Mass Media and Democratisation in Cameroon in the Early 1990s

Introduction

vii Introduction This study titled Mass Media and Democratisation in Cameroon in the Early 1990s, has been realised thanks to funding by the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation, and thanks in particular, to Mr Michael Hackenbruch, former resident representative of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation in Cameroon. (i) Objectives and Relevance The study was started in April 1994 and completed in June 1995. Its objective was to examine the role of the mass media in the democratic process in Cameroon between 1990 and 1994. The basic assumption was that for the mass media to play a significant and positive role in the democratisation of Cameroon: (a) media institutions and practitioners must operate within a political and legal environment that allows them the freedom to inform the public on the virtues of democracy; (b) the economic and financial situation of the media and practitioners must be favourable for such a task; and (c) the media and media practitioners must be professional in their collection, treatment and dissemination of information relevant to democracy, and must seek to excel as objective mediators in the democratic debate and struggle. The study was intended to be both a measure of tolerance in the society at large and an x-ray of the practice of journalism as a profession in Cameroon at the dawn of multipartyism and democratisation. It is hoped that this research will contribute towards a better understanding of the democratic process in Cameroon, and that it might serve as an impetus for greater comparative research on the mass media and democracy in Africa. viii (ii) Research Design and Hypotheses The basic question in the study is that of the contribution of the mass media towards democratisation in Cameroon. To avoid being misled by declarations that do not reflect reality, the study has sought to understand both the de jure and the de facto situations of the mass media and democratisation in the country. It has also sought, where and whenever necessary, to match statements of intent either by media practitioners, politicians or administrators, with actual practice. Definition of concepts By mass media in this study, we mean radio, television and the press as found in Cameroon. By democratisation we mean all the efforts being made to introduce, encourage and live a democratic culture and society. In broad terms, indicators of democracy are tolerance for alternative views and ways, transparency and participation in decision making for all, and respect for basic human rights and dignity. At a national level, democratisation, in concrete terms, can be measured through the following questions: (a) how collective is the determination of law and policy? (b) is there equality in rights and dignity to all? (c) are decisions reached by majority vote after public debate? (d) how representative is parliament? (e) how separated are powers and how effective are the checks and balances between the different instances of power (i.e. executive, legislative, judiciary)? (f) how effective is the rule of law? (g) is there protection of minorities? (h) how free and accessible are the mass media? The role of the media in democratisation can be measured by seeking to know whether or not the media: (a) are themselves adequately informed and educated on the importance of democratic pluralism, (b) have socialised and assisted society towards a democratic consensus or commonality of democratic values, (c) have assisted in reducing ix social tensions and cleavages in a multi-ethnic and multicultural Cameroon. In short, what have the media done to adopt and live the democratic culture and to promote democracy as a way of life in Cameroon? It is assumed that in the past the media could not play this role because of the restrictive legal and political environments in which they operated. Hypotheses In social sciences the application of the term ‘hypothesis’ has tended to be limited to quantitative research, because of the assumption that the more mathematical or statistical research is analysed, the more objective it becomes. This restrictive definition or usage, ignores to a large extent the aspect of human life which cannot be reduced to or stated in simple mathematical or statistical equations or formulae. In this study however, the term is used in a much more flexible manner, to refer to any guiding idea or statement informed by a review of literature or some preliminary observation of the mass media in a democratising Cameroon. In this study the main hypothesis or guiding idea is that the...