1997 Volume 11 No. 2 Communication Policies in Civilian and Military Regimes: The Case of Ghana By Audrey Gadzekpo South African Communication Policy: Strategies for Influencing Government Strategies By Eronini R. Megwa Communication and Journalism Curricula in Africa: The Case of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania By Polycarp Omolo Ochilo African Council for Communication Education Copyright © 1997 (ACCE) Nairobi, Kenya ISSN 0258-4913 Africa Media Review provides a forum for the study of communication theory, practice and policy in African countries. It is published three times a year by the ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P. O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Telephone: 254-2- 227043/216135/215270/334244ext.28068 Tefax: 254-02- 216135 E-mail: acceb@arcc.or.ke acceb @ form-net.com Correspondence and Advertising Authors should send contributions to the Managing Editor, ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P. O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Books for review, book review articles and all other matters regarding AMR should be sent to the same address. Annual Subscription Rate Africa US$45:00 Outside Africa US$60:00 These rates include packaging and postage. Single copies are US$ 15:00 within Africa and US$ 20:00 outside Africa. Cheques and money orders should be made payable to African Council for Communication Education and sent to the above address. Special arrangements will be entered into where applicable for subscribers in Africa through their nearest ACCE national co- ordinator. ACCE institutional and individual members receive AMR as part of mem- bership privileges. Managing Editor Dr Peter Wanyande, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi, Kenya. Editorial Assistant Mr Obi Okeiga, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi, Kenya. Circulation Miss Lydia Gachungi, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi, Kenya. ACCE President Mr Polycarp Omolo Ochilo, University of Nairobi, Kenya. Comments on this Issue This issue of Africa Media Review contains some of the papers that were presented at a workshop on Communication Policies and Media Regulatory Systems in May, 1997 in Nairobi, Kenya. All the articles address different aspects of communications policy and cover different countries in Africa. The only exception is the article by Polycarp Ochilo which is on Communication and Journalism Curricula in Africa: The case of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This article is the result of a survey conducted by the author on the subject of communication and journalism curricula in the region. The study was sponsored by UNESCO. The author concedes that there is need to revise the existing communication and journalism curricula to make it more tolerant to the challenges facing the nations covered in the survey. The author insists some of the major challenges here to be determined by a revised curriculum. The paper by Gideon Shoo is on New Press Bills in Tanzania and its implications for National Communication Policy and Press platform. The paper is a modest antique of the oppressive media laws in Tanzania and calls for the review of these laws in order to enable the media to play their role in the governing process. The paper also decries the vague communications policy in Tanzania and calls foe a clearer communications policy. The article on South African communication Policy starts by commending the govenment of South Africa for repealing the oppressive media laws that served the apartheid regime. The paper goes on to call on the government to devise a comprehensive communications policy and profound training packages foi journalists. This would strengthen and professionalize the media industry and safeguard the new plural political system. Communication Policies in Civilian and Military Regimes: The Case of Ghana is the litte of Audrey Gadzekpo's paper in which the author critically evaluates media legislation in Ghana since independence in 1957. The article reveals the chequered government - press relationship that perpetuated a timid press in Ghana but observes that there are some positive changes that the reformed President Jerry Rawling's government. The author however regrets that lack of clear policy to deal with new information world order. The paper concludes by calling for the creation of a trully democratised legal infrastructure for the media to enable the media play a role in national development. In the article on New Press Bills in Uganda: Implications for National Communication Policy and Press Freedom, Nassanga Goretti Linda presentts the government's perspective of professionalisation of journalism and liberalization of the media in the country. The paper mildly criticises suspect media and broadcast councils whose composition are dominated by people hand-picked by the Minister for Communications. Like other contributors to this volume, Linda calls for a more comprehensive communication policy in Uganda. Makumi Mwagiru raises very interesting perspectives on the subject of media rights. This is contained in his article on A Return to Basics: Media Rights as Fundamental Human Rights. He calls for the creation of a people-centered and responsive media arguing that the people are integral stake-holders in the media industry, and as such it is argued, must be protected by the constitution as media rights. To the author, media rights must be considered as human rights. Based on this premise, the author contends that the current debate to verge on media reforms is ill informed if it does not include constitutional reform. Table of Contents 1 The New Press Bills in Tanzania: Implications for National Communication Policy and Press Freedom By Gideon Shoo 12 South African Communication Policy; Strategies for Influencing Government Policies By Eronini Megwa 31 Communication Policies in Civilian and Military Regimes: The Case of Ghana By Audrey Gadzekpo 51 Communication and Journalism Curricula in Africa: The Case of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania By Polycarp Omolo Ochilo 74 The New Press Bills in Uganda: Implications for National Communication Policy and Press Freedom By Nasanga Goretti Linda 88 A Return to Basics: Media Rights as Fundamental Human Rights By Makumi Mwagiru