EDD 2009: New – and old – media essential for Africa’s development
New media such as the Internet and mobile phones can complement old media as essential tools for enhanced democracy and development in Africa.This was the conclusion of the forum,‘New media for a new world: democracy, development …’ held at the 2009 European Development Days (EDD) in Stockholm, Sweden, 23 October.
Co-organised by the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Deutsche Welle Akademie, the panel assembled government leaders, media practitioners and researchers. It included Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia, Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya, Fackson Banda, UNESCO Chair of Media and Democracy and Waweru Wambui from the Kenyan radio station Capital FM.
Sirleaf lauded the improvement of media in her country, but said she was disappointed about some false accusations and sensationalism. The proliferation of new media was a great opportunity for young people to take a greater stake in society, she said.
Odinga’s use of blogging to communicate with potential voters and supporters was recognised as a positive and innovative example of using new media to enhance political communication, participation of the polity and international outreach. In his 2007 presidency campaign, Odinga’s team targeted the high percentage of Kenyan youth active online. “We wanted to capture this constituency and appeal to a bigger audience outside the country. We communicated with an audience not captured by other candidates”, he said. This online tool was a channel of communication for answering questions and raising issues. It had allowed him to receive “proper feedback” from citizens.
Stating that monopolies in traditional media “breed complacency”, Odinga added that old media had been given “a wake up call” to improve journalistic practices and overall quality because of the competition from new media.
Investment in all media necessary
Most panellists, however, agreed that new and old media can complement each other, especially in Africa, and that investment in all media forms is necessary. For example, radio is still one of the most important means of receiving information, while mobile phones have thrived on the African continent as an important tool for socio-economic communication and development, especially in rural communities where there is limited access to information.
Waweru gave the example of her own radio station which is using the online social networking tool Twitter to reach out to listeners, adding that the mobile phone is a very important “inbetweener” for radio and the Internet, because it is used to send alerts for traditional or online radio programmes to subscribers.
Opportunities and Challenges
For Odinga, new media will play a greater role in Africa’s future, in providing more information options. However, the panellists and the audience alike agreed that the enhanced quantity of information did not necessarily enhance quality. “Kids don’t read anymore”, said President Sirleaf, adding that, “they don’t always get the real facts and research” from the new information sources available. “
Participants also called for improved communication infrastructures, self- regulation capacity building, information access, media professionalism and policies to counter child pornography and the trafficking of women online.
Whilst acknowledging that training journalists is an important part of improving the media landscape, Banda added, “don’t emphasise training and education to the exclusion of [improving] infrastructure, political frameworks, and press freedoms; look at this as a package”.
He said that in analysing the lack of regulation of online media, distinguishing between institutional and non-institutional new media is important. “Institutional new media is given to editorial controls – you can’t just send an email to a newspaper and hope it influences editorial content”. Traditional newspapers are “colonising” new media, he said, thereby gradually institutionalising it.
A BBC World Service Trust representative asked if the uncovering of a major scandal in the government is published on the front page of a newspaper and homepage of a blog, which one would grab the most attention. Both leaders chose the newspaper, as it still remains one of the most relevant, respected and influential sources of information in Africa.
Eric Chinje, the World Bank’s External Affairs and Communication Manager for Africa, called for more analysis of how to use new media as a tool for development, including taking a closer look at the role of development organisations in its promotion.
Further information:
Deutsche Welle Akademie (provides media training and competence building)
Blog: Media and Development: The role of new media and social media for development and democracy