Embassy News

Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt opens a DVC on media and elections (Photo: Yacouba Soro/U.S. Embassy)

The Role of the Media during Elections – A Discussion in Cote d'Ivoire

Over 70 Ivorian journalists, editors, members of the Ministry of Communication and Prime Minister's Office, representatives of the Independent Electoral Commission, media regulatory bodies, NGOs and university students participated in a lively discussion with veteran journalist Eduardo Cue via a Digital Video Conference hosted by ARS Paris.  Focusing first on the role of the media in the U.S. presidential election, debate later turned to the realities of being a journalist reporting on the presidential election scheduled for November 30 in Cote d'Ivoire. 

In her opening remarks, Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt stressed the vital role that the media should play to ensure that the polls are free and fair.  Felix Diby Bony described his experiences covering the primaries in Pennsylvania as part of a Foreign Press Center Tour, while journalist Ibrahim Kone, a former International Visitor, stressed the difficulty of reporting objectively in Cote d'Ivoire, where "the media have become the appendage of political groups."  The program was covered by local media outlets; UNOCI F.M. (the UN radio station in Cote d’Ivoire) carried a broadcast which included interviews with some participants. (Photo Gallery)