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In the Sept/Oct 2008 ET Magazine
COVER STORIES Understanding The Standard Where politics and intrigue rule Either the Standard newspaper has become a gossip place or the company is just in perpetual trouble. Whatever the case, there is an evident air of gloom and sometimes apprehension that staff exhibit when they talk about their working environment or job security. And the past couple of months have witnessed tremendous hue in the wake of some fairly drastic changes at the newspaper. More: Standard in a mess NMG casts its eye across Africa KENYA Hard times for gutter press About eight years back, the alternative press was on a high. It served as the worthy platform for political squabbles, intrigues and propaganda. Politicians used these publications to fell opponents, business people dragged the credentials of their competitors through mud, anyone with beef with someone else knew the gutter press as an instrument to get their own back. The papers didn’t disappoint. TANZANIA Mengi vs Manji How the war between two tycoons is compromising the mediaThe duel between two business bigwigs in Tanzania; leading media mogul Reginald Mengi and Yusuf Manji, a Tanzanian of Asian extraction, is now directly impacting on the media. Already several journalists have been victimized, fired or sternly warned either by their respective employers, or under the influence of the two antagonists, especially those that were insinuated to have taken sides in the wrangle. RWANDA Rwanda newspapers regularly irregular Of the 57 newspapers registered by the Ministry of Information in 2007, only 37 published. And not all of them reached the streets, according to the High Council of the Press, a government media regulatory body. In its 2007 State of the Media Report, HCP says 54 per cent of the registered newspapers in 2007 were 'regularly irregular'. The irregularity is attributed to financial constraints, poor planning and weak managerial capacities in the media, the report adds. MEDIA REVIEW Tanzania media below Watergate standard More: Royal Media Radio Revolution Media behaving badly UGANDA Crackdown on talk radio Uganda’s evening talk shows on FM radio and the weekend ones hosted in bars and other public places (bimeeza) are no more. Apparently, President Yoweri Museveni is not impressed by either of them because, he says, the youth spend most of the time on radio insulting him instead of engaging in productive work. Leading bimeeza hosts share their opinion. PRESS FREEDOM Press Freedom in Rwanda: Tale of an existential threat? Media freedom in Rwanda, like in many African countries or repressive regimes, is framed within the context of the country’s socio-economic and political factors and sometimes history. Rwanda is not an exception, 14 years after the liberation war by the Rwanda Patriotic Front -- bearing in mind the extent of the 1994 genocide, media freedom in the country has been 'framed in the context of the genocide'. More: Tough election regulations for Kigali media Museveni draws the line for FM radios Exiled Journalist blames Press Council PROFILE Uganda�s sole woman photojournalist speaks Her job interview was precise: photograph a naked person in the bathroom.Although no one, not even her sisters, was willing to let her take the photograph, a friend ultimately came to her rescue. She took the photograph and beat the 4 o’clock deadline set by The New Vision’s photo editor, Jimmy Adriko. More: New man at the helm of oldest association BOOK REVIEW Make your writing powerful, colorful, memorable and funny East Africa’s media is generally rated as among the best on the continent. But there is also consensus that there is room for improvement in its professionalism. Indeed journalism is still a relatively young profession in many African countries compared to the West, where it originated. And for anyone seeking to improve his skills, Angela Phillips’ Good Writing for Journalists is a good aid. Phillips, a British journalist with over 30 years’ experience, details the narrative and conventions of journalism. Journalists should tell stories that are timely, relevant, important, focused on changing the established order, evidence-based and with impact.She says that only by operating within these confines can journalists expect to be trusted by their audiences. More: The dilemma facing researchers in using the media

In the Sept/Oct 2008 ET Magazine

Understanding The Standard

Where politics and intrigue rule

Either the Standard newspaper has become a gossip place or the company is just in perpetual trouble. Whatever the case, there is an evident air of gloom and sometimes apprehension that staff exhibit when they talk about their working environment or job security. And the past couple of months have witnessed tremendous hue in the wake of some fairly drastic changes at the newspaper.

More:

KENYA

Hard times for gutter press

About eight years back, the alternative press was on a high. It served as the worthy platform for political squabbles, intrigues and propaganda. Politicians used these publications to fell opponents, business people dragged the credentials of their competitors through mud, anyone with beef with someone else knew the gutter press as an instrument to get their own back. The papers didn’t disappoint.

TANZANIA

Mengi vs Manji

How the war between two tycoons is compromising the mediaThe duel between two business bigwigs in Tanzania; leading media mogul Reginald Mengi and Yusuf Manji, a Tanzanian of Asian extraction, is now directly impacting on the media. Already several journalists have been victimized, fired or sternly warned either by their respective employers, or under the influence of the two antagonists, especially those that were insinuated to have taken sides in the wrangle.

RWANDA

Rwanda newspapers regularly irregular

Of the 57 newspapers registered by the Ministry of Information in 2007, only 37 published. And not all of them reached the streets, according to the High Council of the Press, a government media regulatory body. In its 2007 State of the Media Report, HCP says 54 per cent of the registered newspapers in 2007 were 'regularly irregular'. The irregularity is attributed to financial constraints, poor planning and weak managerial capacities in the media, the report adds.

MEDIA REVIEW

Tanzania media below Watergate standard

More:

UGANDA

Crackdown on talk radio

Uganda’s evening talk shows on FM radio and the weekend ones hosted in bars and other public places (bimeeza) are no more. Apparently, President Yoweri Museveni is not impressed by either of them because, he says, the youth spend most of the time on radio insulting him instead of engaging in productive work. Leading bimeeza hosts share their opinion.

PRESS FREEDOM

Press Freedom in Rwanda: Tale of an existential threat?

Media freedom in Rwanda, like in many African countries or repressive regimes, is framed within the context of the country’s socio-economic and political factors and sometimes history. Rwanda is not an exception, 14 years after the liberation war by the Rwanda Patriotic Front -- bearing in mind the extent of the 1994 genocide, media freedom in the country has been 'framed in the context of the genocide'.

More:

PROFILE

Uganda�s sole woman photojournalist speaks

Her job interview was precise: photograph a naked person in the bathroom.Although no one, not even her sisters, was willing to let her take the photograph, a friend ultimately came to her rescue. She took the photograph and beat the 4 o’clock deadline set by The New Vision’s photo editor, Jimmy Adriko.

More:

New man at the helm of oldest association

BOOK REVIEW

Make your writing powerful, colorful, memorable and funny

East Africa’s media is generally rated as among the best on the continent. But there is also consensus that there is room for improvement in its professionalism. Indeed journalism is still a relatively young profession in many African countries compared to the West, where it originated. And for anyone seeking to improve his skills, Angela Phillips’ Good Writing for Journalists is a good aid.

Phillips, a British journalist with over 30 years’ experience, details the narrative and conventions of journalism. Journalists should tell stories that are timely, relevant, important, focused on changing the established order, evidence-based and with impact.She says that only by operating within these confines can journalists expect to be trusted by their audiences.

More:

The dilemma facing researchers in using the media

Here and There

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