Richard Kwang Kometa
2 July 2009
Age, they say is wisdom. Consequently, at 35 Cameroon Tribune, as a newspaper, has the right to reflect over the road so far covered and gaze at the future not with any sense of doubt but in view of scouting the hard facts that must be made public as the years roll by.
Yet we are cognizant of the general feeling that the past is often more comforting because it might have been dead and buried. Moreover, it appears less harmful since obstacles of the past are well known unlike the future that, for obvious reasons, constitutes hard choices that must at times be made.
For Cameroon Tribune, the road covered has not been all a bed of roses. It has witnessed its own ups and downs, surviving as best it could. With the challenge of being one of the first dailies in the country, having a public service vocation, the paper has evolved to adopt a bilingual form. Reports in the English and the French languages flow side by side, giving CT a unique identity in the country.
But has there been satisfaction or unanimity around the form and content of the paper? As would be expected, views defer on the question. Perfectionists would undoubtedly ask for more while some would hesitate to give a definite response and yet others would feel ok with the stuff. Five years ago, Cameroon Tribune remembered its 30 years of existence with a round table conference on the place of the state-owned media in a competitive environment. The strategic options that the paper keeps operating even before that reflection, have generally geared towards opening up to the widest possible readership, providing hard news and informed analysis to break down the complex realities of daily life throughout the national triangle as well as out of the country. That has been the direction. Not so easy though.
An ever evolving technological environment led the paper to go digital in layout at the dawn of the year 2000 with a content that showcases variety and an undeniable political insight in news coverage. That option has remained unchallenged for the past 35 years. Even when public opinion tended to doubt CT’s choices, time has always ended upon its side. Any other difference might have been with the interpretation of the facts and not otherwise.
It could have been easier to say at 35 there are enough hands-on experiences at CT. But the constant mutation in manpower and the changing as well as fascinating terrain leave us rather with the view that the best is still to come. Who today could have imagined the impact of the computer, the Internet, political strife, economic hardship among others, on the daily management of a newspaper at creation some 35 years ago?
Even though there were years that the paper and its staff felt like having gotten to the journey’s end, endurance and conviction kept the flame burning. Today, one may not venture to say gone are the days…but it is more logical to insist on moments when reason has always prevailed over sentiments.
This anniversary publication is therefore an occasion to look down the lane, examine the evolution of CT, and take reactions from those who made it through the paper to higher heights and even those who could not. Several readers have availed themselves of the paper’s anniversary to give their impressions about the shortfalls of CT and equally its strengths. The online version at www.cameroon-tribune.net would for sure be another forum for further feedback on CT’s 35 years in the market place of ideas.
Last but not least, are images to further tell the story of the product, CT at 35.
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