"The objectives of this handbook are as follows: to provide resources to civil society organisations in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) which are seeking to achieve independent broadcasting regulation and an independent public broadcaster; to share South Africa’s experiences of s
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etting up and running independent statutory communications bodies, focusing specifically on teh Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC); to provide a user-friendly but in-depth analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the South African ‘model’ in relation to independent broadcasting; to explore the role of civil society activism in amplifying the strengths, while addressing the weaknesses of independent broadcasting in South Africa; to explore whether a balance has been struck between independence and accountability in relation to the SABC, and to look at what the challenges are on both these levels; to develop recommendations on how to strengthen the South African ‘model ‘ of public broadcasting and broadcasting regulation, while avoiding its pitfalls. Each section of the handbook will end with a series of discussion points." (Page iv)
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"Amidst the fast-changing broadcast media landscape, the present book examined many “balancing acts” which stake-holders both in government and private sector have to undertake to establish and maintain an effective and credible broadcast regulation mechanism. For example, it requires a balancin
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g act to determine which aspects of broadcasting can be regulated to protect citizens rights but at the same time not to provide an opportunity for “powers that be” to curtail freedom. One needs to strike a balance between the independence of the regulator and the government’s own purpose to pursue public policy objectives; and as determining where the balance lies between the potentially conflicting rights of the broadcaster, society, and the individual. Another important contribution of this book is the discussion on new or emerging issues which may create some confusion in the regulatory system, such as jurisdiction issues for cable and telecommunication as carriers of broadcast programmes, issues on spectrum management; issues on broadcasting-related intellectual property rights and the role of the government in the digital switchover. Of special interest to UNESCO is the discussion on licensing community radio stations. UNESCO has always encouraged for allocating frequencies for community radios which serve the needs of marginalized groups. Policymakers, particularly legislators on the lookout for a model regulatory framework and mechanism will find the appended law outline most useful and adaptable because of its comprehensiveness despite its outline format. Meanwhile, a substantial section provides country experiences in terms of model regulatory objects." (Foreword)
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"Le choix fait par la République du Congo pour la démocratie pluraliste a eu pour conséquences, entre autres, la libéralisation du domaine de l'information et de la communication qui était auparavant un monopole de l'Etat. A ainsi été créé le Conseil Supérieur de la Liberté de Communicati
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on. Mais l'importance et le rôle de cette institution essentielle pour la démocratie sont encore largement ignorés par la population. Elle trouve ici l'occasion de connaître les missions et les diverses compétences de cette institution régulièrement et injustement brocardée." (Description de la maison d'édition)
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"The African Charter on Broadcasting, adopted in 2001 on the tenth anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, alongside the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa establish a series of important principles that should guide the de
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velopment of African broadcasting. These include: the crucial important of independent broadcasting regulators; the transformation of state and government broadcasters into public broadcasters; the importance of encouraging pluralism and diversity in ownership of broadcasting. The task of implementing these principles lies to a large extent with African broadcasting regulators. This manual is aimed at members and staff of African broadcasting regulatory bodies, along with others, such as journalists, broadcasters and civil society groups who are seeking to realize the ideals in these declarations." (Purpose of this manual, page 10)
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Dans nombre de pays africains, la liberté de la presse est encore toute relative, et surtout vulnérable, menacée par le pouvoir ou fragilisée par les excès dont les médias eux-mêmes se rendent coupables. Dans ce contexte sont apparues les premières instances africaines d'autorégulation des
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médias, visant à faire respecter la déontologie, à forger dans l'esprit des journalistes une éthique de l'information et à engager la presse dans une dynamique de professionnalisation. En charge d'un programme d'appui aux instances africaines d’autorégulation financé par l'Union européenne, en collaboration avec la Fédération internationale des journalistes (Fij), l'Union des journalistes de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (UJAO) et l'Observatoire ivoirien (Observatoire de la liberté de la presse, de l'éthique et de la déontologie - Olped), le Gret a travaillé sur la question dans un objectif double : apporter des références sur l'autorégulation des médias et donner un éclairage sur les expériences naissantes en Afrique. Dans une première partie sont présentées les approches de l'autorégulation et différents mécanismes utilisés par les médias dans plusieurs pays du monde. La deuxième partie est consacrée aux instances africaines. Elle expose le fonctionnement de l'Observatoire béninois (Odem), analysant ses acquis et difficultés, puis étudie les défis à relever pour des instances qui, si elles veulent remplir pleinement leur mission, doivent se pérenniser.
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