Embassy Newscentre

Embassy News 2008

The Public Affairs Officer Sharon White and the moderator during the DVC (Photo: Yacouba Soro/US Embassy)

DVC Programs on Media, Democracy and Elections

On November 4, 2008, the people of the United States will elect their president. During the same period, Ivoirians would also choose their president in an election that is widely seen as the best way forward to resolve Cote d’Ivoire’s six-year old crisis.

The U.S. Embassy in Abidjan believed that these major events offered a unique opportunity to expose Ivorians including Government officials, politicians, members of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), representatives of civic groups, women’s organizations, businessmen, youth, and students to the American electoral system.

With the support of the Paris-based ARS (African Regional Service), the U.S. Embassy has developed a 4-serie of DVCs featuring George Kazolias, an American journalist to draw a parallel between the U.S. elections and the electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire. Focusing on the role of the media in the U.S. presidential election, debates also highlight realities of being a journalist reporting on the presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire.

The first conference was held on August 12, 2008 and brought together about 20 journalists. Discussions focused on the role of the press in elections; relationship between journalists and the public and politicians as well as political campaign strategies. Professor Kazolias also addressed issues on how to find themes in the campaign and how a reporter should deal with a public relations officer of a political party.

The September 23, 2008 DVC program brought together about 40 journalists and focused on topics including covering meetings and press conferences; and how to determine the main themes when covering a press conference. Professor Kazolias gave participants tips on how to prepare a political press conference. He emphasized on the importance for the reporters to balance their stories by getting reactions from different opinions.

The speaker told the journalists not to burry the news and to stick to the facts. He also answered to the different concerns of the journalists, who expressed great interest in the program due to its timeliness. Felix Diby Bony, an Ivorian senior political reporter, who covered the primaries in Pennsylvania as part of a Foreign Press Center Tour, spoke about his experience in the U.S. during the half-day program.

The interview techniques; how to ask the right questions and get a subject to relax? how to get a source to talk? and differences between print, radio and TV interviews were the main topics of the October 14, 2008 DVC program. About 30 journalists, students and representatives of NGOs attended the program.

The U.S. Embassy’s Information Specialist, Teko Folli, also spoke on the central role the media play in the U.S. electoral process. Speaking on his week-long experience in Washington DC where he attended training on "U.S. Electoral System", Mr. Teko said that the media is making it easy for Americans to understand their electoral system. According to him national television networks reach 99 percent of all American homes, making contact across the entire country.

He said cable news stations, radio and television talk shows, newspapers, news magazines and Internet sites all provide voters with information about the candidates. The content and emphasis of their coverage are among the most powerful factors in determining how voters perceive the candidates and the issues. He also said that as a way of communicating more directly with voters, candidates buy television and radio advertising time. Mr. Teko particularly emphasized the balanced reports in the American media outlets on the coverage of the electoral process.

The last program of this series of DVC is planned for coming December and will focus the role of the media in post-electoral period.