Media leaders vow to uplift standards, embrace technology

By Stephen Ssenkaaba

African media leaders and practitioners have committed themselves to do more to embrace new media technologies and to promote a media that reflects development realities of the continent.

Speaking at the 7th African Media Leaders Forum in Johannesburg South Africa last week, senior editors, media owners, entrepreneurs and development partners agreed that news media in Africa have yet to take full advantage of new media technologies.

It was also noted that African media houses have not done enough to tell the ‘African story’ amid simplistic distortions from foreign media.

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The forum which took place at OR Tambo Conference Centre in the East Rand area of Johannesburg was organized by the African Media Initiative (AMI).

It focused on the role of media in shaping development conversations in a digital environment. 

It was attended by more than 600 delegates from several media organisations in and outside Africa, international development organisation representatives and experts from civil society and the technology industry.

Participants discussed the challenges affecting media in Africa.

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AMI CEO, Eric Chinje(L) and Dr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa address the conference.

They charted various strategies to improve the quality of media content as a tool to enhance governance and building stronger, more economically viable and informed societies.

The delegates also mapped ways of bridging the digital divide in newspaper distribution and circulation and establishing workable models to improve business and leverage social media.

“Advances in the digital space are changing how we do business, and our audiences are increasingly relying on social sites for news and entertainment,” Trevor Ncube, Chairman of the AMI Board of Directors said.

He challenged media practitioners to seize what he called “the big data moment”.

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Vision Group CEO, Robert Kabushenga at the conference

AMI CEO Eric Chinje` called on the media to understand the continent’s challenges and help build stronger societies.

He noted that media will grow better if societies in which they operate are growing too.

The event was marked by panel discussions on audiences and Market for African media as well as the emergence of a new digital culture, and the effect of technology on the continent’s development.

“Pritoritise development”

Nurturing a trajectory that highlights development issues on the continent was high on the agenda of the conference opened last Thursday by Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim President, Republic of Mauritius. 

“The time is opportune to ask several key questions. What role African media can play in shaping evidence-based conversations about development?” she said.

The scientist and former business entrepreneur called on the media to promote a more “positive and hopeful narrative” in an environment of rapid transformation.

Dr Carlos Lopes, Executive Secretary, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa called upon the media to guard against relying too much on foreign media while relaying local stories.

The event also featured other prominent speakers including: Jeff Radebe, South Africa’s minister for planning, monitoring and evaluation, Bineta Diop, special envoy on women, peace and security of the Chairperson of the African Union; and Mamadou Biteye, managing director, African Regional Office, Rockefeller Foundation.

The forum was preceded by a public symposium on hate speech, held at the University of Witwatersrand on November 11.

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Some of the participants listen attentively during the conference

The forum also hosted the inaugural Zimeo Excellence in Media Awards 2015 in which 16 journalists from different parts of Africa were recognized for their work on highlighting issues that are crucial to Africa’s development.

The awards, said Chinje, were part of AMI’s efforts to drive excellence in media and support the sustainable development agenda for the continent. 557 entries in 22 categories were received from across the continent and were assessed by a pan-African complement of judges and jurors.

Delegates also discussed possibilities for establishing of a publicly-financed “Special Fund for Media Development,” by AMI to strengthen journalism capacity in Africa’s low-income countries.

According to a press release from AMI, plans are also underway to establish an electronic “African Media Cooperative” that would pool news stories and improve knowledge-sharing among media houses. A new initiative to strengthen coverage of African elections and boost reporting capacity was also announced. AMI will also seek collaboration with the U.S. Newspaper Publishers Association to harness the latest knowledge and leverage technology.

The next AMLF, said the release will be held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in November 2016.