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This research paper give a comprehensive understanding of the situation of Media in Mali. The main stream system of the countries which are radio, television and newspaper are separately analyzed. Again, the paper browses the impact of the security situation on the field of media in Mali, having a look at the multiples association intervening in the protection of this profession and also the professionals. The main television and radio station working in the country are analyzed.
Keywords:
The French colonizers realized early on that the press could be of great use in this business of conquest and domination. So in all its colonized states France had its media outlets disseminating messages. During the last years of the colonial period (until 1960) some political parties and unions created their own publications allowing for some levels of pluralism of voices in the country. The national radio of Mali was established in 1957 as a state institution.
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During the period from independence in 1960 to the military coup in 1968 there were several attempts to create new publications. However, after the coup, many closed and others were held under the control of the military. With multiparty democratic elections in 1991 and a liberalization of the media market in 1992, the media landscape was radically transformed with new publications and the creation of private radios across the country. This was a period in which media outlets clearly identified with different political parties. This new dynamic fostered the creation of new media laws and a code of ethics.
Also, the constitution of February 1992 includes references to freedom of the press and information. Before the events of 2012, Mali had a thriving media sector and a regulation mostly favorable to Freedom of Expression.
Malian media development has been held as a regional model and received strong technical and financial support from international and regional organizations. Despite this, according to Mamadou Kaba, the managing director of Radio Television du Mali: "The Malian media still has two faces: on the one hand that of a vibrant and free press which is not subjected to censorship, seizure, or arrests and, on the other hand that of a press characterized by excesses and grave violations of the law and ethics of the profession, in complete impunity. With the current crisis and ensuing economic instability, media outlets are now more politically influenced and divided than ever. Before the conflict, self-censorship and politically influenced media existed side by side with favorable media laws. Influence on media was exerted through coercion, abuse of the national budget for state advertising, or by modifying tax conditions of specific media outlets. Prior to 2012, journalists exercised varying levels of self-censorship. On one hand, they were influenced by religious and social norms.
During late 2011, Mali's media began to practice self-censorship in relation to protests against a new conservative family law. The new law was hardly reported on in the media. A press conference was organised by women's and human rights associations at the umbrella organisation Maison de la Presse in October 2011 which all media outlets attended, but only one small, unknown newspaper reported on the issue. The media feared the wrath of radical Muslims who had demonstrated in favour of the conservative family law. During 2012, the coup dealt a blow to freedom of media and expression. While chaotic conditions plagued northern Mali, violations of freedom of the press in southern Mali, particularly in the capital, were considerable in the first four months following the coup. In addition - as a regulatory consequence of the coup in February 2012 a new audio-visual law was promulgated, but the coup and the general political crisis stopped its implementation. Media demographics reflect a multi-linguistic and multi-ethnic media scene. Despite the numerous media outlets most newspapers only circulate in Bamako and in the main cities. Radio continues to be the main media with the widest outreach. Prior to the conflict, radio coverage reached 90% of the population. The broadcasting is split between private community radios, non-commercial radios, cooperatives, and state and private radios of a commercial nature. Radio plays an important role due to Mali's adult literacy rate of 26% community radios broadcast in local languages in rural areas and are important sources of information with a high level of legitimacy. Since the democratic process of 1991 began and up to 2011 Mali did not see any journalists prosecuted and cases of violence were rare. The security situation of journalists deteriorated rapidly during the last two years, both in the north and the south. There are now no mechanisms in place for the protection of journalists and the relationship between media and the security forces is characterized by distrust. Malian media also suffers from lack of professionalism and training. This is reflected in the quality of the treatment of information that rarely includes serious investigative journalism. There is a code of conduct in place for journalists, but it is mostly ignored and tight economic conditions and low salaries make journalists prone to corrupted practices; there are several types of media in Mali, these needs to be analyzed separately.
Radio is the most prominent media in Mali as the main newspapers and publications are only distributed in Bamako and other large cities. Since the liberalization of the airwaves in 1992 the number of private radios has multiplied exponentially. At the onset of 2012, approximately 500 licenses have been issued by the government to create associative, commercial and community radios. Before the conflict there were 369 different private radios operating in the country conforming to the regulatory framework. These radios provided coverage to approximately 80% of the population. In the city of Bamako alone there were 16 private radios and two public ones. In Sikasso, there were 52 radios, in Kayes there were 47 radios, in Koulikoro there were 35, and in Segou there were 55. In addition, there were eight public regional radios from the Malian Office of Radio and Television Broadcasting (ORTM). As a consequence of the conflict in the north, private and public radios operate almost only in the south of the country. In the north some radios have been taken over or co-opted by some of the rebel groups. There is a wide network of community radios divided in several associations. The most important is the Union of Free Radios and Television of Mali (Union des Radios et Televisions Libres du Mali, URTEL) which is an umbrella organisation of approximately 250 radios. There are two other networks: Kayira that counts 16 radios and TDM networks that covers 17 radios. These radios provide fundamental information in local languages and enjoy high levels of trust within the communities they operate in. Despite the wide radio coverage in the country, most radios do not comply with basic technical and ethical standards. They are characterised by nonprofessional staff, lack of equipment and safety measures and lack of financial resources. Foreign radio content - such as that of Radio France Internationale (RFI), BBC Africa, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America (VOA) - are relayed by Malian radio without being covered by any type of regulation. In addition, the ORTM radios relay content from Radio Beijing, Radio France Internationale, La Radio AFRICA N°1, and BBC Africa.
There were over 300 newspaper licenses issued for private newspapers, but at the closing of this report only 30 dailies and weeklies appear regularly. All newspaper distribution is geographically limited to newsstands in the city of Bamako. Even before the crisis, 90% of the newspapers were circulated only in Bamako. Circulation numbers are low with 300 to 1,500 copies printed a day. There are also regional publications in the main local languages such as Bambara, Fula and Soninke. The only national newspaper in French, L'Essor, is state-owned. The impact of print media is limited due to the low literacy rate.
Mali still does not have regulation covering private TV channels. TV reception is limited in many areas of the country due to a lack of electricity and TV sets. Currently, there are two public channels located in Bamako city (TM2 and Africable TV) and one national TV channel. ORTM rebroadcasts satellite-received content from 150 international channels.
Mali ranks in the bottom ten of the countries in the world with the lowestlevels of internet connectivity. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) there were 414,985 internet users in Mali as of December 2011, representing a total of 2.9% of the population, with access only available in major cities. There are only a few online publications with very little impact. A number of journalists have utilized their personal Facebook pages to upload their articles, but due to the low levels of internet penetration, this had also had a low impact. However, the internet has provided media and journalists with access to international content which has multiplied their sources of information. There is still no legislation in Mali that covers new media and there have been no cases of journalists prosecuted for online publication. In the northern part of Mali where internet connection has been limited and where the Islamist groups have closed cybercaf?s, there is still a possibility of access through phone networks.
There are two public state media outlets administered and financed by the state. They are supposedly autonomous, but economically dependent on the government. During the coup in March 2012 their premises were taken over by the military which was seeking control of
icontent and management of the stations. The Malian Office of Radio and Television Broadcasting (ORTM) was created in 1992 and is tasked with the mission to design, produce and broadcast all programmes on radio and television to meet the need for information, education and entertainment of the public. It develops its productions and maintains its own equipment, networks and transmission facilities. ORTM runs:
The three radio stations located in the north (in Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal) have been destroyed or cancelled by armed groups since February 2012. The state radio broadcasts in French as well as in ten local languages. ORTM transmits its programmes in Bamako and the rest of the country by satellite through a network called Sotelma. It also disseminates its programs internationally by satellite to the rest of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America to cater for Malians abroad. The Malian Press and Advertising Agency (AMAP) is the public and only national news agency with 50 correspondents and coverage in almost all territories prior to the conflict in the north. It also provides domestic news pieces to different media outlets.
The liberalization of the media sector led to a multiplication of media outlets and resulted in a score of young job seekers turned journalists who were not educated reporters. According to Br?hima Tour?, a journalist L'Essor, less than 10% of the active journalists have graduated from journalism school and this affects the quality of their output. Despite the fact that a code of conduct has existed since 1991, only few journalists work in accordance with professional standards, and information processing is random. Dissemination of unverified information takes place regularly and so does the use of media outlets to carry out personal attacks. There are also examples of journalists, however, that make an effort to provide good quality journalism. Besides the political influence on media, other factors influencing the quality of the information is the poor qualification of journalists, low wages, absence of job security and collective agreements. There are high levels of self-censorship due to social and cultural reasons as Well as job security and physical safety. There also, more than 50 media associations and professional media networks in Mali. Those are meant to act and protect the interests of their members. The main associations are:
Analyzing Mali's Media Landscape: A Comprehensive Overview. (2019, Nov 19). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/media-in-mali-essay
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