Mushikiwabo reaffirms gov’t dedication to media growth

HUYE - The Minister of Information, Louise Mushikiwabo, Saturday pledged to accelerate the establishment of the Media Support Fund as part of a wider government initiative to step up both the private and government media houses’ operations. She said this during cerebrations to mark the International Press Freedom Day Celebrations, which took place at the National University of Rwanda (NUR) in the Southern Province. “Supporting the media grow is in our best interests, the government is committed, and we are going to expedite the fund such that some of the financial constraints the media has faced, especially the private media can be overcome,” underscored Mushikiwabo. The celebrations were also characterized by different presentations from journalism scholars which incited mixed reactions from various media practitioners, trainers and regulators in the country. The presentations touched on issues of media freedom in the country, ethics and professionalism, the mutual interdependence between media and society, challenges being faced and aspects which compromise the media trade today. The minister stressed the need for media to always grasp the societal context into which they operate such that the two work hand in hand to develop each other instead of antagonizing each other. Among some of the barriers to media development and stability in Rwanda which were fronted included low intellectual socialization, the wanting nature of some media houses, the burden of history and lack of solidarity among practitioners, which are big determinants of a progressive and vibrant media. The analysis which was done by Christopher Kayumba, a lecturer at the NUR School of Journalism also described the status of media in Rwanda in terms of content and coverage. It says that some media houses are characterized by limited coverage, story topics which hugely focus on politics, events, few development material and little portrayal of the picture of the grassroot people. Among other issues raised was how to build a responsible media, and on this, Marcel Museminali, a local journalist, reasoned that it is only through maximizing freedom of press and treating media with the deserved dignity that a responsible media will be developed, as opposed to the being restricted and being treated with contempt like how it often times happen. However, about dignity and respect, Mushikiwabo said that these should be earned, saying that journalists should execute their work in a dignified way, which, she said is the only way they can be respected. She condemned the existing tendency of some journalists taking handouts and lunch offers from companies and organizations after collecting a story, pointing out that this corrupts the authenticity of the story there by compromising the honesty expected in the final product. On this, journalists accepted the prevalence of the vice but called upon responsible authorities to partner with media practitioners in addressing the root causes of the conduct, instead of just criticizing and concentrating on the symptoms. The minister agreed to the suggestion of forming a committee composed of journalists, to analyze the root causes of these problems, with which she promised to work closely. The International Press Freedom Day was introduced by UNESCO and it is celebrated every year on May 3 but in Rwanda it was cerebrated on May 9. Ends