By Jim Fisher-Thompson
USIA Staff Writer

May 5, 1997

WASHINGTON -- Journalists need freedom to work, but their audiences must also trust them, says Joan Mower, international program manager for the Freedom Forum, a U.S. media organization dedicated to promoting freedom of expression worldwide.

For Mower, a 20-year journalism veteran, "a free press means that journalists are free to gather information and they're free to write what they find. However, they also have a public trust" that must be maintained in order for the media to be effective.

Mower made her comments during a May 1 media round table broadcast to Africa via Worldnet, the satellite broadcast service of the U.S. Information Agency (USIA). The topic of discussion was government regulation of the media and journalists' responsibility to be fair and accurate in their coverage. Mower and David Jones, foreign desk editor for the Washington Times, responded to questions from journalists in Swaziland and Zambia.

Mower, a former Associated Press reporter, traveled to Kigali last February, where she participated in a weeklong training workshop with Rwandan journalists organized by USIA and sponsored by the U.S. Embassy.

For Africans who are struggling with transitions to political pluralism and open markets, Mower said, "one of the greatest challenges is to create a free press, because that is absolutely essential to a working democracy." At the same time, she added, the media have a definite "ethical responsibility to monitor themselves."

It is important to bear in mind, she said, that "the news industry is also different from other businesses in that there is this public trust angle. This means journalists must present accurate and fair facts to the best of their knowledge" if they expect to maintain their credibility, she said.

An interesting fact, according to Mower, is that "there has never been a famine in a country with a free press. People don't quite know the link, but there is a feeling that a free press can help people get information, which is an important factor to sustainable economic development."

Asked if he considered himself a censor as well as an editor, the Washington Times' Jones said, "We ourselves decide what is going to go into the paper, and we have certain tests we apply" to stories.

"When I'm choosing stories to go into the paper each day, I apply three tests," Jones said. "I first of all ask myself: 'Is this news, something our readers haven't seen before?' Secondly, 'Is it true?' It must be true or we won't print it. And thirdly, I ask: 'Is it interesting?'"

For this discussion, "I guess the second test is the most important," he added. And "there is nobody but ourselves to decide that."

In the democratic marketplace in which the U.S. media operate, Jones asserted, "the most valuable resource for any news organization is its credibility. If we print things that are untrue, the public will find out very quickly because there are so many other publications out ready to tell the truth and point out our shortcomings."

Morality or ethics aside, Jones said, honesty makes good sense, "because if we consistently write things that are untrue, people will stop reading our newspaper and we will soon be out of work."

Within the journalistic profession in the United States, Jones said, "if one reporter is seen to be breaking the rules of conduct, the other reporters will very quickly point it out. They will get down on him and he will quickly lose [their] respect."

This "really keeps us honest," he explained, because "the reporters I know value very deeply the respect of their colleagues. More than the readers, than the bosses, they want to be respected by their fellow workers."

Mower concluded by telling her audience that the Freedom Forum plans to open an office in Johannesburg in November and will work with partners to encourage press freedom across the region.