Critical analysis of the Democratic Republic of Congo national tv coverage of the 2011 elections. Case study of Kinshasa city

III.1 RULES FOR JOURNALISTS.

During an election period, the journalist may be subject to pressure from many quarters. They can be the result of a Government, particularly in countries where the democratization process is still fragile, political parties, which means various and varied to get favorable media coverage, but also sometimes of an employer, shareholder or owner of a media, close a candidate, who wants to impose a certain editorial line.

The journalist must also withstand the pressures of his own opinion that he can express as any other citizen in the secrecy of the voting booth. The public expects of him that he placed "above the fray" parties and that he treats them with the same impartiality, whatever sympathy or antipathy that can inspire him the candidate.

To resist such pressure and be up to the task, the journalist must rely on the basic principle of his profession: ethics. It is composed of a set of moral rules his ethics that manage the dedication of a journalist. No universal Charter does legally exist. There are nevertheless similar codes of ethics in many countries.

All say that journalism is a discipline in permanent quest of truth and objectivity. To be considered 'professional', information must be accurate, verified, balanced, neutral and respectful of human dignity. This implies a great moral probity, a keen sense of responsibility and an ability to understand the different points of view, including those that the journalist does not share. In any case, and regardless of the socio-political context in the presence, the journalist should give priority to the best interests of the citizens.

The 'fourth power' attributed to the media must be exercised for Government or for a political party or to a person in particular. Loyalty shall be exercised only to the citizens, taken together, that the journalist has a duty to inform and exercise, largely through him, their right to freedom of expression.

III.2 THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM OF OPINION AND EXPRESSION

Journalists benefit from certain rights guaranteed by article 19 of the Universal Declaration of human rights of 1948 and by article 19 of the international Covenant on the civil and political rights of 1966, signed and ratified by 154 States. These rights are also protected by the three major Conventions regional Africa, Americas, Europe relating to human rights.

They recognize journalists the right to seek, receive and freely convey information without interference from the Government. The authorities may not harass them or intimidate them or hamper their work in any way whatsoever, nor cannot they censor or attempt to influence benefits whatsoever.

A right and a duty during the election period, the journalist therefore has the right to speak of all the parties and candidates, including most hostile to the Government in place, and all the campaign themes that it considers important for the citizens and the future of his country. The 1966 Pact recognizes freedom of expression to everyone. It must also guarantee the possibility to all parties and candidates, but also to all citizens, to express themselves freely during the election campaign:

· Giving them access to the media so that they present their program or express their opinions.

· Denouncing barriers posed to the exercise of their freedom of expression. Examples: a candidate is prevented by the authorities to hold an election rally or a citizen under pressure of a party about electoral cheating which he has established.

Legality and legitimacy of restrictions the Covenant of 1966 recognizes that there are a number limited by legitimate reasons that may justify certain restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly when are questioned in the respect of the rights or reputations of others, and the safeguarding of national security, public order, health or morals public.

However, these restrictions must be explicitly set by the law of the country held elections and their contents defined very precisely. A vague formulation can indeed give a very large margin of maneuver to a Government or a candidate already power to censor journalists whom it deems unfavorable to its coverage.

The Act itself may also include illegitimate restrictions. It happens, for example, that repressive laws inherited from the old regimes are still in force in a country in transition to democracy. If an obstacle is posed to its work due to a legal restriction, the journalist must therefore check that it is legitimate under international law:

· lawful restriction example: be censored for incitement to racial hatred;

· Illegitimate restriction example: ban all forms of information and debate on themes involving fix the candidate for his own succession, or block access to public information under the pretext of safeguarding national security.

In General, the legal provisions relating to information and communication should interfere with the ability of the press to present the plurality of ideas and opinions of an election campaign.

Protection of information sources it is universally accepted that the journalist has the right to not to disclose the source of information to the public (or authorities), when this source does not want to be identified publicly.

It must nevertheless guard against the risks of manipulation that would lead to the dissemination of inaccurate information. Therefore, to ensure the reliability of this source corroborating information from other sources. To cover, the journalist can also reveal, in a manager of his writing, the identity of his source and guarantee its reliability.^15(*)

(a) Safety of journalists.

The safety of the journalist is fundamental so that it can work in good conditions and without pressure. Otherwise, it must inform, insofar as possible, self-regulation and media regulatory bodies, organizations of human rights and/or public authorities of all threats, assaults and attacks on freedom of the press which himself or his colleagues are victims. In fragile States, a journalist should not work and expose themselves only in the course of an election campaign. National or international professional associative networks can accompany him and be alerted in case of serious problems.

An example of illegitimate restriction on freedom of the press

An army general who made a coup d'état is subjected to strong international pressure to reinstate democracy in his country. He decides to organize a presidential election at which it is him - same candidate as well as a legislative election with a ballot guaranteeing the military a mode number of seats. Media echoed the protests of certain political parties contesting this system. The junta then adopted a decree banning the press any form of discussion on the military forces under the pretext of safeguarding national security.

Journalists decide to disregard this restriction stating that it is illegitimate under international law. They are arrested and imprisoned for endangering the security of the State. In the days that follow, the regional organization to which the country belongs suspends all relations with the junta and threatens its leaders of individual sanctions.

b) Co-management of the media space

Co-management of the media space is characterized, according to country, by intervention in the management of the media sector of several institutions: departments in charge of Communication and of Justice, the communication regulation authorities which are State institutions and self-regulatory bodies dealing with the status of non-governmental organization (NGO), implemented by the corporation of media professionals. During normal, electoral or crisis, a collaboration gateway can settle between regulatory and self-regulatory bodies: whether for the management of assistance from the State to the private press positions to denounce, condemn or punish breaches of ethics or ethics rules.

* ¹⁵ Investigative Reporters and Editors: www.ire.org