Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg)
Suzan Chala
12 October 2001
Thousands of African journalists have passed through the offices of the Freedom Forum in Rosebank, Johannesburg, since it opened its offices in 1997.
Some came to learn more about their profession from international experts, while others came to learn from each other.
The Freedom Forum's Africa Centre director, Jerrilyn Eddings, says she has learned from South Africa that "society is capable of changing without having to reduce it to rubble".
The organisation that supports "free press, free spirit and free speech" - will close its South African offices as part of a cost-cutting measure this year.
The reorganisation is a result of serious downturn in the stock market, according to chairperson and CEO Charles Overby. "In the past two years, our assets have declined from $1-billion to $700-million." The Freedom Forum is a non-profit organisation that does not accept grants of any kind.
As part of reorganising, its head offices in New York will move to Washington, some programmes will be eliminated and staff will be reduced. The Africa Centre is one of the casualties and will close in December.
Over the past four years the centre has conducted workshops and seminars, supported internships and fellowships as well as run educational programmes. Media practitioners and students across Africa have been involved in discussions about issues that affect them in their countries and in attempts to find solutions.
Among other things, it sponsored the forum aimed at improving economic reporting in Africa and forming a support structure for economics reporters.
Many journalists will remember the organisation for its Free Press-Africa Award - one of the prizes in the CNN Africa Journalist of the Year awards. The prize is given to journalists who have demonstrated courage and integrity and enhance the cause of media freedom.
Eddings said CNN would continue with the awards. She said most of the Freedom Forum's programmes will not be completed by December and she was negotiating with other organisations to continue with them, including a media library in Mali.
Eddings's high point in office has been to successfully help journalists around Africa network and work together. She believes a lot of work should be done to educate African societies about the media.
"When I first came here newsrooms [in South Africa] were largely white, black journalists had been imprisoned and white journalists oppressed," she said.
Eddings believes the media in South Africa are still struggling to redefine their role in a changed society.
Her lowest point has been to see journalists being arrested and sometimes killed for fighting for press freedom. In most African countries press freedom was still not recognised by governments.
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