Transcript Document 7348468

Strengthening African Media:
What does Africa think
Gerry Power
Director, Research & Knowledge Management
World Bank
Washington DC
February 22, 2007
BBC World Service Trust - Background
 Realising Media’s Importance in Achieving
Development and Good Governance
 Media Development and Development
Communications
 40 countries
AMDI - Background
“What Role Can the Media Play in the Fight Against Global Poverty?”
BBC World Service Trust/DFID conference, November 2004
***
UK Commission for Africa Recommendation:
“independent media institutions, public service broadcasters, civil
society and the private sector, with support from governments,
should form a consortium of partners, in Africa and outside, to
provide funds and expertise to create an African media
development facility” --- Our Common Interest, April 2005
AMDI - Background
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Consultations
Research
Technical Workshop
Advisory Group
Amadou Mahtar Ba, AllAfrica,com
Luckson Chipare, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)
Wilfred Kiboro, Nation Media Group
Arlindo Lopes, Southern African Broadcasting Association (SABA)
Moeletsi Mbeki, Endemol
Edetean Ojo, Media Rights Agenda
Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki, FEMNET
Supported by: DFID, Gates Foundation, IFC, Irish Aid
African
Media
Development
Initiative
African Media Development Initiative
www.bbcworldservicetrust.org/amdi
17 Individual Country Reports
Research objectives
Q: Understand what are the key changes/developments in the media sector?
Q: How have media development activities contributed to the development of the media
during this time?
Q: What contributions are likely to make the greatest impact on the development of the media
within sub-Saharan Africa in the future?
Research design
 17 countries grouped into 3 regional hubs
 Intensive 2 day project briefing for country based
researchers
 Matched sample profile country
WEST
STAGE 1: Media landscape desk research
–Country statistics
–Growth/proliferation of media
–NGO media development activity
–Observations
Cameroon
Ghana
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Nigeria (hub)
EAST
Ethiopia
DRC
Kenya
Somalia
Tanzania
Uganda
STAGE 2: In-depth audio-recorded interviews (300)
–15 interviews in each of 17 countries with
representatives from government, NGOs, private
and state media, educationalists and
commentators
–15 continental interviews across 3 regions
–12 international interviews
–Transcribed and translated
AMDI Research countries
SOUTH
Angola
Botswana
Mozambique
South Africa
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Media Landscape – Key Facts
General Observations
 Generally low awareness of breadth and potential of media development
activities
 Widespread consensus and passion about priorities for strengthening the
media sector
 Acknowledgement that progress has been made on multiple fronts
 Overall absence of coordination between stakeholders
 Data on media is lacking in quantity and quality
 Evidence of effectiveness is generally not available
 Small and unsustainable nature of current investment
Landscape – Key Facts
Radio is still the dominant media in the surveyed countries,
with major growth in regional commercial radio.
Commercial Regional Radio stations increased in all
countries with the exception of Ethiopia and Zimbabwe.
In the DRC expanded from 8 in 2000/2 to 150 in 2004/5
Television is more widespread although growth is significantly
less dramatic than that for radio. National state TV dominates,
growth in pay-TV and satellite channels is reported.
State Regional TV in Nigeria has expanded from 58
channels in 2000 to 130 in 2004-6
National dailies and weeklies continue to dominate over
regional outlets and remain concentrated in urban centres.
Six countries report an increase in the number of
national dailies and eight an increase in national
weeklies, compared to 3 each for regional dailies and
weeklies
Mobile telephone use has shown dramatic increases in every
country far outstripping internet usage
Eight countries report in excess of 2000 % increase in
mobile telephone subscribers
Marginal increase in numbers of university media/journalism
entities. Vocational training entities remains static.
Twelve countries have three or more universities
offering academic programmes in journalism
Significant increases in the numbers of journalists with a
concomitant rise in amateur and untrained journalists.
Six countries report an increase of 50% or greater in
the reported number of practising journalists over a
five-year period
Four Key Drivers
• Media Policy and Legislation
• Media Infrastructure and Investment
• Professionalisation
• Supporting Local Content Production
Media Policy and Legislation
Assessment of Current Status
 Legislation which guarantees access
to and freedom of information
In countries such as Ghana and Nigeria
legislation for access to information has
been pending government approval for up
to six years now
 Reform of laws regarding criminal
defamation and insult
Repressive practices such as statesponsored mechanisms for the sanctioning
of journalists were still reported to exist in 8
countries (Angola, DRC, Kenya, Nigeria,
Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia)
 Laws that exist to enable media
regulatory bodies to operate
independently
Eight countries (Cameroon, DRC, Ethiopia,
Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Somalia and
Zimbabwe) do not have such legislation
while the ones that do have regulatory
bodies, they are state-run
 Provisions that aim to secure the
independence of publicly owned media
Only 2 Ghana and South Africa appeared
to have established provisions in place to
secure the independence of publicly owned
media
Assessment of Current Status
 Provisions to support community or
alternative media
 Regulatory obligation for public or state
broadcaster to fulfil a public service
broadcasting remit
 Regulatory obligation for commercial
broadcaster to fulfil a public service
broadcasting remit
Five countries (Angola, Botswana, Nigeria,
Somalia and Zimbabwe) appeared to offer no
provisions for, and had no legislation in place to
support community or alternative media
Ten countries (Angola, Botswana, Cameroon,
DRC, Ethiopia, Mozambique , Nigeria , Sierra
Leone, Somalia and Zimbabwe) reported that
there were no regulatory obligations for public or
state broadcasters to fulfil a public service
broadcasting remit
There are no regulatory obligations for private or
independent broadcasters to fulfil a public
service broadcasting remit in seven countries
(Angola, Botswana, DRC, Mozambique, Nigeria,
Somalia and Zimbabwe)
Advocacy – Future Priorities
Effective work requires engaging multiple
stakeholders
Broaden the
debate at
multiple levels
Develop strong
regional
networks
Invest in
organisational
reform of state
media
MISA
Civil society activism
Public fora
Public debate
Transparent structures
and systems
Accountability of
private media
Governance and
practice
Prioritise
extreme
individual cases
Nigeria
Ghana
Zambia
Ethiopia
Uganda
Zimbabwe
Independent Regulatory Bodies –
Future Priorities
Agreement on their value in the coordination and
implementation of compliance
Strengthen existing bodies
Training
Regulating conduct
Accreditation
Public complaints
Create a new infrastructure
Code of conduct
Guidelines
Monitor performance
State Control – Future Priorities
Key barrier to media development is the control that
states exert over media
Strengthen
regulatory
frameworks
Freedom of expression
and access to
information
Consistent Policy on
Allocation of licenses
Protection of
journalists
Media Infrastructure & Investment
Infrastructure
 Poor state of media infrastructure universally acknowledged
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Equipment
Maintenance
Facilities
Upgrading
“If your transmitter breaks down you
can stay three months without
working, the time to order and receive
a new transmitter…people could work
on that type of technical support”
(Senegal)
 Dearth of reliable information on media support agencies
- variability in numbers and ownership status of news agencies
- variability in the presence of media monitoring agencies
- poor market research infrastructure
- growing number of advertising agencies
Context
INVESTMENT
MEDIA ORGANISATION
EQUIPMENT NEEDS
NEWS AGENCIES, ADVERTISING AGENCIES, MARKET
RESEARCH AGENCES, MEDIA MONITORING AGENCIES,
INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION COMPANIES
FINANCIAL
SUSTAINABILITY
Investment – Future Priorities
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Tailoring finance, and bridging the finance gap
Return on Investment on a typical infrastructure investment (eg, a printing press) exceeds
the normal lending cycle of local banks.
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Improve utilisation of existing finance schemes
Lack of widespread awareness and/or utilisation of existing media financing schemes (eg,
Southern Africa Media Development Fund).
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Facilitate the funding of equipment
Support physical media infrastructure through the provision, maintenance and upgrading of
equipment.
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Create mechanisms allowing organisations to share technical facilities
Smaller enterprises could form networks or unions to share facilities (eg, transmitters).
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Identify opportunities for collective purchasing of equipment
The benefits of a more collaborative approach to the procurement of technology was also
identified as a useful model that could be shared or replicated in other regions.
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Support the upgrading of equipment and skills
Funding of ICT programmes is a priority in terms of supporting upgrade and improvement of
infrastructure and to introduce or develop ICT skills among media practitioners.
Professionalisation
Context
 Professional, ethical, management and technical standards
remain disappointingly low
 Three key factors contribute:
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insufficient or poor quality training/training institutions
rapid growth of media in some countries
low salaries and status of journalism
 A plethora of training initiatives is being carried out but too many
are seen as ad hoc, lacking a strategic plan, insufficiently funded
and too short-term
 Future programmes need to be more relevant (culture-specific)
and to include monitoring and evaluation
Professionalisation – Lessons Learned
 Institutional Investment
Investment into quality schools/centres of excellence is a powerful tool.
However more is not better as the overall increase in the number in schools is
sometimes inflated by mushrooming sub-standard journalism schools.
 Partnerships
Professional development programmes based on diverse partnership arrangements
have been deemed effective thanks to the resulting customisation of training according to
the needs of the cultural reality on the ground.
 In-house training
Professional development deemed more successful when designed and delivered in
collaboration with beneficiary media organisations. This adds value to the training
because of the focus on media practices in the organisational context within which the
journalist operates.
 Multi-phased training
Ongoing, or multi-phased training has more impact, especially in conjunction with
mentoring programmes.
Professionalisation – Future Priorities
POINTS OF ENGAGEMENT
Media organisations
• Strategic professional
development
• Management courses
• Training in specialist
disciplines
• Incentivise trainees
• Retention programmes
mechanisms
Educational/Training Institutions
Evaluation
mechanisms
help course
providers
and trainees
to sustain
skills, and
determine
ROI
• Strengthen existing
programmes through sharing
good practice, harmonising
curricula and updating courses
and equipment
• Professional development for
those delivering training
• Criteria for accreditation
Supporting Local Content Production
Supporting local content production: issues
 State controlled media delivers material which is too
closely aligned to government/ruling party
 Views of the urban elite over-represented in all
media, but particularly commercial media
 Community media caters for under-served groups but
often lack long term sustainability
Capitalise on the national reach of the state broadcasters and
stimulate in-house and local production through more creative
commissioning and funding processes
Local Content Production – Future Priorities
Media organisations are challenged to
improve the quality and diversity of their
content to appeal to and grow their
audiences
Foster local
production skills
Quotas could be imposed to
meet
a public service remit
Support cultural
identity
Content in local languages
Focus on issues which are
Culturally relevant
Wider range of content
for development
issues
Produce
compelling, entertaining content
Train journalists to widen the
agenda with regard to
development issues
Facilitators and Enablers for Local Content
Production
• Provision of equipment
• Training programmes
• News Agencies
• Market research
• Regulatory reform
• Monitoring
Principles, Identity and Organisation
6 Key Principles to Guide an Initiative

Develop locally or regionally defined agenda – framed and coowned by participants and beneficiaries

Adopt a Needs-based approach – reflecting gaps and
requirements
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Apply a Collaborative approach – from the ground up
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Embed sustainable objectives
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Employ a reasonable timeframe – need to design projects for the
long-term and avoid the ‘quick win’
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Embed M&E – develop and use standardised methodologies
Widespread Endorsement of a
Pan-African Approach
Benefits:
 Create space for advocacy – benefits of international pressure
 Shared learning – data gathering, good practice, success stories
 Joint purchasing – regional purchasing power, harmonisation of
trading practices
 Integrated funding – strong regional economic leverage
Organisation Structure
 No demand for a new organisation
 African leadership is taken as a given
 Autonomous funding structure
 Secure funding and improve options
 Establish criteria for donor coordination – holistic
strategy
 Avoid duplication at the point of delivery
Summary
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Information deficit prevails across the sector
Media outlets growing in diversity and number
Inconsistent implementation and commitment to media legislation
Low standards among media practitioners
Poor equipment, facilities and technical support
 Need for:
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a more strategic perspective
a more holistic approach to strengthening the sector
greater recognition of the role of media in development
greater coordination by donors and delivery organisations
more production of content relevant to local audiences
more sustainable models of media development
“It is extremely important. You can’t talk about
democratisation without media…. especially here in
Angola where we still have to explain to the people
that democracy is not an alien thing, but about
participation in the business of the country, rights and
welfare of the country. And this is achieved through
information.”
(Luisa Rogerio, Secretary-General, Media Support:
Sindicato dos Jornalistas de Angola, Angola)
Proposed Next Steps
Six Month Development Process to Produce Fully Designed and Costed
Proposal:
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Pan African
Five Year Duration
Holistic/Strategic
Donor Money to Catalyse Sustainable Activity and Investment
Development Components:
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Technical Work to Mature Strategies and Interventions
High-Level Advocacy with Future Partners and Investors
Stakeholder’s Consultation