Greater power comes with greater responsibility, so says a common adage. And for the Rwandan media, this power presents a blessed opportunity to grow big. A new media law is now in place to ensure an environment where the media can regulate itself. Indeed it’s a lesson well taken from history.
Flashbacks of Rwanda’s tragic history show how the media can be constructive not destructive, depending on how it is utilised, regulated and monitored. Take an example of the history of Rwanda, where during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, the media played a catalytic role in fueling enmity, hatred and incited killings, claiming an estimated one million innocent lives. Indeed Rwanda needs to learn from such history and ensure a regulatory mechanism is in place that ensures free access to information, without compromising ethical and legal implications.
To this end, a new media law (No. 02/2013, of 08/02/2013) is now in place to ensure that the media is self regulatory, accountable and transparent in its search for and publication of information.
Just to break it down, the new law determines rights, obligations, organization and functioning of media in Rwanda for the general interest. It specifically calls for media to the lead and by example; ensuring accountability and transparency within their houses in their daily activities and obligations: to inform; to educate population and promote leisure activities; to defend the freedom of information, analyze and comment on information. What remains now is for the media practitioners to walk to talk.
During a conference dubbed: “The Workshop on Leadership and Corporate good governance principles for media owners”, convened in Kigali Rwanda on the 8th of May 2013, the sector’s leaders were exhorted to ensure that their services to be accountable to the public and transparent in order for the sector to grow sustainably.
The list of must-dos included aspects like Trust, Corporate Good Governance and Accountability that are considered necessary pillars for a strong media sector.
Central to this new law is an assurance regarding respect for media freedom and access to information in Rwanda. The new law states that the freedom of the media and freedom to receive information are recognized and respected by the State. With this arrangement, the media practitioners may have the last laugh as the law comes into force.
New regulatory organ
What has excited some sections of the Rwandan media is a clause in the new media law that establishes an organ set up and managed by journalists themselves to ensure compliance with the principles governing media and to defend its general interest.
To this effect, the Rwanda Governance Board (RGB) has come up with a strategic plan to train and equip media practitioners with skills, driven by the call for professionalism and accountability. The board has conducted several training for media in accordance with this arrangement to fill up loopholes regarding to lack of capacity, training and competence in the profession.
Redefining a professional journalist
Media practitioners also have everything to gain from the scrapping of an old requirement for media practitioners to have a degree in journalism. Now, Article 2.9 of the new media law defines a professional journalist “as a person who possesses basic journalism skills and who exercises journalism as his/her first profession.
The common belief is that the law was meant for the common good of developing the media.
“Defining a journalist as someone who is not necessarily a graduate of a media school, was done with an intention of opening up the sector to smart brains and talent that could bring creativity and innovation, it was never a way of underrating the journalism profession and opening it up to confusion and chaos,” observed Mugisha Emmanuel, the acting Executive Secretary of the Media High Council (MHC).
Even as some sections of the media call for investment in the media, the first
step of empowering the media with powers for self regulation is a central building block for its growth and sustainability. Now all power lies in the hands of the media practitioners to access information and build a credible profession that has public trust.