RESPECTED EDITOR RESIGNS; GIVES VIEWS ON UGANDAN MEDIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KAMPALA 001524 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KDEM UG SUBJECT: RESPECTED EDITOR RESIGNS; GIVES VIEWS ON UGANDAN MEDIA REF: KAMPALA 01484 ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Editor-in-Chief of Uganda's New Vision newspaper, Els De Temmerman, resigned on October 24 over a lack of editorial independence. The Belgian national said that Robert Kabushenga, the paper's Chief Executive Officer (CEO),forced her to keep President Museveni in the headlines and to run pro-government stories. The Government of Uganda (GOU) owns 50% of The New Vision. De Temmerman said that Museveni refused to accept her resignation and has since intervened to mediate the conflict between her and Kabushenga, but the situation has not yet been resolved. De Temmerman expressed concern over the lack of journalistic integrity in the Ugandan press and said that self-regulation and formal journalism training are desperately needed. End Summary. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - New Vision Editor-in-Chief Leaves Paper - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) The Editor-in-Chief of the government-owned daily, The New Vision, Els De Temmerman, resigned from the paper on October 24, publicly citing personal reasons for the abrupt departure. The rival Daily Monitor, on October 26, quoted De Temmerman saying that she left because of a lack of editorial independence, something she said was promised when she accepted the position two years ago. New Vision CEO Robert Kabushenga initially refused to comment on "staff and management matters." On October 27, after the Daily Monitor story, Kabushenga wrote that the "editorial independence of our product is not dependant on one individual...and that The New Vision affords sufficient autonomy for professionals to do their work." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - De Temmerman: The CEO Took Over the Newsroom - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (SBU) De Temmerman discussed her departure from The New Vision and the state of Ugandan media with the diplomatic corps on November ¶6. She confirmed reports that she resigned from the paper on October 24 due to a lack of editorial independence. De Temmerman said that Kabushenga had increasingly pressured her to put President Museveni on the front page and to run pro-government stories. Kabushenga, she recounted, said that Museveni was unhappy with his coverage in the paper. "I pushed back, trying to explain to him that it would not serve the government's interests to turn The New Vision into a propaganda paper," she explained. De Temmerman lamented Kabushenga's lack of journalistic credentials and said that he had no contractual right to get involved in newsroom business (Note: Kabushenga's replacement of respected journalist William Pike at The New Vision in December 2006 was controversial because of Kabushenga's previous role as the government's media spokesman. The fear then was that Kabushenga would undermine the New Vision's independence. End note.). ¶4. (SBU) De Temmerman said that Museveni asked her to take the Editor-in-Chief job to "improve the quality of the paper" and that both he and the CEO at the time, William Pike, promised her editorial independence, an assurance that she said had been kept until April of this year. De Temmerman pointed to the paper's reporting on the proposed government sale of the sacred Mabira Forest, the Global Alliance Vaccine Initiative (GAVI) funds corruption scandal, and its criticism of Ugandan military deployment to Somalia as evidence of previous editorial independence. ¶5. (SBU) De Temmerman, who has had a longstanding close professional relationship with Museveni, said that he told her recently that the paper had improved under her leadership. Given this, she wondered if the criticism of lack of government coverage came from Museveni himself or one of his aides. Although she never managed to reach Museveni to verify Kabushenga's claims prior to her resignation, De Temmerman said that Museveni called her to say that he "did not want an explanation" and "did not accept her resignation." De Temmerman shared that she had been offered a position with Nation Media Group in Kenya, but told Museveni that she would rethink her resignation. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - De Temmerman: Extortion and Character Assassination Common - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (SBU) De Temmerman expressed deep concern over the state of Ugandan journalism. "What is happening in the Ugandan press is pure exploitation and fabrication," she commented. De Temmerman said that journalists are often paid to write stories aimed at destroying political rivals or advancing private economic agendas. She pointed to coverage of the recent National Social Security Fund's questionable purchase of land belonging to Security Minister Amama Mbabazi and approved by Finance Minister Ezra Suruma (reftel). She said that a "considerable amount of money" exchanged hands as Parliament's probe moved forward and that a number of her journalists had been offered bribes to "hit Mbabazi hard." KAMPALA 00001524 002 OF 002 ¶7. (SBU) "The Red Pepper is 90 percent fabricated," De Temmerman affirmed (Note: The Red Pepper is a salacious tabloid that is used by the government and private individuals to malign enemies. End note.). She expressed concern that the paper's readership was rising and that some Ugandans might actually mistake it for factual journalism. De Temmerman said that the editors, some of whom had been fired from The New Vision for corruption, had a "kill story list" of individuals who paid the Red Pepper not to run damaging stories each month. She noted that the paper is actually bankrupt, but that the editors make their real profits through extortion. On The New Vision's principle rival, the Daily Monitor, De Temmerman said that it had historically been balanced and is a good paper. However, she noted that the paper had serious accuracy problems with some stories. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - De Temmerman: Formal Journalism Training Lacking - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶8. (SBU) At the heart of the problem, De Temmerman explained, is the lack of formal journalism training to teach Ugandans how to write a story or maintain journalistic integrity. De Temmerman said that proper journalism education was needed to "bring sanity" to Uganda's media. She commented that a journalist should not be allowed to work unless minimum pre-determined standards are met. De Temmerman said that while it was inappropriate for the government to regulate the media, some self-regulation is needed, possibly through a regional body. She stressed the need to increase journalists' exposure and access to information, perhaps through the internet. "The level of training really is rather basic, making it difficult to get a story that makes sense," De Temmerman explained. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶9. (SBU) We will watch De Temmerman's next moves closely. We expect that if she stays, her concerns will grow as The New Vision and its allied television and radio stations are used to promote Museveni's re-election. We share her concerns about the lack of professionalism and quality of reporting. However, it may have less to do with training and more to do with expectations - or lack thereof - displayed by the editors, owners, and readers of Ugandan media. A substantial percentage of Ugandan reporters have degrees from Ugandan or foreign journalism schools or at least have participated in donor-funded training programs. Unfortunately, a highly polarized environment where readers expect the state-owned outlets to support government policies and privately-owned media houses to push an opposition agenda, does not encourage the development of objective reporting. ¶10. (SBU) Low salaries for entry-level journalists lead many to enter journalism for a limited period of time before moving on to better paying jobs in public relations or other fields. The result is that although most of the managing editors, feature editors, and some senior writers are skilled, no pool of qualified mid-and lower-level reporters develops. Moreover, the lack of financial support for background research and fact checking forces most reporters to write shallow stories based on current events and single sources. Internet access at most media houses is limited. Reference books and libraries are limited or non-existent. Additionally, many of the newspapers lack comprehensive story archives making it difficult for reporters to build on previous reporting. BROWNING