This case study is an
example of the (often hidden) impacts of media ownership and bribery on
election reporting, and some measures taken to make election reporting fairer.
Breaking
Mould of Election Coverage in Nigeria
IWPR
programme works with local journalists to improve credibility of political
reporting.
IWPR has sought to tackle two of
the main problems bedeviling Nigerian journalism as part of its innovative
reporting project that has aimed to enhance local journalists’ coverage of
Nigeria’s elections.
With so much of the news sector
controlled or influenced by political interests and poorly paid reporters
supplementing their income with bribes from politicians, IWPR’s Nigerian
Election News Report, NENR, pursued a determinedly independent line and paid
its contributors decent rates for their stories.
NENR was established by IWPR and
its Nigerian partner, the International Press Centre, IPC, in March 2011 in the
run up to national elections later in the year. It continues to hold elected
politicians to account in the post-election period and to keep Nigerian
journalists up to date with what is happening across the country. It runs up to
six political stories every day - which can be accessed in both audio and print
format – from contributing journalists.
Editor of the service, and IPC
director, Lanre Arogundade said NENR has been breaking new ground in Nigerian
election coverage, “We’re offering something quite unusual. We tell our stories
without political prejudice and, because of our network of contributing
journalists across the country, we can access news and report it fast – often
faster than more mainstream sources, like newspapers.”
The audio versions of the news
stories are delivered free of charge to the mobile phones of over 1500
subscribing journalists across Nigeria. Those with access to the internet can
also view and listen to the stories online at www.nigerianelectionnewsreport.com. The website, even in post-election period, has been
registering hundreds of hits each day.
Journalists say they like NENR
because of its accuracy and brevity. “NENR has been useful; I access the site
regularly for brief and straight-to-the-point stories on the elections… the
inclusion of audio in all the reports is remarkable,” said Chinedu Echianu from
the radio station Vision FM, in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja.
The service directly addresses
two of the most pressing issues in Nigerian media, ownership and journalists’
remuneration.
Media ownership in Nigeria is
heavily concentrated in political hands. Broadcast media, in particular, are
mostly owned by the federal or state governments.
IWPR surveyed 100 working
journalists on the impact of media ownership on their journalism, with some 45
per cent saying the owners influenced editorial content a great deal.
Indeed, analysis of media
coverage in past Nigerian elections has been damning. The Commonwealth Observer
Group said in its report on the 2007 elections that “significant state ownership
of the broadcast media negatively impacted on and influenced the coverage in
favour of incumbents’ parties”.
It noted that there were also
numerous official complaints from candidates who claimed to have been denied
airtime or coverage because of political bias of media owners.
NENR has been politically neutral
and therefore provided a much needed outlet for stories of public interest in
the run-up to the recent election and now, in the post-election period.
Observer groups are yet to
pronounce on this years’ election coverage but journalists who contributed to
NENR and used its output for their own reports say it was a source of fair and
balanced news.
NENR contributor, Bulama Yerima,
who comes from the strife-torn state of Borno, where he works for the state-
owned radio and TV corporation, said the stories he sent NENR would not have
been aired on his station. “I can’t write these stories for my station because
of censorship,” he said.
Meanwhile, journalists working
for independent outlets exercise a degree of self-censorship: because their
wages are so poor, many take bribes from politicians they write about in order
to make ends meet.
"Many Nigerian journalists
are paid very poorly." Arogundade said. "Often their only source of
income is 'thank yous' for the stories they write. But journalism's role in
democracy is diminished when those thank yous come from politicians.
“The Nigerian Election News
Report offers an alternative income for the Nigerian journalist by rewarding
good political journalism and, as a result, provides a source of reliable news
for the public at this politically sensitive time."
The service has won praise from
the president of the Guild of Editors, Gbenga Adefaye, who understands the
day-to-day challenges faced by journalists.
“This service is not just to show
your skills - it gives the platform to present your report objectively.” he
told prospective contributors at the launch of NENR. “What the website will do
is improve journalism generally.”
That has certainly been the case
for Yerima, “The experience is rewarding… the editing skill of the news editors
is such that it teaches me a lot.”
NENR is the second of a two-part
programme funded by the International Republican Institute, IRI, through a
grant from USAID and DFID.
The first part was a series of
training workshops that prepared journalists across Nigeria to contribute to
NENR.
IWPR trained over 100 working reporters and 40 trainees. The sessions
gave the journalists the confidence to conduct rigorous interviews with
politicians, gather views from street, write in-depth reports and cover
conflict in sensitive manner.
Journalism professor, Ivor Gaber,
was one of the trainers on the course, says the main challenge was to get
journalists to think beyond the political horse-trading that dominates election
coverage.
“Who is up and who is down within
political parties may be fascinating for politics addicts, but in a country
with over 50 political parties, it can become pretty tedious. What most people
I talk to care about is much more practical – they want to know who will sort
out the power shortages, improve roads and transport and improve job prospects
for their children. Our workshops encouraged journalists to focus on issues,
not political squabbles.”
Workshops also included sessions
for journalists on how to stay safe – crucial in a country where elections are
associated with violence. Journalist, Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, from the Daily Trust
newspaper said, “The workshop helped tremendously in shaping the way I cover
most of my reports especially in the areas of conflict and security threats.”
When northern Nigeria erupted
into violence, these skills proved their worth and NENR was able to receive
reports from the worst-affected areas.
As Nigeria settles back into
post-election life and the violence recedes, IWPR hopes NENR will continue to
hold Nigerians to account.
Nigeria has greater oil resources
than Qatar and Libya and its geo-political influence extends far beyond its own
borders. Yet, democracy has under-delivered for Nigerians. Electricity and
power services are notoriously unreliable, personal security is poor and wealth
disparities are extreme.
Veronica Oakeshott, who
coordinates the IWPR programme in Nigeria, said, “Our mission is to hasten the
day when politicians no longer feel they can promise the world and deliver a
pittance. When they know their every move is being watched by skilled
reporters, they will raise their game, and with it the fortunes of ordinary
Nigerians.”
