In the first in a series of discussions to be held between leading personalities and the Media Trust, Jean Claude de l’Estrac, former editor, politician and diplomat, shared the fruits of his rich media experience with young journalists at the Media Trust in Port Louis on 19 April. The session was led by Ashok Beeharry, Chair of the Media Trust.
Based on his vast experience in print and broadcast media in Mauritius spanning many decades, including at La Sentinelle and Radio One, and roles as founder of the association of journalists in Mauritius and President of the Media Trust, Mr de l’Estrac urged young journalists participating in the session to seize the opportunities available to them.
He perceived that the written press was under threat from a number of factors, including politics, the economy and technology. He noted the significant decline in newspaper circulation in recent years, and the challenges of securing sufficient advertising revenues, but considered that newspapers still retained a certain ‘influence’ if not ‘affluence’. He predicted that newspapers would eventually disappear, even if there was a small public that would continue to buy them, and also charted the rise of ‘citizen journalists’. In the light of this, he saw that the role of journalism, as a profession, would be to provide opinion and analysis on the developments of the day, to see what is real and what is not, which also required a certain experience on the part of the journalist.
Mr de l’Estrac recalled the importance of journalists going out and meeting people to gather information for their news stories, and emphasised the importance of fact-checking and double-checking. He warned that journalists should not seek to rely on a single source for a story, and urged caution in reporting on ‘whistleblowers’ who may have a personal interest in getting a story published. He stressed that it was crucial to always solicit the other side of the story, even if the person might refuse to comment, and underscored that ‘if you don’t have two sources it is not news’.
He noted that the press was not considered as credible today as in the past and urged that ‘we must save the press’. He said that nowadays he barely saw ‘reportages’ or investigations, and he mentioned that ‘technology does not replace men and women’. With regard to freedom of expression, he saw that all freedoms passed through the press, and that a Freedom of Information Act, if one would ever be adopted in the country, would not be for the interests of journalists but the interests of citizens.
In terms of his tips to aspiring and upcoming journalists, Mr de l’Estrac advised them to read and write, not only for work but for pleasure. He suggested that journalists should aim to dedicate equivalent time to reading as to watching TV, and to feel the emotions and enrichment from this experience. He also warned journalists against the use of ChatGPT which he saw as an exercise in plagiarism, just ‘taking information from here and there’.
Asked by a journalist whether he perceived a sense of freedom of expression among journalists, Mr de l’Estrac found that sometimes there was and sometimes not. He added that the ‘dose of liberty’ that a journalist was allowed is constrained by the rules, police and the prevailing political regime.
In conclusion, Mr de l’Estrac recalled that the three principles that a journalist must abide by are to be neutral, impartial and independent.
