The latest report released at the weekend by the AfricanMedia Initiative (AMI) suggested that there is very little cross-border
reporting by African media, resulting in limited knowledge of the continent by
Africans, reports ITRealms.
The “Reporting Africa” study made available to ITRealms, points out that most of the
news about Africa comes from sources external to the continent and that these
ultimately determine what has been referred to as “the Africa narrative.”
The report underscored the fact that global media
organizations constitute a powerful vehicle for not only shaping the global
agenda but also for framing the lens through which Africa is perceived by
Africans and the world.
Also, the research sought to figure out what currently
prevails and if there are any compelling dialogues that are reported and can
collectively define the Africa story. It was informed by empirical data gleaned
from published reports from across the region and responses provided by editors
to a range of questions from AMI.
“We wanted to figure out how Africa is covered by media on
the continent and the factors that determine such coverage,” said AMI Chief
Executive Officer Roukaya Kasenally in a pre-launch statement. “We were
concerned,” she pointed out, “with questions about how media in Africa
contribute to the creation of a common understanding of the continent’s
realities beyond narratives based on preconceived ideas and stereotypes.”
The study sought to deepen overall understanding of the
elements that drive media coverage within and beyond national borders, informs
editorial choices, and shapes local and regional perceptions of the continent.
It brought out the fact that low investments in media and
limited professional capacity in many countries had resulted in persistent
dependence on foreign news sources, giving rise to a limited focus in African
newspapers on stories that enrich the African agenda and emphasize shared
experiences.
It emerged from the study that media leaders believe that
readers and audiences prefer interesting stories which, in the African context,
means, in the words of one of the respondents, “intriguing tales of failure and
defeat against the forces of nature”.
“If we are going to reimagine Africa’s image and change the
narrative,” concluded the reports co-author, Eric Chinje, “we would have to
figure out innovative ways of significantly increasing investments in media and
use technology to source content from counterpart media across borders in
Africa. There must be a genuine home-grown effort to define and shape the
narrative in ways that reflect the diversity of voices and images of a
continent on the move.”
Wondering if current coverage of Africa is informed by 21st
century realities or pre-conceived ideas from another era, co-author Wangethi
Mwangi emphasized the need for more credible and contextualized reporting by
both regional and global news correspondents. He noted that “continued reliance
on foreign news agencies will ensure that the persistence of poor leadership in
a handful of countries will continue to provide a rich pool from which to
source negative reports that define the entire continent”.
African media is primarily national in outlook and focus,
with rarely more than a page or two in national dailies devoted to news about
other countries in the region.
An important gathering of heads of state and government took
place during the period under study. None of the issues on the agenda of the
meeting received continent-wide coverage or in any significant group of
countries. Indeed, the media was not a reliable source of information or
knowledge about the African Union – the pan-African institution that hosted the
event.
Chuks Egbune/GEe
No comments:
Post a Comment