As the world marks the Press Freedom Day, the Rwanda Media Commission (RMC), the self-regulatory body of journalists in Rwanda, has asked its partners to include media into their COVID-19 recovery plans. RMC said in a statement that news organisations and publishers in Rwanda have been threatened by the coronavirus pandemic just like elsewhere in the world, despite being key in informing the masses. Generally, publishing worldwide is rapidly losing advertising revenues as companies are bracing themselves for an economic downturn, threatening journalism globally. Journalists are beginning to get laid off, or forced to take cuts in salaries, while some also come under increasing political pressure. It is a time that the body says journalists committed more efforts to deliver much needed information to the population, although some were not able to fulfil that responsibility due to the impact of the pandemic. “COVID-19 has increased the work of journalists in their already limited capacity, but journalism has also been among the sectors that have facilitated masses to access information about the pandemic,” the statement reads in part. The statement signed by Emmanuel Mugisha, the body’s Executive Secretary urged journalists to continue sharing ideas aimed at taking their profession to the next level, despite the challenges facing the sector. “RMC also asks partners to reflect on the future of journalism and include it among the economic recovery plans, because journalism and journalists all over have been affected in one way or another,” the statement read.
