African Communication Research: Ethics in the Newsroom

African Communication Research is a peer-reviewed journal which seeks to help bring African communication researchers into dialogue and debate about their common efforts with the aim to strengthen African theories and methods around communication for development. It is published three times a year by the Faculty of Social Sciences and Communications at St. Augustine University of Tanzania, Mwanza, Tanzania.

The focus of this issue is on "ethics in the newsroom". It contains the following contributions:

Newsroom Ethics in Africa: Quest for a Normative Framework - by Bernadin F. Mfumbusa

Abstract: "Newsroom studies in Africa are peppered with tales of unethical reporting practices, conflict of interest, and corruption. These problems have undermined the credibility of the media and limited editorial autonomy. While some scholars call for a return to African ethical roots as a panacea; others hanker for greater professionalism in the African media industry. The two approaches underscore the Afro-centric values versus Eurocentric values debate that has characterized much of the postcolonial discourses. This study offers an overview of the state of newsroom studies since the mid-1990s when Francis Kasoma identified two needs in Africa, namely, for journalism ethics and for African ethics (Afri-ethics). Since then there has been a media ethics boom marked by scholarly articles, workshops and conferences. Yet a chasm between theory emphasizing objectivity, balance, truthfulness etc. and practice marked by corruption and sensationalism persists."

The Shaping of News Values of Young Journalists in Kenya - by Stephen Ogongo Ongong'a and Robert A. White

Abstract: "The present study of the formation of news values of twenty young journalists in the two major quality newspapers of Nairobi, The Nation and The Standard, found that their idealistic conception of the role of a journalist focused on helping lower status people in Kenya gain great political and economic power. The major influences in their news values come from the image of the role of the journalist in Kenyan society formed early in life during primary and secondary school. Neither the journalism training in university nor the guidance of editors seems to be a significant factor in their idealism. In spite of the difficult employment conditions and the resistance of editors to issues such as human rights and other social problems, young journalists say they learn how to get their ideas into the press mainly through feature stories."

Self-censorship among news journalists in the Ethiopian state media - by Terje S. Skjerdal

Abstract: "This article documents self-censorship practices in three state-owned media institutions in Ethiopia: Ethiopian Television, the Ethiopian News Agency and the Ethiopian Herald. The data from in-depth interviews with 34 reporters and editors reveals that self-censorship is an everyday activity in the newsrooms, but is particularly prevalent during times of tension and in political coverage. The article discusses how self-censorship routines are internalised and reinforced among new candidates for reporter jobs. It is argued that the journalists take on certain "ethical rationalisations" (or pseudo ethical reasoning, if one prefers) to justify the practice. Four principal rationalisations are identified: liberties normally accorded to editing practice; transferring ethical responsibility from the individual journalist to the institution; confidence that the audience will counter-read the news; and self-censorship as a support for the supposed benefits of development journalism."

Establishing Journalistic Standards in the Ghanaian Press - by Africanus Diedong

Abstract: "This article documents how journalists worked to improve the journalistic standards in Ghana in the years from 1980 to the late 1990s in the face of the attempts of the political leadership in Ghana to manipulate and repress press freedom. The major premise of the research carried out in 2005 is that the improvement of ethical standards of journalists begins with the decisions of committed journalists in the daily routine of the newsroom to make the press a support of democratic governance and defence of human rights. These efforts move from personal values to establishing a professional culture through professional associations, the socialisation of young journalists in newsrooms, involvement in the training of journalists in academic institutions and inservice workshops, and working with government regulatory and complaints commissions. The research began with newsroom observations of two leading newspapers, interviews with leaders in journalistic reform and then finally focused on in-depth interviews with a sample of four journalists widely reputed by colleagues to be noteworthy in establishing standards. The interviews used life-history and professional history methods to permit these journalists to describe how they defined ethical norms in the process of routine news reporting."

Ineffective Working Groups' Communication as a Groupthink Outcome: The Effects of Cohesiveness - by Jeremire M. Araka

Abstract: "People work in teams everyday, whether it is in the workplace, the classroom, or in the community - we are all members of some team and we should all understand how they work, and equally important, how to optimize our experiences in them. Some research has suggested that working as a team is more productive and effective than any single individual. But it would be naïve to suggest that all team experiences are positive, and that all group decisions yield positive outcomes. While research suggests that information processing is the central element in faulty decision-making, some scholars hold that members of a team will take part in more risky activities as a member of the team. Others argue that team members will be more conservative in their communication. Either way, a team is studied as a system and improper communication is explained as a negative outcome of team processing. Groupthink, on the other hand, is the tendency for highly cohesive teams to lose their critical (objective) evaluative capabilities. In other words, groupthink takes place when the groups have low levels of cohesiveness, and consequently ineffective leadership. This is because an ineffective communication leader either fails in effort to make the group cohesive, or fails to ensure that information is critically evaluated. But in a cohesive group this won’t happen because of their vested interests unlike teams that are experiencing groupthink whose members could care less about the group. The new theoretical framework tested in this study offers clear explanations of how and under what circumstances, groups experience groupthink. It offers suggestions about how a group can ensure high quality positive communication outcomes."