How Boko should navigate the media landscape

Kabo Ramasia | Monday November 11, 2024 15:35

Indeed that came as a relief to the many who had longed for a regime change for years that the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) found itself in power. Mr President, it would appear Batswana were expressing their displeasure in the BDP’s complacency which had begun to build with time. Your election therefore comes as a signal of hope and a new beginning in this second republic. So, be reminded to buckle up and deliver on the electoral promises your party-the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) made. However, I do not wish to bore you more with politics but there is a pressing issue which I ought to bring to your attention. Media. It should be fundamentally respected and protected in your government- media. Media is the foundation upon which our democracy has stood upon for 58 years. The media saw this country through all the phases of its development.

You would note that from the days when Botswana was classified amongst the poorest in the world, a desert, as perceived by our then colonisers, media was then at an infancy stage. Botswana would in the 1970s discover diamonds which changed the course of its history. But it was still the media which told the story. Post diamonds and now heading towards the 1990s the journey as a developmental state although hailed a success in political literature, would then take a detour. We were derailed. The discovery of the HIV virus spelt doom for Botswana as this small nation stood helpless and ravaged by a marauding virus nobody knew of. With families burying their loved one’s every week -it took the leaders of that time to champion a fight to save the nation. At the time President Festus Mogae was at the helm. Nevertheless, it was health messaging through media which saw a glimmer of hope.

With time Batswana got to know how to combat this epidemic with messaging like Abstain, Be Faithful and Condomise (ABC). All that and the public campaigns and strategies devised at the height of the disease were all channelled through media. That Botswana emerged off the woods and now headed toward an elimination of the virus by 2030 is not quantum physics. The journey to adherence to medication and a paradigm shift in stigmatisation were all a result of television, billboards, newspaper adverts, behavioural change stories and a captured narration of lived experiences of those infected and affected by HIV. The media played a huge role in such a success. Similarly, in 2020, the world grappled with a pandemic called the corona virus or COVID-19. Botswana like the rest of the world utilised the power of media to save a nation yet again. After it was all said and done, Botswana had survived the onslaught of the stubborn pandemic. With all the aforementioned, I am not trying to press panic batons. I am simply alerting you to the reality you already know as someone who has been in the struggle for quite a while. I believe you know the pain of being denied airtime via media or the joy of hearing your name make headlines. However, often at times politicians tend to be misled into thinking that media is their enemy. Or an enemy of the current government, at the most. That assumption is devoid of logic and is anchored on the basis that as an oversight or societal watchdogs, democratic dispensations dictate that independent media houses hold power to account. I urge you to embrace all that. Believe you me, embracing media will set you apart from some of your colleagues who held that office but treated media like aliens in their own land.

Who can forget the former president Ian Khama regime where fear reigned supreme even amongst journalist considered ferocious? It was a decade of terror coupled with a silence blacklisting of media houses which went about their business reporting and demanding accountability. Mr President, as you ask to be called, kindly note that journalists are mere mortals who don’t go about rubbing people off the wrong way by doing their duty. Even so, they are not infallible and to use your words ke “bafokodi” meaning they are of flesh and blood and bound to err. Sometimes, they will err and the mistakes which will be too glaring and at times it will be just a minor glitch. However, the media is not a gamblers paradise where everything goes, even gambling is now regulated like media is. I ask that you hasten to look into the review of laws that don’t criminalize journalism. Further, I urge of your esteemed self to rectify the anomaly of a constitution that doesn’t explicitly speak to the protection of journalism. It needs to be visible within the supreme law off the land upon its review. Journalists also call for the Freedom of Information bill which will enable ease access of information for investigations and a general day-to-day corroboration of facts.

Mr President, teach your Public Relations Officers that killing media enquiries is not in itself great spin doctoring. If anything, it’s an indictment on society for those who miss out on impactful stories. While I would have wished to go on, now allow me to remind your press office at the office that they exist to serve the nation and the nation demands news. They should be reminded that their alliance is to the ordinary folk and should endeavour to share information and cooperate at all times. They are not bigger than the citizenry we serve some of whom have kids who walk 10km to the nearest school because a politician (white collar criminal) looted funds for school construction. Let such stories be written. In conclusion Mr President, after the dust settles and the euphoria of a new dawn fizzles out please be reminded that the media industry is perishing.

The media business is under siege and the welfare of workers degenerating with each day that passes. As a human rights activist, I believe you will create time to engage with media managers, journalist, publishers and media advocacy groups to map a way forward. I have argued before on the need for government funding of the media. Think about it. Its not capture as some allude is. Come and let us have a discussion on media sustainability, regulation and freedom of expression. Be that as it may be, kindly accept that not always will stories be crafted to your liking. Sometimes you will love them, laugh at them and at times dismiss them. That’s what will make your presidency even more interesting. *KABO RAMASIA is a Senior Journalist and media scholar