Everything needed rebuilding after the flight of Tunisia's former president Ben Ali in 2011 — starting with national institutions and the Tunisian people's trust in their authorities. Among the various initiatives and cooperation projects launched by Switzerland in Tunisia, the SDC chose to strengthen the role of public media, following a widely shared vision: the production and dissemination of diverse, high-quality information as a contribution to the democratic transition.
From service of the state to public service
Thus, at the initiative of the SDC, the national broadcaster Radio Tunisienne turned to Fondation Hirondelle for support in its progressive transformation from a service of the state to a public service media institution.
There was no time to lose. Since the summer of 2011 all Tunisian media had been preparing to cover the election of the National Constituent Assembly. At first Fondation Hirondelle supported Radio Tunisienne's nine stations in their coverage of the electoral campaign. Later its efforts focused on one of them, Radio Gafsa, a regional station located in the southwest of Tunisia.
The decision to work with Radio Gafsa was deliberate. Its coverage zone includes the governorates of Kasserine, Sidi Bouzid, Tozeur and Kebili, hotbeds of the social protest that had led to the revolution. The idea was to relay information emanating from regions that were among the country's most marginalised along with the opinions of residents who had previously received little or no attention.
Improving programme quality
For two and a half years Radio Gafsa received significant support, both technical and financial. First, concrete steps were taken to improve programme quality: announcers' on-air delivery, choice of music, instituting editorial meetings, audience studies, a new programme line-up, etc.
The broadcaster's organisational capacity was also bolstered. Radio Gafsa opened five regional bureaux staffed with ten correspondent journalists, allowing it to expand its presence in the field. Organised as a network, the correspondents provide daily coverage of local events for all of Radio Tunisienne's nine stations, serving a total of 1.5 million listeners at the national level.
As testimony to the progress achieved, Radio Gafsa's audience numbers began to rise. Once considered nothing more than a mouthpiece of the regime, today the station has become a credible and trustworthy news source.
Respect for professional ethics
A further aspect is strict observance of media ethics. Fondation Hirondelle experts have expanded their advisory services in this area for journalists. The newly instituted editorial meetings offer a venue for everyday exchanges among colleagues, who discuss the content of their reporting and trade words of caution, reducing the risk of complaints.
Extending the partnership
The reforms undertaken at this broadcaster are the inspiration for similar work now taking place at two other Radio Tunisienne regional stations, Radio Kef (northwest) and Radio Tataouine (southeast). These two stations too have rapidly become the most listened-to broadcasters in their regions thanks to another ten or so correspondents in the field. These helped cover the October 2014 legislative elections with numerous reports and a professionalism that earned kudos from far and wide.
Altogether, nearly 250 Tunisian staff members of every vocation from all of these stations have received training through Fondation Hirondelle to date. Since summer 2015, the last two Radio Tunisienne stations – Radio Sfax and Radio Monastir - have benefited from the same support.
Concurrently, the SDC is engaged in an ongoing dialogue with the leadership of the national radio system with a view to making these changes permanent. This dialogue has borne fruit: As from 2016, 20 regional correspondents previously paid by Fondation Hirondelle will work under contract for Radio Tunisienne.
