The Impact of the Government Concealing Information on the Practice of Journalism: A Study of Anglophone Cameroonian Journalist

This study seeks to understand how a press freedom-related issue such governmental controls of governmental information affects journalism practice. The study used data from a survey of 172 practicing Anglophone Cameroonian journalists from private and state media, and in-depth interviews. Interviewees were heads of journalism unions/associations, a media regulatory agency (the National Communication Council), and media owners, publishers, and editors. Results show that the government uses a combination of legislative and administrative practices---mostly through sanctions from the media regulatory body and judicial harassment -- to effectively enforce and monitor control of information. Top barriers to accessing government information were found to be: long wait times during appointments with officials, unending referrals to bosses/superiors, delaying press conferences until state media are present, and delaying replies to requests for information, among others. This study argues that coupled with legislative and administrative practices, these barriers lead to imbalanced reporting and ethical compromise. This study concludes that while governmental control of information was sometimes explained by lack of training and unprofessionalism, the practices stifle the development of responsible journalism practice, shrinking audiences and creating widespread cynicism about local journalistic ethics. The cynicism can also be explained by the fact that some reporters have been known to accept bribes from government officials and agencies, and rich business owners in exchange for not running scandal stories. This practice has been named "gombo journalism" in Cameroon.