New technology, or rather more specifically, digitalisation is likely to disrupt Africa’s community media model, and possibly give it a new lease on life. In fact, the increased use of the mobile phone in Africa as a media device, has the power to boost the continent’s community media and community journalism.
Traditionally African local community media encompasses private community newspapers and radio, but rarely television. Radio is still the most popular form of community media in Africa. African religious organisations are also increasingly entering the local community media space – whether old media and digital ones.
Africa’s community media are ideally placed to hold local elected and public officials, business and traditional authorities accountable, but faces terrifying challenges.
Community media is at the coalface of change – it is usually closer to citizens, to local issues and local implementation of policies. It can provide a platform for local citizens to voice their concerns and influence local policies and events.
Local community journalism, especially those that want to hold local leaders, institutions and authorities accountable, is challenging.
In many African countries, holding local public officials, whether elected or public representative or traditional leaders or village elders accountable is terribly dangerous, even deadly. At worse you can be made to disappear. Your family may be blocked from receiving local public services.
At the village level your rights to graze communal land may be taken away. In places like Zimbabwe you may not receive your allotment of farms seeds or food in the drought-stricken countryside. In some places you may not even receive burial rights.
You can be shunned by your local community – become social outcasts – in cultures where identity is strongly woven with one’s local community.
In African countries, local governments are often run by either standalone local political strongmen or ones linked to national parties and leaders. Alternatively, local communities are run by traditional chiefs linked to governing parties.
Local public servants similarly wield extraordinary power in local communities where the population is often most illiterate, poor and ignorant of their rights.
But local business leaders equally often wield extraordinary power because they are likely to be the only source of jobs, income and investment in the community. These local “big men” have terrifyingly unfettered power.
In many cases independent broadcasters and newspapers stay away from politics less they have their licences or advertising revoked.
Although the world is increasingly global, people still want to know about the happenings in their immediate environment – providing relevant local news is community media’s competitive advantage.
The challenge for community media is to provide relevant local content – whether local politics, news or entertainment. They have to become more interactive with their audiences. They must also use local expertise better.
The current business model of many community media outlets is often not sustainable. The problem is that many community media are not managed as businesses but are often loosely manage as non-profits.
It is very difficult for community media to secure advertising, from local businesses and governments. Their advertising is often overly dominant on government or development aid grants, or one dominant donor.
When they do get advertising from local government, the authorities often demand they write positively about them.
Community will have to change their advertising model. They have to better sell their reach to their local markets to potential advertisers. They have to partner closer with local entrepreneurs, non-governmental institutions within their catchment areas – such as higher education institutions and public institutions.
Community media is often a training ground for talented journalists, who when successful move on to larger media houses. Community media must try to retain the services of these talented former personnel even once they’ve moved on. But community media must also secure young, curious and digitally savvy young journalists to stay relevant.
The rise of the mobile phone in Africa – and the increased uptake of new media platforms such as the internet, social media and message services, is giving ordinary people new voice opportunities, increasing public participation and providing new platforms to hold governments and leaders accountable.
It has opened up new ways to produce and distribute independent information to local and national audiences in Africa, which had in the past been dominated by government media.
Increasingly Africans listen to radio, get print news and even television from mobile hand-held devices. New media technologies have been used to great effect in recent popular uprisings on the continent, whether in Burundi, Egypt or Tunisia, and offers new possibilities for popular mobilisation for democratisation in Africa. New technologies may change the form of community media. Digital platforms are potential less costly and may drive down the costs of operating community media.
It is very likely that the community radio and journalism of the future, whether print, radio or television, will be on mobile phones. Although community television in Africa has not taken off, in time, new technology may make it easier for a new generation of African community television.
Furthermore, digital platforms may also give community print media, which has particularly declined, new opportunities.
African community media will have to diversify their platforms and come out as multiple social media platforms. Digital platforms offer African community more opportunities to interact with their audiences – crucial if they want to provide relevant content and retain audience engagement. New technology also offers new opportunities to foster citizen community journalism. Armed with their mobile phone and the humble SMS every citizen can now be a community journalist.
New technologies offer new opportunities to get local community media and civil society out to global audiences. Through social media platforms, the Internet and SMS, local voices can now send out their messages to the outside world, in ways not possible before.
Local community media must partner more closely with civil society organisations. The very obvious form of collaboration is for civil society organisations carrying the journalism of local community media – and local community covering the activities of local civil society.
Finally, community media in one community must partner and exchange to produce products with community media in another community, within the network of a region, country and across Africa. Digitalisation makes joint productions and product sharing so much easier.
This is an extract from William Gumede’s presentation on “African Community Media of the Future”, at Bloomberg’s “Africa 2025: The Media Landscape of the Future”, Africa Business Media Innovators 2018 conference, 18-20 November 2018, Livingstone, Zambia
If some one wishes expert view regarding running a blog after that i
recommend him/her to pay a quick visit this web site, Keep up the fastidious job.
I don’t know if it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing issues with your website.
It looks like some of the written text in your content are running off the screen. Can somebody
else please comment and let me know if this is happening to them too?
This might be a problem with my browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
Thanks
I pay a visit everyday some web pages and
websites to read articles, except this weblog gives quality
based posts.
Your means of explaining the whole thing in this piece of writing is
in fact nice, all can effortlessly be aware of it,
Thanks a lot.
I’m really loving the theme/design of your website.
Do you ever run into any web browser compatibility problems?
A number of my blog visitors have complained about my site not working correctly in Explorer but looks great
in Chrome. Do you have any suggestions to help fix this
problem?
Hello there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a team of volunteers and starting a new project in a community
in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work
on. You have done a marvellous job!
Howdy! This post could not be written any better! Looking through this article reminds me of my
previous roommate! He always kept preaching about
this. I most certainly will send this post to him.
Fairly certain he’s going to have a great read.
Thank you for sharing!
It’s great that you are getting ideas from this
piece of writing as well as from our argument made at this time.
I believe that is one of the such a lot important info for me.
And i’m glad studying your article. However want to observation on few general issues, The web site style
is perfect, the articles is truly excellent : D. Excellent task,
cheers
Does your blog have a contact page? I’m having
a tough time locating it but, I’d like to
shoot you an email. I’ve got some recommendations for your blog
you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great website and I look forward to seeing
it develop over time.
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us you actually recognize what you’re speaking about!
Bookmarked. Please also seek advice from my site =).
We may have a hyperlink alternate arrangement among us
This web site truly has all the info I needed about this subject and didn’t know who to ask.
Pretty component to content. I just stumbled upon your
blog and in accession capital to say that I get actually enjoyed account your blog posts.
Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feeds or even I fulfillment you get admission to consistently quickly.
Hello to all, for the reason that I am actually eager of
reading this blog’s post to be updated daily.
It carries fastidious stuff.
Hi there I am so happy I found your site, I really
found you by error, while I was researching on Aol for something else,
Anyways I am here now and would just like to say kudos
for a fantastic post and a all round entertaining blog (I also love the
theme/design), I don’t have time to look over it all at the minute but I
have book-marked it and also added in your RSS feeds,
so when I have time I will be back to read much more, Please do keep up the excellent
jo.
Do you have any video of that? I’d want to find out some additional information.
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having
problems locating it but, I’d like to send you an e-mail.
I’ve got some suggestions for your blog you might be interested in hearing.
Either way, great website and I look forward to seeing it
grow over time.
Hi there friends, nice article and good urging commented here, I am in fact
enjoying by these.
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for website
I am sure this paragraph has touched all the internet visitors, its really really fastidious
post on building up new webpage.
I must thank you for the efforts you’ve put in writing this blog.
I am hoping to check out the same high-grade content by you in the future as well.
In truth, your creative writing abilities
has encouraged me to get my own blog now 😉
Sweet blog! I found it while searching on Yahoo News.
Do you have any suggestions on how to get listed in Yahoo News?
I’ve been trying for a while but I never seem to get there!
Thanks
What’s up everyone, it’s my first pay a visit at this site, and piece
of writing is truly fruitful in favor of me, keep up posting
these content.
Please let me know if you’re looking for a author for your weblog.
You have some really great posts and I feel I would be a good asset.
If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some articles
for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot
me an e-mail if interested. Thanks!
What’s up friends, nice article and fastidious arguments commented at this place,
I am truly enjoying by these.
Thank you very much for sharing, I learned a lot from your article. Very cool. Thanks. nimabi
I truly value your piece of work, Great post.
Cool blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump out. Please let me know where you got your design. Many thanks
I found this website called that might fit what you’re looking for Sex 11
I all the time used to read post in news papers but now as
I am a user of web thus from now I am using net for content, thanks to web.
Here is my web-site – vpn special code
I am now not sure where you’re getting your information, but
great topic. I needs to spend a while studying much more or working out more.
Thanks for magnificent information I was searching for this information for my mission.
Feel free to visit my web-site :: vpn special coupon
Those are yours alright! . We at least need to get these people stealing images to start blogging! They probably just did a image search and grabbed them. They look good though!
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d certainly donate to this brilliant blog! I guess for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account. I look forward to fresh updates and will talk about this website with my Facebook group. Chat soon!