Cameroon: A possible way forward for an Independent system of regulation for the Press

Should Cameroon continue to have a strong-biased press regulated by a highly controversial 1990 communication`s law or for the first time ever strive to have a free press, a real free press away from politicians?

In Cameroon looking into the culture, practices and ethics in the press and the examination of the relationship of the press with the public, police, military-police and politicians, a lot can be said and also be done to set out boundaries in order to have a real free press accountable to the public. 

There is a huge need for a radical shake-up in the way Cameroon`s press has operated since it began. Hafis Ruefli, an outspoken opponent of Biya`s leadership is in favour of a properly accountable media complaints commission and explain on how the newspaper industry in Cameroon should be allowed to function and restore public confidence in the press.

The Cameroon Journalists Union (CJU) with his Press Complaints Commission created and funded by press freedom`s organisations has become infiltrated with government spies`s boys, spurned lovers and smears artists. Decency, privacy and old fashioned honour no longer mattered and at the end , the public were repulsed. 

The creation by the government funded of a fake national union of journalists ( members were all residents in Yaounde, political capital city of Cameroon) which followed was intended to restore public confidence in the press and avoid the division in the press`s family. 

But it was a chaos and once more the government has registered a failed regulatory systems. There has never really been a regulator even a  complaints mechanism under Biya`s regime and authority.

There is a need of a creation of a regulator which guarantee independence from ownership control. These minimum standards include civic society involvement and representation of the profession which is provided by all journalists organisations legalised and there won`t be any direct or indirect State involvement in the regulatory system. No publisher is forced to join.

In Cameroon there is a need of  an independent regulatory body, independent from the government and the industry that will really protect free expression and free press, ensure high standards of journalism, fully defend journalists who protect their source, provide a right of reply, be backed by the ability to impose sanction such as fines, have the authority and ability to regulate all commercially-driven press.

It will be good to have such unions or organisation that can play a huge and an important role in maintaining  standards and standing up for ethical journalism. Hafis believes it is possible and can be done.

However, any conversion from sinners to saints would be short-term and once public and political attention went elsewhere, it will be business as usual.

Cameroon: Women don`t make the front page, except in pictures

Treating women in a cruel and unfair way and not giving them the same freedom, rights, spaces as other people representation in the media in Cameroon under the current regime is just appalling and disastrous and discriminating.

Women are still sidelined and stereotyped on the front page of Britain`s newspapers, according to research published by Women in Journalism (WiJ). The results of the research and figures can be also be extrapolated to Cameroon.

Male dominated journalists wrote 78% of all front-page articles and  men accounted for 84% of those mentioned or quoted in them, according to WiJ`s analysis of nine national papers over four weeks earlier this year.

Predictable as the general results may seem, the research did produce some surprises, with the worst gender ratios on what many would consider the most progressive papers.

The most male-dominated title was the Independent, with 91% of its 70 front-page articles written by men. At the Telegraph the proportion was 89%, at The Times 82% and 78% at The Guardian.

But the Express had a 50/50 share and at the best quality paper, the Financial Times, the figure was 66%. Across all the titles, of people named in lead articles, 84% of those quoted or mentioned were men, most in a professional capacity. 

The 16% of women were disproportionately likely to be quoted as celebrities, or as victims.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there were higher proportions of photos of women-though most were celebrities.

 The  results of the study published by the Journal of the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, found not a single female politician or leader in the top 10 images used during the month in question.

And where powerful women were featured, the images were often unflattering. The were few pictures in which women looked powerful and serious.Francoise Foning, Mayor for Duala 5, Prof Asheri Kilo Vivian and the government minister Muna Tutu have featured in some rare front page.

 The same research can be used for Le Messager, The Herald, La Nouvelle Expression, Cameroon Tribune, Dikalo, The Nation, Le Jour, Mutations, Reperes, L`Action, Le Patriote, Germinal, L`Oeil du Sahel, Aurore Plus, The Messenger, L`Anecdote, Le Proces International,

 Le Nouvel Independant, L`Independant, La Nouvelle Afrique and many more strong male dominated titles where the image of the first lady Chantal Biya can be featured and appeared as the main picture many times during a certain period of time.

 Female government ministers are sometimes featured only when on usual government business with images of them in some unfortunnate face.

Prof Asheri Kilo Vivian and Ama Tutu Muna have never kept the front page of many publication and this is a kind of discrimination compare to their male colleagues.