What are the obstacles to media development in Africa, and how might they be addressed? This chapter from Media Matters considers issues such as a lack of technical and financial resources, contradictory legal frameworks and disagreement about the role and professional standards of the media. Privately owned media is frequently perceived by governments as ‘the opposition’ and not as an independent ‘fourth estate’. Media development in Africa ultimately requires ideological change through citizen-led promotion of freedom of speech. Long-term measures such as public awareness campaigns and legal reforms are needed, making sustained support to the media sector crucial.
Conditions for the practice of media vary widely in Africa and there are many problems facing media development. In Botswana, for example, media diversity is constrained because of unfair competition between the state and the private sector. The state-owned daily newspaper is distributed free, thus gaining the widest readership and attracting the most advertising revenue. In South Africa, there is also unfair competition as some local papers are now owned by local governments, and the independence of community radio is regarded as being at risk because of state funding.
A country’s legal environment may be contradictory in relation to the media. Countries may recognise in their constitutions either the rights of freedom of expression and/or the freedom of the press, but also retain and exercise laws that breach these rights. For example, criminal defamation and so-called ‘insult’ laws constrain media from holding governments and other powerful interest groups accountable. Other findings are that:
- Political ownership of private media is also a constraint. Some media houses are owned by politicians in their private capacities.
- Financial obstacles include high import duties on equipment, limitations on foreign ownership which inhibit investment in the media, and the absence of media development funds to assist media entrepreneurs. Community radio in particular struggles to survive financially.
- The professional standards of journalists in Africa are generally regarded as low, by themselves and by outside observers, despite the injection of substantial amounts of donor aid over the last decade. Lack of structured incremental training and lack of quality control within the media both play a role. While theme-specific short courses are often available, ongoing training basic journalism skills would be more useful.
- Low pay is cited as one of the reasons for the high staff turnover in newsrooms. Many journalists regard their jobs as only temporary and experienced practitioners leave to pursue more lucrative careers as public relations officers.
African media freedom and development organisations have significant capacity for tackling such challenges, and international initiatives are also involved. The experience of existing projects also suggests particular strategies for consideration:
- In order to survive in a small market in a country where the state newspaper is the major competitor, small private media houses can establish consortia, pooling resources and negotiating collectively
- To improve the sustainability of community radio stations, hybrid models can combine private ownership (by a business manager/entrepreneur) with substantial community involvement Experience in South Africa suggests that journalism training provided in newsrooms is both more effective and cheaper than off-site training
- Media development funds should not be under government control because of the danger of political interference.
