SECTOR 4 Meanwhile, the Statutory Media Council was established under Article 8 of the Press and Journalist Act, which states that the Council be formed of the following people: (a) the director of information or a senior officer from the ministry responsible for information; (b) two distinguished scholars in mass communication appointed by the Minister in consultation with the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda; (c) a representative nominated by the Uganda Newspapers Editors and Proprietors Association; (d) four representatives of whom— (i) two shall represent electronic media; and (ii) two shall represent the National Institute of Journalists of Uganda; (e) four members of the public not being journalists, who shall be persons of proven integrity and good repute of whom— (i) two shall be nominated by the Minister; (ii) and one shall be nominated by the Uganda Newspapers Editors and Proprietors Association; (iii) one shall be nominated by the journalists; and (f) a distinguished practising lawyer nominated by the Uganda Law Society. The Information Minister effectively has the final say in the composition of the entire council in terms of Article 8 (3), which states that “the persons referred to in paragraphs (c), (d), (e) and (f) shall be appointed by the Minister”. In terms of the law (Part VII), the Statutory Media Council appoints a disciplinary committee that has the power to suspend a journalist from work for up to six months and to fine an offending media house. Besides exercising “disciplinary control over journalists, editors and publishers” (Article 9.c), the statutory media council also has the power to “censor films, videotapes, plays and other related apparatuses for public consumption” (Article 9.e). One of the panellists said their organisation took a case - concerning Red Pepper newspaper’s degrading portrayal of women - to the Statutory Media Council in 2010 and won. But the newspaper “behaved just like: ‘Who is this media council?’ The council awarded us UGX 3m (USD 1200) as damages. Red Pepper keeps saying it is organising payment. Therefore we decided to take out another case.” A nine-point professional code of ethics forms part of the Press and Journalist Act (Fourth Schedule). “There is no way we can run away from the statutory code”, said a panellist. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER UGANDA 2012 59