Peer review for African Public Broadcasters

1. Session: Legitimacy, the public broadcaster and the public agenda. How do public broadcasters establish their identity? Peer review for African Public Broadcasters Guy Berger Conference: “Global media, culture and tomorrow’s challenges.” PBI, Maputo, 21-22 September, 2006

2. STAY TUNED • Aping the APRM • Why’s and wherefore’s • How to handle • By whom? • Anticipating objections and risks • So what?

3. 1 Africa & APRM

4. APRM: African self-monitoring mechanism • OAU→AU ended the taboo on sovereignity. • APRM agreed by Nepad Heads of State, 2002. • Voluntary: Almost half African governments have signed up. • Self-assessment with stakeholders, & by African experts. • Process is independent and professional. • Produces a public report plus recommendations for improvements.

5. Relevant features • Accepts different baselines as starting points. Not “1 size = all”. • Focuses on Nepad priority areas such as: • strengthening institutions of democracy and human rights, • improving budgeting and financial performance, • promotion of rights enshrined in African and International HR instruments.

6. APRM: where’s its value? • Identifies areas for strengthening. • Promotes best practice. • Good for credibility. • Can be used to persuade development partners to support recommendations. • Builds African unity and pride.

7. Limits from PBS p.o.v. • APRM does not see media issues as part of good governance. • Missing from its standards – which include various international and African declarations – is the 2002 Freedom of Expression declaration by African Commission on Human and People’s rights.

8. Declaration on Free Expression: This “standard” says PSBs should: • account to the public through the legislature rather than government, • be governed by a board protected against interference, • have guaranteed editorial independence; • have adequate funding and in a manner that protects them from arbitrary interference; • strive to ensure that their transmission system covers the whole territory of the country; and • have a clear public service ambit including an obligation to ensure politically balanced information, particularly during election periods.

9. APRM silence on PBS • The APRM says its team should consult with, amongst others, civil society including media. • And it mentions as one indicator: “the effectiveness of independent media in informing the public and providing freedom of expression”. • BUT it does not specifically deal with PBS, which is not “civil society”, nor is it exactly in the camp of “independent media”. • There is thus a need – and an opportunity!

10. Significance in context • Transition from GBS to PBS • Some stranded in civil service mode • Challenge of commercialisation • Challenge of competition • Ongoing needs for PSB – democratic role (impartial), languages, health, imaging the continent.

11. 2 Why an APRM for PBSs?

12. Towards a normative consensus • A Peer Review Mechanism would set out clear & agreed standards for PBS in African conditions. • Assessing would be against these standards • NOT a beauty contest to be the best PBS in Africa. It is a sharing by peers, not a collaboration between competitors. • A degree of benchmarking becomes possible, although each PBS ultimately is judged in terms of its own mandate. • Comprehensive and helpful self-, social- and external- audit.

13. Objective of an APRM • Foreground uncontestable standards and elicit decent data. • Should be no dispute: objective process. • Issue then is: how to use this for improvements, and when to repeat. • It builds upon, but is different to, International Benchmarking process, Certimedia, and other systems.

14. Maputo Bdcast Reform Initiative 14 – 16 August 2006: • Attention should be given towards establishing an African Public Broadcasting Peer Review Mechanism (APPRM), • This mechanism should be voluntary and with criteria and review team based on consensus amongst those public broadcasters that sign up. • The process would, like the APRM, proceed with a national self-assessment that would draw in stakeholders like parliamentarians, NGOs, governments, public broadcasting bodies and journalists.

15. 3 Here’s how: • Generic points • Broadcasters • PBS • African PBS

16. GENERIC: Drawing from APRM • Good Corporate Governance has seven distinguishing characteristics: discipline, transparency, independence, accountability, responsibility, fairness and social responsibility. • APRM develops indicators accordingly. • These are all relevant to PBSs.

17. Link to TQM principles • Customer focus • Leadership • Empowerment • Process approach • Systemic approach • Continuous improvement • Decisions based on facts • Relationship with suppliers mutually beneficiary

18. Self- Assessment Tool Management system (sample) Not At All /Never Very Strong / Always Strong / Often Small / Sometimes 1- Have you defined in writing the Mission of your company? 2- Is it appropriately deployed in operational objectives and action plans? 3- Are there meetings between the personnel and the management on a regular basis?

19. Self- Assessment Tool Human Resources (sample) Not At All /Never Very Strong / Always Strong / Often Small / Sometimes 1- Is there job descriptions in place for all the personnel? 2- Is there a formal system in place for the yearly evaluation of performance? 3- Is the training of the personnel well adapted to the needs?

20. BROADCASTING: Certimedia • This review standard does not judge actual content but what lies behind the output – i.e. a broadcaster’s systems and processes. • How each broadcaster organises itself to meet the standards of such systems is up to each institution to decide.

21. Certimedia’s ISAS BC 9001 • Inspired by ISO 9001:2000 • 152 questions in total

22. It measures how you meet: • Universal access; • Audience and citizen participation; • Avoidance of one-sided reporting and programming in regard to religion, politics, culture, race and gender. • If there is a code for programmes and an editorial charter, a code for advertising and a code of ethics. • How the broadcaster secures its independence from economic or political interests; • Commitment to promoting local, regional and national cultures; • Mechanisms to promote respect of minorities and pluralistic information.

23. SOUTH AFRICA ... Providers Users TOTAL Experts 92 22 30 1- Social Relevance 40 59 2- Quality of Information 22 37 33 3- Audience Satisfaction 11 9 13 29 4- Independence & Transparency 29 17 5- Proximity to Cultural Identities 9 5 3 15 6- Diversity of Contents 15 15 12 7- Accessibility to the Media 3 8 8 8- Competence of Broadcaster Staff 7 9- Vision, Values, Mission 0 7 7 10- Creation & Innovation 7 6 11- Ethics & Policies 1 5 0 6 6 12- Corporate Social Investment 6 13- Participation & Interactivity 6

24. Some Certimedia indicators 1- Independence & Transparency 12- Education 2- Ethics & Policies 13- Participation & Interactivity 3- Minority Representation & Proximity 14- Pluralism 15- World Perspective 4- Audience Satisfaction 16- Competence of Staff 5- Accessibility to the Media 17- Corporate Social Investment 6- Innovation & Creation 7- Quality of Information 18- Religion 8- Social Relevance 19- Programmes Scheduling 9- Diversity of Contents 20- Women Empowerment 10- Quality of Contents 21- Quality of Equipment 11- Citizen Empowerment

25. Mix of generic & bdcast specific • Section 4.1 of ISO 9001:2000 shall be applied. • Specific requirements for broadcasters: • The broadcaster shall identify and document all the critical processes having a direct impact on: • The quality of the contents of the broadcast programs (from design to audience feed-back) • The relationship with the National Regulation Authority and/or the Government • The relationship with advertisers • The relationship with suppliers • The measurement of audience numbers and satisfaction • The management of human resources

26. 7.5.1 Control of production and service provision • Section 7.5.1 of ISO 9001:2000 shall be applied. • Specific requirements for broadcasters: • The broadcasting company shall establish and maintain quality dash-boards giving a clear picture of the evolution of the following KPIs: • Diversity of programs contents sorted in three main categories: information, education and entertainment • National Regulation Authority complaints • Quality of technical equipment • Participation rate of citizens and civil society, level of interactivity and citizen empowerment efforts in the broadcast programs • Social usefulness including women empowerment, cultural promotion, cultural diversity, religion, etc. of broadcast programmes.

27. PBS as a particular broadcaster: “We must design evaluation mechanisms for the public broadcaster suited to its obligations, which are not those of commercial broadcasters. This leads us to question ratings as a means of evaluation. ” World Radio & Television Council

28. PBS: International Bench-marking (8 countries 2001-2) • KPIs comparable across each broadcaster; • measurable and reliable with data available for each broadcaster; • relevant to each broadcaster’s activities. • 4 categories of benchmarks for broadcast: • Quality • Distinctiveness • Efficiency • Universality

29. ABC performance irt the International Benchmarking Group.

30. CBC Special Examination report By the Office of the Auditor General into: • Strategic planning & risk management • Service to Canadians • People management • Capital assets • Support services

31. Results of the OAG review: • There are shortcomings in the Corporation’s external accountability structure, its governance relationships and its performance information. • It is feasible to measure the distinctiveness, and CBC should develop such a measurement framework. • Internal culture needs attention.

32. AFRICAN PBSs • A peer review is not: a certification system, a benchmarking, nor an OAG audit. • But it can profitably draw from these. • Need to add African specifics: • Contribution to languages • HiV-Aids policies • Xenophobia policies • Educative-developmental • Training and tech policies

33. And refer to African Standards • African Charter on Freedom of Expression • African Charter on Broadcasting • SADC election standards (& Misa-SABA declaration)

34. Africa Media Barometer (FES) African Commission Declaration: Standard: The public broadcaster accounts to the public through a board representative of society at large and selected in an independent, open and transparent manner. Indicators: • Persons who have vested interests of a political or commercial nature are excluded from possible membership in the board, i.e. office bearers with the state and political parties as well as those with a financial interest in the broadcasting industry. • Editorial independence guaranteed by law and practised.

35. 4 By whom?

36. UNESCO/WRTVC/FES/ AIBD International Workshop on PSB best practices : evaluation, monitoring and standards. 2005 • Monitoring and evaluation should cover the way PSB is actually implementing its mission as defined in the legal texts. • Evaluation should be done by the broadcasters themselves and/or by external bodies. • There should be explicit rules and institutions both for internal and external evaluation. • A code of conduct should exist both for internal and external evaluations.

37. UNESCO/WRTVC/FES/ AIBD Workshop cntd. • The membership of the external bodies should be made up of independent persons serving the public interest, including experts and representatives of civil society. • The instruments of monitoring and evaluation should be manifold, professional and valid. They may include the voices of the viewers and listeners, staff, public hearings, expert judgments, and benchmark tests.

38. APRM’s people • Committee of participating countries • Panel of Eminent Persons • Secretariat • Country review team • Not consultants • Not foreign • Involves public – transparent process

39. APRM stages • Secretariat visits country, MoU agreed. • Two entities collect info and exchange. • Country review team visits. • Then report and govt response. • Both go to APR Forum, which discusses and gives results to the country concerned. • Report will recommend follow up and dates for checking progress. • Report then made public. • Secretariat holds workshops on best practice • Baseline data for subsequent APRM

40. Legitimacy irt PSB • Take into consideration the needs and expectations of all the stakeholders: • Audience /Viewers • Personnel of the broadcasting company • Shareholders • Advertisers • Sub-contractors • Citizens, Civil Society • National Regulation Authority • Government • Parliament • Judiciary

41. 5 “no!” & “what if”

42. Possible problems • Objections • “this is outside interference” • “bias is likely” • “fear of criticism” • “something to hide” • Risk of report legitimising poor practices • the politics of how it is played can defeat objectives. • whether there is good faith, or whether PBSs see this as mainly a PR exercise

43. 6 So what?

44. Historic chance • A unique & credible process. • Can leapfrog for progress. • Homegrown definitions & control. • Help identify how to deal with environment of deregulation and pluralism. • Enabling rather than prescriptive. • Help give better public service.

45. AIBD Seminar, Bangkok, 2004Recommendations regarding Legal, Ethical, Financial and Administrative Aspects of PSB: Recommendation: The international community should be requested to take into account whether the above conditions (independence and editorial independence – GB) are met when considering providing assistance to public broadcasters. Peer review can do!

46. Bold steps needed • To develop or improve a legitimate identity as a valued PBS in each country. • This is a window of opportunity – but it will not stay open forever. • PBS leadership need to champion it. • Too busy? Save yourself time in the longterm! • Too doubtful? Do it for the interests of PSB!

47. Thank you!