The Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) is the sole national public broadcaster in Uganda. As a public broadcaster UBC has to compete with private broadcasters in the market. At times political economy influences the quality of programming on the national broadcaster, in order to make the national broadcaster competitive in the market. Even with a statutory requirement which makes it mandatory for any practicing journalist to at least hold a degree, the quality of journalists at UBC is still heavily compromised since it relies on young and inexperienced graduates. Experienced journalists serve private broadcasters such as Wavah Broadcasting Corporation Service (WBS) and foreign broadcasters such as Cable News Network (CNN) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The use of analogue broadcasting equipment has meant that UBC is unable to reach the whole country and it is unable to broadcast its programmes over the internet. UBC TV has also entered into a partnership with South African based DSTV that has seen the Corporation obtain a channel on its Cable Network. As a result UBC TV can now be viewed on the national service DSTV Channel 107.
Uganda Television and Radio Uganda the current Uganda Broadcasting Corporation was born in 1963 one year after Uganda’s independence. Its main aim was to broadcast through both mediums to the whole country. After independence till the mid 1980’s Uganda was faced with a lot of economic hardships. As a result many institutions including the national broadcaster suffered a general deterioration. It is with this background that the Ugandan Government saw the need to restructure the former Uganda Television and Radio Uganda. As a result Parliament passed the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation Act (2004) that established the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation in 2005. This transformed the former UTV and Radio Uganda into the now existent Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. The Corporation started its activities on the 16th of November 2005. UBC operates UBC TV channel and five radio stations.
The main aims of the Corporation are to develop the former Radio Uganda and UTV into a public national broadcasting center of excellence, for the purpose of providing electronic media and consultancy services that educate and guide the public. It also aims at achieving and sustaining comprehensive national radio and television coverage. UBC still remains 100% owned by the Government although not 100% financed by it. The Corporation realizes its income from the sale of TV and Radio airtime and rental of its technical facilities.
Since the formation of the UBC, which saw the merger of Radio Uganda and Uganda Televison, there have been significant strides made in interms of media coverage. Today, UBC’s coverage through it’s TV and Radio almost covers the whole of Uganda.
UBC TV has also entered into a partnership with South African based DSTV that has seen the Corporation obtain a channel on it’s Cable Network. As a result UBC TV can now be viewed on the national service DSTV Channel 107. This ensures that UBC is able to broadcast to wider world audience.
The Corporation has also gone into partnership with the US based Internet TV Station Jump TV, that shall ensure that UBC TV’s local programmes will be aired live over the internet for those UBC TV viewers who are in the Diaspora and those who are multi media compliant. The move ensures that cultural products from Uganda are now being exported to international audiences. As a national broadcaster, UBC ensures that the cultural values, and dominant ideologies related to Ugandan identity are purveyed to world audiences.
The Chinese Government recently extended a grant to UBC TV that shall see the setting up of a second Television Channel and a radio channel in Jinja. This is a positive development for national broadcaster with a single station. The multiplicity of stations shall ensure that there shall be no clogging of television programmes on a single station. The disadvantage of having different programme genres, such as sport, current affairs, film and kids programmes makes it difficult for all subjects to be adequately covered within the constraints of time.
UBC Radio on the other hand is one of the few remaining radio’s still broadcasting via medium and short wave. These systems still ensure that UBC can be received through Internet connection. The Japanese Government has been kind enough to grant UBC Radio a Medium Wave Technical Grant that shall see the improvement of these waves by making them stronger and clearer.
The fact that UBC is still using analogue systems of broadcasting has meant that the quality of its media products has largely remained poor and it cannot broadcast to the whole of Uganda. The use of analogue systems of broadcasting has also meant that UBC cannot broadcast on its own, its programmes on the internet. It relies on US based Internet TV Station Jump TV for the relay of its programmes on to the internet. This means that the broadcasting independence of UBC is severely compromised as Jump TV can only broadcast only those programmes that it deems fit and worth broadcasting. Khamalwa (2008) argues that this arrangement has seen the continued cultural domination of western ideologies and culture on the international public sphere since only programmes that potray the supremacy of western culture are aired by Jump TV.
Like any other public broadcaster in the world, UBC is also trapped within the limitations of the theory that expounds on the formation and role of the public broadcaster. McQuail (2005:180) contends that a public broadcaster should be independent from the government. UBC is not independent from the government. According to Human Rights Watch (2006) in the 2006 presidential elections the opposition, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and its presidential candidate Dr Kiiza Besigye received 6,4percent coverage as compared to 62.4percent for the ruling NRM party. This is despite the fact that the constitution of the republic of Uganda clearly stipulates that;
“No candidate shall be denied reasonable access, and use of the state owned communication media.” section 67, clause 2 (Constitution of the republic of Uganda, 1995)
“all presidential candidates shall be given equal time and space on the state owned media to present their programmes to the people.” Section 67, clause 3(Constitution of the republic of Uganda, 1995)
However critics argue that UBC-TV and UBC radio are independent since they are run by the independent state-funded Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. In repudiating this claim one can therefore argue that, in line with classical Marxism thinking (Williams, 2003), instrumentalism is in play in the governance and operations of UBC-TV and UBC-radio. The government as the funder of the national public broadcaster uses it as an instrument to purvey ideas of the ruling elite and is behind media content and production processes at Uganda Broadcasting Corporation. The coverage of the 2006 Uganda presidential election bears testimony to this fact. A comparison of the operations of UBC-TV and UBC-radio can be made to the operations of Botswana Television (BTV) and the operations of ZBC-TV and ZBC-Radio services which operate under Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings, a parastatal. The direct control of UBC by the government is made more succinctly clear by a direct order by President Yoweri Museveni, for the public broadcaster to stop levying licence fees. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_Broadcasting_Corporation)
The press and journalists act of 2005, stipulates that for one to practice as a journalist they need to hold a bachelors degree. As a result of this act most journalists at UBC are young and inexperienced. This tends to affect the quality of programming. Most veteran journalists tend to leave UBC once they garner enough experience to work for international networks such as Cable News Network (CNN) and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). It can thus be argued that as much as it is necessary to have journalists holding an academic qualification in order to practice. The requirement for one to hold a university degree is an entry barrier to the profession. Laitila (1995) identifies six principles that are necessary for one to serve as a journalist. Laitila’s six principles are based on the role of a journalist in the society and the responsibility and obligation of a journalist to society. Of particular note, are the following principles which are universal; responsibility in forming public opinion and standards of gathering and presenting information. For a journalist to master these principles certainly they need formal education, but not necessarily a university degree.
The inability to collect enough revenue by UBC to finance its operations has resulted in foreign governments and firms availing funds to UBC in the form of grants. It can thus be argued that as much as foreign investors are necessary for purposes of investing in the media industry in the third world to ensure an improvement in the quality of programming and the transformation of the media industry to meet the demands of an ever digitalizing world their influence and degree of involvement still remains a contentious issue.
“[the media can act as a] crucial informal means by which the values and structures of neo-colonialism are accepted. If colonialism is a form of imperialism-that is direct control of one nation by another-neo colonialism is cultural imperialism, with the media one of the vehicles for the transfer of western [and eastern] values and attitudes…the cultural or media imperialism thesis claims that western [and eastern values] conflict with local cultures… [hence] threaten national and cultural identity [which are supposed to be portrayed by the public broadcaster].”Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana in Williams (2003:217)
The failure by UBC to raise enough finances has also resulted in challenges interms of remunerating its employees with market competitive salaries. Most experienced journalist leave their employment with UBC to join private stations and foreign media organizations.
In conclusion it can thus be argued that the failure to draw clear parallels between the independence of UBC from government control has led to the politicization of the bourgeois public sphere. This concept is intricately twinned to the commercialization of media content and citizen participation. It is against this background that Chibita (2006) in her evaluation and critical analysis of the role of UBC in fulfilling its role as a public broadcaster asserts that UBC played a critical role in the evolution of the public sphere at its inception and invariably has played a key role in the collapse of the national media public sphere in Uganda.
b) How does the institution compare with its western counterpart?
There are clear disparities between public service broadcasting in Africa and the west. The differences can be traced from the history of the public service broadcasting concept between the two contexts (developed world and the global south), management structure, influence and control by advertisers and the state, financing and audience reach. The role of a public broadcaster in Africa and the developed world is different. This essay will compare the Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). The basis of comparison between the two media institution rests on the fact that, both institutions were established in a colonial set-up. Uganda gained her independence in 1963 and underwent socio-economic and political metamorphosis; on the other hand Australia is a settler republic which has undergone political transformation, where the ruling elite still fight to maintain their hegemony in the face of resistance from the original Aborigine community. Therefore in such a context, what is the role of a public broadcaster and to balance and satisfy the needs of the ruling class and the dichotomous interests of the Aborigines?
ABC was founded in 1929 as the Australian Broadcasting Company, it was subsequently nationalised and made a state owned corporation on 1 July 1932, the Australian Broadcasting Commision. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation Act 1983 changed the name of the organisation to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, effective 1 July 1983 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation). The establishment of ABC can be equated to that of UBC after the independence of Uganda. Uganda TV and Radio Uganda which were separate entities since the colonial era where merged to form the UBC in 2005.
ABC has a budget of AUD$840 million annually, the corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as overseas through the Australia Network and Radio Australia. ABC is 100percent funded by the government. UBC is controlled by the government but it is not 100 percent financed by government. In the case of ABC it means that advertisers cannot determine the content and production processes of ABC since it is financed through tax payers’ money. On the other hand, UBC can succumb to the wishes and aspirations of the advertiser since it relies on funds from advertisers. In is along this wise that one can therefore argue that public service broadcasters in the developed world have greater autonomy as compared to their counterparts in the developing world. Therefore public service broadcasters can cover news from a national view point without necessarily having to take the interests of the advertiser on board, that is to say national and public interest takes precedence over the profit interest.
ABC broadcasts nationally and internationally on its own accord. However, the same cannot be said about UBC. ABC broadcasts cover the whole of Australia, the Asia-Pacific region and the whole world. International coverage is carried out through Australia Network and Radio Australia. UBC on the other hand is still battling to broadcast to the whole of Uganda. With the world fast embracing the technological revolution, ABC broadcasts can be accessed on the internet. UBC is still to broadcast on the internet. At the moment, UBC internet radio broadcasts are being carried out by a television station based in the United States of America, Jump TV. UBC cannot broadcast internationally because its equipment is old. UBC uses analogue equipment, while ABC is using digital broadcast equipment. The use of digital broadcast equipment by ABC has enabled it to exploit digital broadcasting through beaming some of its programmes on New Information and Communications Technology (NICTs) devices such as mobile phones.
In the public interest, in 1995 ABC launched a television channel dedicated to the broadcast of parliamentary sessions. The television station is called Parliamentary network and news. On the other hand UBC operates a single television and channel, however recently it has secured a grant from the Chinese government to establish a second television station. The multiplicity of television channels on the ABC network ensures that issues there is an indepth coverage and analysis of current affairs without the constraints of time, as will be the case in the context of a single station which has to cover competing programme genres.
In 2001, ABC commenced digital television. In readiness, ABC had fully digitised its production, post-production and transmission facilities - heralded at the time as 'the greatest advance in television technology since the introduction of colour'. At the same time, the ABC's Multimedia division was renamed 'ABC New Media', becoming an output division of the ABC alongside Television and Radio. Legislation allowed the ABC to provide 'multichannels' - additional, digital-only, television services managed by the New Media division. Soon after the introduction of digital television in 2001, Fly TV and the ABC Kids Channel launched, showing a mix of programming aimed at teenagers and children. In 2002, the ABC launched ABC Asia Pacific - the replacement for the defunct Australia Television channel operated previously by the Seven Network. Much like its predecessor, and companion radio network Radio Australia, the service provided a mix of programming targeted at audiences throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Funding cuts in 2003 led to the closure of Fly and the ABC Kid's Channel. In contrast, UBC is still enmeshed in age old analogue broadcasting systems.
The ABC has been accused of bias by both sides of politics. On the other hand UBC has been accused only by the opposition of bias. Conservative Liberal Party governments in the 1960s and 1970s attempted to influence the Corporation's political coverage by threatening to reduce funding for its news and current affairs division. Similarly the opposition in Uganda has long called for the reformation of the public service broadcaster, opposition leader Besigye has threatened to overhaul UBC once in power.
A 2004 Roy Morgan media credibility survey found that twenty-five percent of Australian journalists viewed the ABC as Australia's most partisan media outlet, second only to News Limited. At the same time, the poll found that ABC Radio was seen as the most accurate news source in the country. A number of former journalists and presenters at ABC have moved from positions at the corporation to politics. Similarly, in a survey carried by Uganda Journalists Safety Committee, it was the assertion of this body of journalists that UBC is biased towards the ruling NRM party.
The ABC operates 46 local radio stations, in addition to four national networks and international service Radio Australia. In addition, DiG Radio launched on digital platforms in 2002, currently offers three separate stations. ABC Local Radio is the Corporation's flagship radio station in each broadcast area. There are 46 individual stations, each with a similar format consisting of locally presented light entertainment, news, talk back, music, sport and interviews, in addition to some national programming. Contrastingly, UBC has only 5 radio stations.
An experimental Multimedia Unit was established in 1995, charged with developing policy for the ABC's work in web publishing. This unit continued until 2000, when the New Media division was formed, bringing together the ABC's online output as a division similar to Television or Radio. The division had over a million pages of material published by late 2003. In 2001 the New Media division became New Media and Digital Services, reflecting the broader remit to develop content for digital platforms such as digital television. In addition to ABC Online, the division also had responsibility over the ABC's two digital television services, Fly TV and the ABC Kids Channel, until their closure in 2003. In March 2005 the division oversaw the launch of ABC2, a free-to-air digital television channel, in effect a replacement for ABC Kids and Fly.
In conjunction with the ABC's radio division, New Media and Digital Services implemented the ABC's first podcasts in December 2004. By mid-2006 the ABC had become an international leader in podcasting with over fifty podcast programs delivering hundreds of thousands of downloads per week. In February 2007, the New Media & Digital Services division was dissolved and divided up amongst other areas of the ABC. It was replaced by a new Innovations area, to manage ABC Online and investigate new technologies for the ABC. However, UBC is yet to fully exploit broadcast opportunities offered by the information superhighway.
In conclusion it can thus be argued that there are clear differences between UBC and ABC on the technological front and interms of budgets and sources of finance. The degree of government control at both public service broadcasters is a complex issue. Critics of both media institutions argue that they are by enlarge controlled by the government. However, what is certain is that the degree of government control is varied, at UBC there is direct government control but at ABC government control is indirect. In essence ABC riding on a high budget and technological supremacy has ceased to be a national broadcaster only, it has transcended on to the international public sphere to become an international broadcaster.
c) What do you think of the future of Africa’s media development?
Media development in Africa rests on a subtle and fragile surface. Contentious issues and the lack of willpower amongst the contemporary governments in Africa has slowed down the development of media. Apart from South Africa, and other few southern Africa nations such as Zambia and Namibia there has been a general tendency to stifle the development of the media industry throughout Africa. Governments in Africa have come up with various pieces of legislation that inhibit the growth of the media industry in Africa. Technical development in the media industry is one other factor that has negatively affected the growth of the media industry. The unavailability of finances to finance the set-up and the expansion of media projects has also ensured that media development in Africa remains retarded. However, there are new opportunities that are offered by the information superhighway (internet) for the development and growth of the media industry. There is also debate around the potential of alternative media in the form of community media ventures.
The current status with regards to media diversity on the African continent is adequately captured by Professor Guy Berger (2004:156), who asserts that Africa as a continent remains “media thin, rather than dense.” It can thus be argued that this situation is a direct result of the direct willpower of national governments to promote media diversity, by blocking investment in the field. Chiweshe et al (2003) contends that the promulgation of the Broadcasting Services Act (BAZ), Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) by the government of Zimbabwe was a direct strategy aimed at retarding media diversity and stifling journalistic practice. unstable political systems throughout Africa further re-inforce this unfortunate situation, for example Uganda has promulgated laws such as the Press and Journalist Act (2005) which places barriers of entry into the journalism professional to would be media practitioners. The Political Organisations Act (2004) has contains inimical provisions that hinder freedom of journalistic expression and exercise.
Media training in Africa still lags behind. There are few journalism and media studies training institutions in Africa. To further compound the situation, in the field of technical training for would be media practitioners, most of the training institutions lack the requisite media equipment for training. For a world that is fast globalizing and embracing NICTs media practitioners need to be adequately trained so that they are able to meet the demands of a digitalizing media industry. Lack of adequate and comprehensive training has resulted in poor quality productions. There is need for Africa to invest in the establishment of media training institutions which are equipped with the requisite modern equipment. In order to produce high quality graduates the human resources skills, interms of lecturers, facilitators and other technical people must not only be qualified but experienced.
The unavailability of finances to finance the establishment of new media organizations or expand the existing ones has meant that media industry remains retarded in Africa. There is need for private investment in the sector to improve the diversity and pluralism of the media industry in Africa. Most media organizations in Africa, apart from South Africa and those found in the Maghreb region (Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco) are failing to generate enough revenue to sustain their operations and to remunerate journalists with salaries commensurate with any other noble profession.
The media in Africa has been widely touted as being used by the wealthy and ruling elite to purvey their ideas to audiences. It has also been accused of sidelining national and public interest in preference of commercial interests. It is against this backdrop that one can therefore argue that media development of Africa shall be hinged on community media. Community media is flourishing across Africa, and it is claimed it appeals to local communities and regions, and thus addressing their developmental needs and aspirations.
The internet provides a vast uncontested space for media development in Africa. Nyabuga (2004) notes that the number of internet users on the continent is steadily rising. It is this opportunity that Africa can seize and use for the development of the media industry on the continent. The internet offers African media organizations to transmit African issues to world audiences. A new concept, citizen journalism has emerged with the internet. Citizen journalism circumvents the legislative barriers put in place interms of laws governing the practice of journalism. The internet provides a global public sphere that can be used in the practice of journalism. In line with liberal-pluralism ideas internet news sites present an unregulated public sphere where truths and lies compete, an ideal market place of ideas.
In conclusion, it can thus be argued that although there are a number of challenges that beset media development in Africa, there are also opportunities for its development. The onus for the development of the media industry lies in the political willpower of contemporary and future leaders to further liberalise the media environment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Chibita, M. B (2006) “Indigenous Language Programming and Citizen Participation in Ugandan Broadcasting: An Exploratory Study” (Doctorate Thesis)
2. Chiweshe et al (2003) Human Rights and the Media A handbook, Harare, SAHRIT
3. Constitution of the Republic of Uganda (2005) Kampala:Government of the Republic of Uganda
4. Khamalwa, W. J (2008) “Uganda Country Report Context” African Media Development Initiative. London: BBC
5. Laitila, T. (1995) “ Journalistic codes of ethics in Europe”, European Journal of Communication,10 (4)
6. McQuail D (2005) McQuail Mass Communication Theory, London: Sage Publications
7. Nyabuga G in Sonja Verwey, Journal Of Communication Science In Southern Africa- Communicare 23(1)-July 2004, Durban: University of Kwazulu Natal
8. Williams K (2003) Understanding Media Theory, London:Arnold Publishers
ONLINE SOURCES
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation (Accessed on 22 March 2009)
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uganda_Broadcasting_Corporation (Accessed on 22 March 2009)
3. Berger, G. http://www.journ.ru.ac.za/staff/guy
4. http://www.ubc.com/home (Accessed on 22 March 2009)
5. http://www.pressreference.com/Sw-Ur/Uganda.html (accessed 24 March 2009)
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