Media Organs Step Up Mobilisation

#Presidential

Media organs across Cameroon and foreign organs are increasingly present in the political arena with strategies to cover the different stages of the October 7, 2018 presidential election.

The Director General of the state-owned broadcaster Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Charles Ndongo, while chairing the corporation’s planning meeting for the optimal coverage of the October 7, 2018 presidential election last weekend in Ebolowa said CRTV must maintain its position of leader. The Ebolowa meeting was to map out coverage strategies.

The CRTV meeting was just a tip of the iceberg on the mobilisation that is going on in the different media organs; be they print, audio-visual or online publications.

Media organs both national and international started showing interest in the election when different political parties started designating their candidates to stand for the election. Some audio-visual media organs went ahead to create specialised debate programmes on the election.

When the President of the Republic, Paul Biya in the decree signed on July 9, 2018 convened voters to the poll for the presidential election of October 7, 2018, even the media organs that had not yet developed interest for the electoral process stepped in.

During the period for the submission of candidacy papers by aspirants to the post of the President of the Republic, a majority of the press organs covered the process in the Directorate General of Elections at Elections Cameroon (ELECAM).

As the time for the publication of the list of candidates for the presidential election draws nearer, a majority of media organs are fine-tuning their strategies. After this phase, will come the two-week campaign period that is the heart of the election and needs the heavy presence of the media organs to follow up the various candidates.

Media organs are therefore readjusting their programmes to give adequate coverage to the election at every level.

The media organs are certainly selecting the best professionals to cover the election and follow the prescriptions of the media regulatory body, National Communication Council to be more responsible in the practice.

According to the Chairperson of the National Communication Council, Peter Essoka, the institution is planning to organise a seminar to discuss with media men and women on balance reporting.

In the ensuing focus, Cameroon Tribune gets the reactions of the heads of some media organs on the measures taken to ensure an optimal coverage of the October 7 presidential election, assessment of the media landscape in Cameroon by the Chairman of the National Communication Council, Peter Essoka and the preparations by foreign media organs.