Election campaign: sensitizing reporters rather than sanctioning them

The ministry in charge of Communication set up a committee mainly made of editors in chief from various media groups, meant to assess the charter to be respected by reporters during electoral periods. “Ethics is something to be constantly emphatically reminded “, argued HAT minister Nathalie Rabe. This charter serves as a flag for reporters reporting information during propaganda time. There won’t be any sanction behind it”, promises the minister.  

In view of enforcing any pragmatic reluctance from various media professionals, the Minister openly described this new rule as a way to restore due honor and dignity for the reporting profession. Technically speaking, reporters are supposed to provide neutral, balanced and plural information to citizens, actually a very seldomChristin case everywhere, including the national channels and journals, indeed very much politically polarized. Neither TV live performances nor newspaper windows are complying with such pledged balanced 

The new charter is, therefore, compelled to display respect for the rule of art, and call upon reporters’ committment to duly report the whole of the on going propaganda. However, reporters being part of one or another candidate’s campain is no seldom scene. In such case, the concerned reporter must be released by his employer for a while according to the ministry. But ethics is repeatedly undermined by economic interests.  

A private TV channel station’s editor in chief does not make a secret of it: “how would a reporter broadcast his information if he is no more part of the team? This has economic consequences for our station “. so reads reality: broadcasting propaganda on TV is a business! This editor in chief subsequently argued to be imposing standards to the information processed by their reporters.  

This way is a good deal for everybody: candidates do not have to pay any private communication agency, reporters have the occasion to make almost good money, while stations and print houses get their business kick started by politics. A charter might not be enough to change a thing to this, somehow, not very much dignifying press value. Only those who would sign would be bound by it. And no sanction will punish any violation 

A law text would be more suited to the restoration of the reporter’s clean duty. Information business is quite a sensitive issue since the very survival of media groups is the stake. Sensitizing the media world is, however, welcomed prior to the martial sanction from any law. In the Malagasy culture, receiving and giving money is no crime. Reporters are generally finding it hard to do their jobs while keeping their duty unblurred. Some of them have allegedly found a deal between economic incentives and ethics