Tackling African poverty through the media

This week saw the launch of a study on the state of media actors in sub-Saharan Africa. The summary of findings (I have yet to read the whole report) is not especially path-breaking if you’re a media practitioner or media activist in Africa: major issues include weak media institutions, state monopoly over the media, a need for regulatory reforms, and equipping the sector including financial sustainability.

But the report does endorse the view of many media-related civil society organisations that donors and other international agencies need to support media and development activities in Africa, which are presently in decline. The summary also notes the ‘spectacular’ adoption of mobile telephony, which far exceeds the internet when mapping Africa’s emerging media landscape.

The report was published by the African Media Development Initiative – a venture by the BBC World Service Trust which was set up in response to the Commission for Africa’s recommendation that a stronger media is needed to tackle poverty. Its findings will be harmonised with a separate initiative run by the UN Economic Commission for Africa and other African stakeholders later in this year.

My organisation, Panos London, hosted a meeting to discuss the findings with UK-based media and communications NGOs. Executive director, Mark Wilson, said “the findings may not be new, but establishing a basis for a collaborative and African-led process can be a good reference point for international donors and agencies”.

Comments

[Ansbert Ngurumo]

The report could not have come out at a better moment. But how do we tackle African poverty through the media without empowering the media? I know no government in Africa that is media-friendly. They are all media muzzlers. Very few media houses are strong enough to run their own programmes without political intervention, or without need for financial back up from government in the form of adverts. Most media operate in environments lacking the freedom of information acts; and where they are in place, it is just by name - the contents of the acts have nothing to do with freedom at all! One question comes up: where and how do we start?

[Wairagala Wakabi]

Those are very interesting comments from Ansbert Ngurumo, comments that I wish to share. As Murali poses the question of tackling African poverty through the media, we should perhaps first be tackling the poverty in African media before we engage in any talk about media doing this or enabling that. African media workers are among the worst employees in many African countries, which severely affects their professionalism. It is merely a matter of survival for several of them. Add to that the fact that many of them are not very well educated, are hardly facilitated, work for media owners who think issues do not sell, and you tell me whether the media can play the role of enabling poverty reduction. So, like Ngurumo posits, we need to empower the media first then expect them to play these noble roles Murali's posting is talking about.

[Ansbert Ngurumo]

Colleagues,

Wakabi and I have set the ball rolling on the discussion about empowering the media. I hope this is the new debate that we all need to partake. Do bring up your comments and suggestions on how to EMPOWER them - viable suggestions that will end this lip service and turn it into action. Murali, you may lead this debate for action, by probably suggesting where and how to start. We are waiting.

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