As the 2025 presidential election in Cameroon draws near, stakeholders are intensifying efforts to ensure a successful process come October. It was in this light that the Cameroon English Language Newspaper Publishers Association (CENPA), organized a three-day workshop at Zingana Hotel in Bafoussam, West Region from Thursday, May 15 to 17. At the end of the training, participants committed to uphold professionalism.
Informing public without taking sides
The seminar was organised with support from the National Communication Council (NCC) and other partners. In his keynote address to the participants, Joseph Chebongkeng Kalabubsu, the president of the NCC laid special emphasis on the core values and roles of journalists in society, especially during elections. Kalabubsu also frowned at community radios doing the job of commercial radios.
He reminded journalists that their role is to inform the public without taking sides, for he said, journalists are not influencers. “You are not the spokespersons of opposition parties or those in power,” the NCC boss warned. He stressed further that, “journalists should be the eyes of the blind and the hope of the hopeless”.
His views were endorsed by senior journalist Yerima Kini Nsom in his presentation on: “The role of the media in democratic elections”. Kini Nsom emphasized that journalists must stay professional as they cover elections; cross-check information properly, ensure fairness in covering the activities of political parties and hold people and authorities accountable for breaches.
Responding to questions from journalists on the crackdown on the media by the NCC, Joe, as the NCC boss is fondly called, said, “The NCC is not out to intimidate or dictate anything to the media. The NCC is a regulatory organ”.
Challenging environment that cannot be overlooked
Like Joe and Kini, Amindeh Blaise Atabong, a freelance journalist and editor noted in his presentation that the media landscape is pretty challenging.
Some of the concerns the speakers raised cut across finance, censorship, limited access to information, fake news and misinformation, the advent of citizen journalism and artificial intelligence.
Limited finances, they observed, push some journalists to collect tips that inadvertently influence their reporting.
Possible solutions
The NCC boss advised media professionals to embrace the positive use of Artificial Intelligence and social media so that intruders will end up running after professionals for authentic information. The resource persons noted that irrespective of the challenges, journalists should uphold the ethics of the profession.
No story is worth a life
Notwithstanding the need to properly investigate a story, Amindeh, in his presentation on journalists’ security and safety during election reporting, encouraged participants to always prioritize safety in the exercise of their duties.
Cognizant of the fact that elections sometimes turn violent, he maintained that: “No story is worth a life.” Before advising media practitioners to prioritize their lives in extreme situations.
Amindeh crowned his presentation with a demonstration of personal safety kits—among other things a mobile water filter to help reporters stay hydrated even in areas with the worst water quality possible. He encouraged journalists to be dynamic and adapt to their environments like a chameleon in order to avoid or mitigate risks.
Dream come true
Speaking at the end of the exercise, participants expressed satisfaction with the level of presentations and knowledge acquired. Paulette Ntasin of the The Advocate newspaper and Radio Evangelism Mamfe said thanks to the training, she was reminded “about the importance of accuracy, transparency, fact-checking, and unbiased reporting. I’m leaving from here to become a better reporter,” she said.
Another participant, Nche Tatah of The Herald Tribune newspaper said he acquired “knowledge about some key laws which govern elections and of course election reporting[…] I feel fulfilled and prepared for October”.
More trainings in view
At the end of the training, CENPA president Ngah Christian noted that “CENPA is looking forward to organizing more of such workshops, at least twice a year”.
In joint declaration read at the end of the workshop, the over 60 participants pledged among others to uphold the principles of fairness, objectivity, and accuracy in all election-related reporting before, during, and after the polls to ensure the public receives information that is accurate, verified, and balanced.
“We commit to avoid discriminatory labels and stereotypes by refraining from using tribal, ethnic, gender, religious, or political tags that could foster division or marginalization in reporting,” the participants said in the declaration.
