Incisive Journalism in Cameroon: The Best of ��Cameroon Report�� (1978 � 1986)

Editor’s Note

xvii Editor’s Note This collection has been aptly described as the ‘Voices of Dissent’ and comes in a timely manner to dispel the widespread impression that the official media have been indifferent with regard to the struggle for human rights and the freedom of expression. Granted that the official media in Cameroon were swiftly transformed into an instrument of blatant propaganda and disinformation in the wake of the public outcry for open democracy in the 1990s, nevertheless, the weekly English language program of the National Service of Radio Cameroon, Cameroon Report (now Cameroon Calling) has always been at the forefront of the campaign for freedoms since its inception in 1972. The authoritative, objective, critical and prophetic nature of the selections in this collection is evidence that press freedom is never served on a silver platter but must be wrested from the iron hands of despotism. In compiling this collection, it was not possible to lay hands on material broadcast before 1978 as the early producers paid little attention to documentation. A considerable amount of this material was furnished from the private archives of the commentators and analysts while the rest was made after a minute selection from some 1.000 articles that survived and were salvaged from the drawers of the English Desk by the Editor. A number of factors such as the magnitude of events and prominence of people, overall government policy, and issues of vital human interest determined the choice of articles in this collection. xviii Cameroon Report, which has undergone two name changes since 1986 (News Panorama and now Cameroon Calling) was initially conceived in 1972 as a radio newsreel on events of the week but gradually evolved into a definitive program of critical news analysis and commentary whose concern for the welfare of society and whose commitment to the promotion of freedom of expression and social responsibility in the true sense of the word have gone a long way to elevate Cameroon Journalism. Apart from articles which came in Cameroon Report proper some news talks have been included to give this collection a wider dimension. The anthology is divided into two sections: domestic and foreign issues and events with articles arranged chronologically to facilitate a grasp of the historical evolution of events and ideas. Editing basically was directed at rendering these articles in print form and no attempt has been made to modify their original content and flavour. Care was also taken to preserve the style of the spoken language as these materials were conceived and written for broadcast. The dates mentioned at the top of each article could either be the date it was written or the date of broadcast. So many years have gone by and it is quite a task to determine the exact dates of broadcast. Rather than use the footnote approach, supplementary information was incorporated in a great number of the introductions to the commentaries to help readers situate issues and events. Where original introductions were completely absent, editing took care of that. xix In short, what the editor has done is mere selection and packaging and lays no claim to any accomplishment beyond that. xx ...