Regional Conference on Media in a Globalised World: The Impact of

New Media on Journalism.

The Panari Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya1st May 2009 to 3rd May 2009
Balancing the Competing Interests in the Media: The Case of
Commercial Interests Vs Editorial Independence
By Baldwin Chiyamwaka

OUTLINE
1. The various competing interests in the media (self, public, advertisers/commercial,
governmental/national, audience/consumers, owners/board, political, and media/gate
keepers etc)
2. The various interests as regulators, the most powerful interest determines what goes in the
news
3. The case of commercial interests
4. Harmonising the various interests, let the media be managed, run and practised by the
passionate media professionals who are absolutely free from the interest that be
5. The case of Zodiak Radio Station in Malawi
Journalists must be free of obligation to any interest other than the publics right to know (The
Society of Professional Journalists)
Freedom from all obligations except that of fidelity to the public interest is vital (The American
Society of Newspaper Editors)
For many years now, globally, the media has assumed and reinforced its important role as a
legitimate reflection of public interest and opinion (Media Council of Malawi)

1.0

THE VARIOUS COMPETING INTERESTS IN THE MEDIA

There are various competing interests in the media. These interests influence the news making
process and consequently determine or influence news content what comes in print or
broadcast. When the professional and ethical interest of the media clash or compete with
interests from outside, a conflict of interests occur. It constitutes a situation in which the media
are no longer free to act independently. These interests include:
Ideological interests such as democracy leads to explicit policy formulation such as legal
restrictions and certain expectations in terms of how the media should function in society.

These expectations could lead to implicit policy formulation. Codes of conduct are good
examples of implicit policy formulation. In democracies these codes are indicative of the fact
that the media are prepared to regulate themselves in line with societal expectations. In
other words, the media accept their responsibility to, for example, not only inform the
populace but also to do so responsibly (accurately and truthfully). In democracy, because the
media are accountable to society such codes usually also make provision for the avoidance of
reportage that could lead to crime, violence or public disorder.
Policy makers in the external policy framework have particular interests. The most decisive
source of policy formulation, at national level, is the state. Within the jurisdiction of the state
political parties in multiparty systems can formulate their policies on information and the
communication media. When a party comes to power, its policy becomes the official policy of
the country and may be embodied in legislation.
Government (National)
The nature of the relationship between a national government and the media is decisive for
what the media are allowed to publish. The main reason for this is that the media are legally,
normatively and structurally subject to the control of political institutions (Gerbner 1977:263).
Gallagher states that the key relationship that links the media to society, is that between the
media organizations and the government of a country (Gurevitch, Bennett, Curran and
Woolacott 1985:160). Holmes (1986:1) adds that the media of a nation, more than any other
kind of institution, are shaped by the prevailing type of political power. But, what does this
mean in practice?
Pressure Groups
Pressure groups can also influence the content of newspapers. Hiebert et al (1991:107) point
out that the voice of an individual fades as the media become larger. As a result, people
organize themselves into groups in order to be heard. Groups usually apply pressure to force
journalists to change the news or to omit a story, which constitutes censorship, or they apply
pressure to induce journalists to use self-censorship (cf. Oosthuizen et al 1991).
The profession as regulator
Media workers or journalists do not differ much from other professional people such as
doctors and attorneys. They have to make complicated decisions in their daily work, and they
use ethical codes to guide them in making these decisions. These codes and the journalistic
conventions or professional standards of the media workers are important determinants of
newspaper content. Nevertheless, journalism differs from other professions in that journalists
do not lose their jobs if they fail to observe these codes.
Consumers
In the West, where capitalism forms the basis of the economy, the consumer (or reader) and
the advertiser are probably the main regulator of the press. The operative principle here is

supply and demand and this principle, together with the audience characteristics, determines
the content of the newspaper.
GATEKEEPERS
Directorates, Board and Group Managers
Directorates, board and group managers can intervene in the content of a news medium-if
they want to. It is, however, not viewed or accepted as common practice in most democracies.
Directorates and boards usually restrict themselves to giving certain broad guidelines to editors
(or heads of broadcasting stations or programmes) about the operation of the particular
medium.
Editor
The editor of a newspaper acts as a link between the directorate and the editorial staff
(journalists). It is the editor who ultimately determines the policy of a newspaper and who has
to make sure that this policy is carried out. The actual responsibility for the newspaper is thus
lodged with the newspapers editor (Gans 1979:85). As a result, the editor of a newspaper is
usually the one who is held responsible for a newspapers rise or fall, for its successes or
failures. Because the editor is also the one who must answer to the newspapers directorate,
he or she is often made a scapegoat if something goes wrong (cf.Van Heerden 1996).
Editors should thus perform their tasks in accordance with the broad guidelines laid down by
their board of directors. If they do not keep these guidelines, it can lead to conflict.
Director General
In the case of broadcasting, directors general fulfill a similar role to that of editors in the print
media. When there is direct government influence on a public broadcasting system, the
position of a director general can become quite precarious. Under the previous dispensation
Wynand Harmse (director general of the SABC in the eighties), for example, pointed out that
political news policy at that stage specified that the SABC would not offer a platform for
revolutionary groups or promote extra parliamentary politics: In the event of the SABCs
interpretation of the national interest corresponding with the actions of government, the
corporation will naturally be inclined to reflect this in its programmes, he remarked (Hamse
1989:30-31).
Administrative-hierarchical Gatekeeping: journalistic and professional practices.
Gatekeeping is often affected by journalists own desire for promotion and their need to
protect their jobs and avoid conflict. These personal needs sometimes force journalists to
conform to the organizational culture (ways of doing things) that employ them. Journalists also
tend to work for publications whose policies broadly correspond with their own views
(Oosthuizen et al 1991:127). In this regard their performance is often guided by the right way
of doing things around here.

Journalists whose reports do not conform to the norms and standards of the institution that
employ them can expect opposition and trouble, especially from their superiors. The news
editor plays an important part with regard to reports, and many journalists can attest to
incidents where unacceptable reports were published either inconspicuously or not at all.
Other members of news mediums editorial hierarchy, for instance the chief sub-editor and
sub-editors, play similar gatekeeping roles. They can change a report beyond recognition and
an even insist that it be rewritten. As gatekeepers, sub-editors can change the emphasis of a
report by assigning it a particular position, using a certain size of heading (in case of the print
media), and combining it with other reports (cf. Oosthuizen et al 1991).
Journalists do not control story selection and, although they can suggest stories or propose
dropping them if the necessary information is lacking, their main role is story production (Gans
1979:85). News editors and sub-editors therefore both supervise and influence the work of the
journalists (cf.Van Heerden 1996).
Journalists Self Interest
For harmonys sake there must be a balance between the interests of the individual and those
of the society. While we all pursue self-interest we should never forget that there are also
societal interests. Codes of ethics are meant to guide us in promoting societal interests as we
pursue our own interests Media Gallery Code. Pursuing self interest in itself is not bad but it
becomes bad when it is selfish pursuance of self interest which creates contradiction with
societal interests.

2.0

COMMERCIAL INTEREST: the Case of Public Broadcasting

2.1

Commercialisation

Masco and Rideout (1997:168) define commercialisation as the process that takes place when a
state replaces forms of regulation based on public interest, public service and related
standards, such as universality, with market standards that establish market regulation. In the
communication industry this has meant greater emphasis on market position and profitability.
In other words, the emphasis is no longer on providing a universal service to the public such as,
for example, public service broadcasting with the emphasis on information and entertainment
of a high quality. To the contrary, the emphasis is now on the marketability and thus popularity
of the media content. The result is commercial broadcasting with an overload of popular
programme genres and content such as talk shows, popular music, games sport and
advertisements. Everything depends on audience size, advertising revenue, and producing
programming that anticipates an international market and linkages to other revenuegenerating media.

2.2

The Impact of Economic Trends on Media - Public Broadcasting Service

In most parts of the world, broadcasting and especially public service broadcasting is
undergoing radical changes. In general there is a shift to private broadcasting. It is argued that
economic trends particularly, commercialisation, privatisation have contributed to the decline
of PBS. It has transformed broadcasting in general to mediocrity, market centeredness and
predictability.
Public broadcasting is in growing competition with private and commercial broadcasters. It is
now ruled by corporate philosophy in which the emphasis is on:

competition and beating the competitor

cuts in production costs in order to produce content at the lowest cost
exploitation of new markets for what is bound to be an increasingly fragmented market
co-productions and facility sharing

All this has resulted in lowering of standards

2.3

The Future, Survival and necessity of PBS

The above economic trends and their impact on public service broadcasting mean PBS cannot
run away or avoid organisational and structural change, new policy environments, and new
proposals for funding and new programme philosophies with consequent demands for
downsizing, funding and competition.
To survive therefore, because of globalisation, PBS can play an even bigger role in helping
societies to define their particular characters. A prerequisite for being able to do this is a
coherent and stable belief system in the value and future of public service broadcasting among
public broadcasters themselves and among policymakers. Only against the background of such
a belief system will public service broadcasters and policy makers be able to define their
missions and will they be able to confront the threats they face.
Broadcasting policy should also not take trends, politics and economy as its point of departure
but it should be based on a clear understanding of what kind of society it is supposed to serve.

2.4

Commercialisation of PBS

Public broadcasters view their audiences as citizens in a democracy to be informed, engaged

and challenged through innovative, high-quality and comprehensive programming, not as
consumers to be delivered up to advertisers. Quentin Dempster, journalist, author and ABC
broadcaster
John Field participating in the Australian debate on commercialisation of PBS argues that a
growing academic literature holds that any influence of market forces will detrimentally affect
public service broadcasters. Democracy, it is argued, can only be effective if its citizenry is
informed and educated. The perceived commercialisation of public broadcasters is therefore

seen as a downgrading of democracy, with funding from advertising purportedly leading to an

increase in mind-numbing sit-coms and Hollywood movies and a decrease in news, current
affairs, documentaries and educational programming.
In the same debate but earlier, Nuovo Paese argued that SBS was TV for the people, not the market.
When, in November 1991, it became clear that advertising would soon be a reality, the front page of La
Fiamma theatrically declared that SBS is dead.

2.5

How Does Commercialisation Affect PBS: the case of SBS

John Field asked the question: Has advertising changed SBS?

Nearly ten years down the track, it is now possible to ask the question: did advertising and
programme sponsorships affect SBS television in any way?
Concerns regarding the likely effects of advertising on SBS can be grouped into three main
arguments. The first maintains that SBS has sought to commercialise itself since 1991 by
dumbing down its programming in order to maximise its audience (the dumb masses
argument). Second, and strongly related to the first, is the notion that the temptation to
maximise audiences for profits has outweighed the multicultural channels longstanding
commitment to Non English Speaking Background (NESB) audiences (the forgotten NESB
argument). Third, as Channel Nines Sunday programme suggested in 1996, SBS has not gone
downmarket but rather upmarket in order to attract an elite audience of professional
middle class viewers and hence prestige advertisers (the boutique broadcaster argument).

3.0

Advertisers

The West (Oosthuizen et al 1991:123) is often accused, in Marxist circles view, advertisers in
the West insist on a particular type of news presentation and will withdraw their advertising
should the newspaper fail to comply. Allegations of such flagrant manipulation are probably
somewhat exaggerated. Nevertheless, it is true that advertisers are guilty of subtle or indirect
manipulation or influencing of news content.
In view of present economic demands, a newspaper will, however think twice before
publishing a story that will annoy its largest advertiser. Hiebert et al (1991:106) point out that
the advertisers power of regulation depends on the degree to which the medium is dependent
on income from advertisements. Newspapers are greatly dependent on advertisements for
their survival. Since early eighties there has been a worldwide tendency to follow a marketing
approach in the newspaper business. This means that newspapers have primarily become
vehicles between readers and advertisers. As a result of this approach, one could argue that
the potential influence of advertisers has increased. Chris Vick, in charge of journalism training
for the Independent group in the late nineties, concurred that advertising pressure on
newspaper content was mounting. The potential for influence in broadcasting is of course also
there-even in the programmes of the SABC-as we have seen earlier.

It should be remembered that advertisements are also subject to regulation under the code of
conduct of the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). The code stipulates, amongst other
things, that advertisements should be legal, decent, honest and truthful and should conform to
the principles of fair competition (Oosthuizen 1989:48).
Examples of the direct regulation by advertisers of media content do exist, but usually such
regulation is exercised with the consent of the newspaper concerned. The write-ups done for
advertisers in supplements are example of such regulation. The write-ups is a common practice
in community newspapers and amounts to advertisers buying newspaper copy.
Newspapers also have to take into account that they reach a particular type of reader who
represents a specific market for the advertiser, thus a newspaper can lose advertisers if it
suddenly changes its content to cater for a different type of reader. It can be seen, then, that
changing of content is another form of indirect regulation. The demise of the Rand Daily Mail is
an example of what happens as a result of this type of regulation. This newspaper ((Oosthuizen
et al 1991:124), under editorship of Allistar Parks, progressively increased its coverage of news
events in the black community. For advertisers, however, the black community represented a
market with a small per capita disposable income. The Rand Daily Mail therefore lost many of
its advertisers and ultimately had to close down.
Payola is seen as the worst form of manipulation by advertisers (Oosthuizen et al 1991:124)
and is, in essence, a form of bribery. Journalists receive gifts and perks from advertisers in
return for publicity and good reviews of meetings, performance, products, and so forth. Such
gifts and perks vary from presents (for instance liquor at Christmas), to complimentary tickets
to performances for reviewers and promises of free cars for motoring journalists. In its worst
form, payola involves cash payments to journalists. This practice, however, is restricted by the
profession itself and, therefore, only occurs in secret.
Selling Media Products and Accessing Audiences
According to Fourie (2001:108), in the media business two products are sold: media products
and media audiences. The key to media profits is to access the largest possible audience(s)
(Grossberg, Watella & Whitney 1998:93-117).
Access to audiences (or how to sell media products)
Media owners can gain access to audiences in a number of ways, or we could say they sell their
products in a number of ways and through a combination of ways. Ways of selling products
include, amongst others, the following: direct sales, subscriptions, licence fees, subsidies and
advertisers.
Access to advertisers (or selling audiences to advertisers)
It is understandable that the media owners will try to access the biggest possible audience. The
size of the audience determines the advertising income. For example, a popular TV programme

with a big audience will sell at much higher rate to advertisers than a programme with a small
audience.
The production of media products is expensive. The above means of selling media products are
not sufficient to finance production costs. For example, in 2000 it cost R18 to produce a single
copy of one of South Africas largest newspapers, Beeld (largest in terms of readership figures).
However, the price paid for a copy of Beeld at a newsstand was only R2,30.
The bulk of costs in terms of financing production and making a profit are financed by selling
the consumers/audiences to advertisers. This is done by means of selling space to advertisers in
newspapers, journals, magazines and in all other printed material and selling time in the case of
broadcasting. Procuring advertisements in order to cover production costs and to make a
profit, to gain access to media consumers (audiences/users), and to sell such access to
advertisers (the producers of goods and services) involves competition between media owners.
Small wonder then that there is fierce competition between the different media, for example,
between the print and the broadcast media, to get the biggest share of the so called
advertising cake.

4.0

Harmonising the various interests: The case of Zodiak Radio Station in

Malawi
The truth is the most sought after commodity. Get it put, put it on the market, it will
sell like hot cakes (Gospel Kazako, Managing Director of ZBS)
Let the media be managed, run and practised by the passionate media professionals
who are absolutely free from the interest that be. They are able to balance and manage
the various interests that be.

They have been able to harmonise the key competing interest by developing an
editorial policy that focuses on the public especially the marginalized rural masses.
The editorial policy was publicly launched at a colourful ceremony.
They are able to be heard throughout the country
Zodiak is the leading private radio stations in the country with a growing potential
influence that is steadily surpassing that of public broadcasters focusing largely on
the marginalised populations on development issues
The founding Managing Director, former producer at Malawis public broadcaster
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation received a Life Achiever award at the MISA Malawi
2007 Awards when the ZBS was only 2 years old.
It is the only private commercial radio station that has officially been accredited to
cover the 2009 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections.
It was the only privately owned radio station that Parliament particularly on the
opposition benches accepted to cover Parliamentary proceedings live (not
implemented)

Key Presidential candidates from the main opposition parties and the ruling party in
the run up to 2009 PP Elections mentioned the name of ZBS Managing Director,
Gospel Kazako to be the moderator at Media Council of Malawis Presidential
Debate.
ZBS has probably the biggest advertising share on the market now
Under the slogan Zikacitika mumvera kwa ife the radio station has become the
most popular and trusted radio station in Malawi.
(There was a similar decent number of political parties registering air time. In these
three weeks, on balance, UDF and MCP fared considerably better than DPP.
However, Zodiaks internal elections guidelines and their published statement of
editorial policy suggest that they have every intention of delivering balanced output.
Addressing primarily a rural population via a good network of transmitters, Zodiak
has a strong part to play in sensitising the 80% of people who live in the countryside
to the issues and policies being debated by parties and candidates. The total amount
of political)
coverage in this three week period of monitoring has yet to reach the level to be
expected in the coming weeks.
Zodiaks total political output may be much smaller than, say, that of MBC1 or Joy
Radio but is it fairly well balanced which is a creditable achievement for a station
moving towards its first election period (MEC).
This station has increased its amount of political news and still been able to give the
major parties a share of positive coverage. Its inclusion of negative news and
comment is pitched at a reasonable one third of its political output. As far as the
major parties are concerned, this is distributed on an equitable basis (MEC).