Embassy News

The PAO David Andresen and the Moderator during the DVC (Photo: Yacouba Soro/US Embassy)

Media Principles Discussed by Ivorian Press Principals

30 Ivorian media leaders, press veterans, and working-level journalists gathered at the American Cultural Center May 2 for a multimedia DVC/film conference examining key issues related to their chosen profession – press freedom, media challenges, journalism standards. 

This program took place on the eve of World Press Freedom Day, setting the stage for other media-oriented conferences taking place at the embassy and elsewhere. It was organized in partnership with OLPED – a self-regulatory NGO that monitors press freedom, journalism standards and media ethics in Côte d’Ivoire

The program opened with a dynamic and satisfying DVC with American veteran journalist, Eduardo Cue.  He fully engaged his Ivorian counterparts in a 90 minute dialogue that dealt frankly with the realities of being a reporter in Africa – physical attacks, verbal abuse, official animosity, legal threats, partisan papers, poor training, and poorer pay. 

Following the DVC, a documentary on American women reporters who broke through the “glass ceiling” in the 60s and 70s was shown, and journalist challenges and barriers based on gender and bias were then discussed.