In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain
the voice of the multitude. – George Washington
Africa
Burkina Faso
 |
 |
| IREX Score: 2.39 | [IREX Methodology] |
| {Higher is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 4.00} |
IREX Description:
This year's MSI describes several changes in the media. The media community cheered the 2009 signing of the long-awaited journalists' Collective Contract, and journalists received their first press cards. Radio continues to be the dominant medium, but it is beginning to embrace the use of the Internet in its operations, and growing citizen awareness of new media tools is awakening public interest in the news. ONATEL, Burkina Faso's telecommunications operator, established Internet access in the late 1990s, but for some time afterward, the Internet was essentially a luxury for the urban elite. Now, the growth of Internet cafés is helping to change that imbalance.2 Although the government does not restrict Internet access, cost is still a prohibitive factor—along with Burkina Faso's high illiteracy rate.
Burkina Faso's overall MSI score for 2009 reflects a steady increase since the study began in 2006-2007. This positive evolution is consistent across the scores of the different objectives, reflecting clear-cut improvement of Burkina Faso's media situation. No objective scored beneath the near-sustainability range. Objective 5, concerning the supporting institutions, returned the highest score—boosted by the strong showing of supporting institutions in helping to draft, negotiate, and pass the Collective Contract.
| Freedom House Score: 41 (Partly Free) | [Freedom House Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to 100} |
Freedom House Description:
- Although freedom of speech is protected by the constitution, in practice journalists occasionally face harassment by the authorities for coverage that is deemed too critical, and many practice self-censorship.
- Libel laws are unfavorable to the press and place the burden of proof on the defendant.
- Although state-operated media function with a noticeable progovernment bias, the media are generally free of overt censorship.
Read more on Freedom House’s site…
| RSF Score: 15.00 | [RSF Methodology] |
| {Lower is Better, Score Ranges from 0 to ~120} |
Reporters Without Borders Description:
The written press is relatively free and criticism tolerated in this “country of honest men”, but the climate remains poisoned by the most momentous case for press freedom on the continent, the 1998 murder of the journalist Norbert Zongo.
Thousands of people gathered in the capital city Ouagadougou for a demonstration, a concert and a debate on press freedom in the university auditorium in December 2008 to mark the tenth anniversary of the murder of Norbert Zongo. They protested against the slowness of the investigation and the impunity enjoyed by the alleged killers, as well as those who instigated his murder.
The editor of the weekly L’Indépendant and the country’s most influential journalist was found dead in his burn-out car along with three other people on a provincial road on 13 December 1998. The authorities set up an independent investigative Commission (CEI) entrusted with “determining the causes of the death” of Norbert Zongo that submitted its report to the prime minister less than six months later. It concluded after interviewing more than 200 people about “the motives for this quadruple murder [...], that they need to be sought in relation to the investigations carried out for a number of years by the journalist, and especially his most recent investigations into the death of David Ouedraogo, the driver of François Compaoré, adviser to the president [his brother]”. The report also gave the names of six “serious suspects” in the case, all of whom were members of the presidential guard.
| Committee to Protect Journalists Description: | [What is the Committee to Protect Journalists?] |
Visit CPJ’s Site for Recent Developments in this Country
| IFEX News: | [What is IFEX?] |
Printer-friendly version