SECTOR 4

In most newsrooms, production expenses are given priority over workers’ salaries.
Media proprietors argue that “it is impossible to pay” the minimum wage for
journalists because of the high cost of running news organisations and the low
profitability of media ventures. But it is hard to determine how much media
organisations make in the name of profits because of the opaque nature in
which resources are managed. “No one knows how much news owners earn,”
a panellist added.
Low wages have forced journalists to move into other communication jobs
like public relations management, where salaries and working conditions are
generally better. Entry level salaries in corporate communication jobs are usually
about CFA200,000 (US $400) per month. The salary often comes with various
allowances and bonuses. Journalists in public relations and marketing jobs often
get a basic salary and commissions that may range from about 5 to 23 percent,
depending on the employer and output.
Generally, working conditions for journalists are deplorable and issues such as
their security and safety hardly receive any attention. “Journalists can be arrested
and detained and no one knows where they are.” The situation has become a
major concern over the last three years, with the armed insurgence in northern
Cameroon and the increasingly volatile situation along the eastern border of the
country with the Central African Republic. Under the prevailing circumstances,
not only are journalists increasingly being put in harm’s way as they do their work,
but they are also becoming a subject of undue scrutiny from state secret agents,
who are more than eager to spy on them and try to extort useful information
from them on the activities of those whom they perceive as the enemy.

Scores:
Individual scores:
1

Country does not meet indicator

2

Country meets only a few aspects of indicator

3

Country meets some aspects of indicator

4

Country meets most aspects of indicator

5

Country meets all aspects of the indicator

Average score:

1.8 (2008=n/a; 2011=1.2)

AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER CAMEROON 2014

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