and civil society can help in this regard while not expecting the quid pro quo the state is evidently desirous of.
It is no secret that the cost of staying in the game has soared for many a media entity. For newspapers, such as this one, it has not helped matters that the advertising model that propped them for the best part of two centuries appears to be shaky. The World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA) for instance notes that newspaper revenues have plummeted by 7.8 percent across the last five years. India and China are the only outliers.
Falling newspaper circulations and ad revenues have consequently left newspapers vulnerable to both political and corporate pressure. We should all fret if independent media—such as newspapers—continue to squat rather worrisomely on quicksand.
Who will critically scrutinise those in power, investigate and report on matters of public interest? These are, indeed, interesting times.
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