Tuesday 24 January 2012

[2012 trends] Media trends in Africa for 2012

 

The continent's future is tied to its media. Free open media promises much for flourishing democracies and economic growth, but authoritarian states will struggle to let go of controls.

2012 is upon us after being the subject of much superstition, with beliefs ranging from this year being a time of transformation to more apocalyptic myths that the world's going to end because of indications contained in the Mesoamerican Long Count, or Mayan calendar.

A mixed bag for media in Africa

These madly divergent high and low road 'scenarios' are about as mixed as the media's fortunes in Africa. 2012 offers massive opportunity for the continent's media, but there's also great peril.[more]

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fesmedia Africa

fesmedia Africa is the media project of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Africa. We are working towards a political, legal and regulatory framework for the media which follows international human rights law, the relevant protocols of the African Union (AU) and declarations of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) or other regional standards in Africa. Our office is based in Windhoek, Namibia. Read more about us

FES Middle East Department FES ZimbabweFES UgandaFES TanzaniaFES South AfricaFES SenegalFES ZamibiaFES NigeriaFES NamibiaFES MosambiqueFES MaliFES MadagascarFES KenyaFES CameroonFES GhanaFES BotswanaFES BeninFES AngolaFES Ivory CoastFES Ethiopia

FES in Africa

Africa has traditionally been at the centre of the international activities of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. In 19 Sub-Saharan African countries, FES is supporting the process of self-determination, democratisation and social development, in cooperation with partners in politics and society.

Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung is a non-governmental and non-profit making Political Foundation based in almost 90 countries throughout the world. Established in 1925, it carries the name of Germany’s first democratically elected president, Friedrich Ebert, and, continuing his legacy, promotes freedom, solidarity and social democracy.

 

Monday 06 February 2012

Social Media Saved South Africa’s Oldest Community Station

 

When a financial crisis threatened the existence of Africa’s oldest community station, Bush Radio, an outpouring of sympathy and appeals went viral on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. In the end, it was this outspoken support that showed financial backers that the station was worth saving.

"It got the message out there to the decision makers, and because it was in their faces all the time… there has been offers of assistance," said Adrian Louw, programme integrator at Bush Radio.

The emergence of social media has opened new opportunities for community broadcasters in Cape Town, South Africa. Not only are they able to interact more effectively with their audiences, but they can now do so cheaply.

Bush Radio broadcasts to at least 260 000 listeners, predominantly in the poor Cape Flats, formerly an apartheid housing area for people of colour.

But thanks to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and a blog, Bush Radio now maintains a strong presence in the community.

"The use of social media has been important for us because it has allowed us to do stuff without getting a specific designer on board that knows our internet protocols," said Louw.

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WORST PRACTICES

Monday 09 January 2012

Top 10 danger zones for journalists - By Fienie Grobler

Global media freedom agency, Reporters Without Borders, have for the first time compiled a list of the world’s 10 most dangerous places for the media.

In 2011, a total of 66 journalists were killed world-wide while doing their jobs. Of these, nine were killed in Africa, 20 in the Middle East, 17 in Asia, 18 in the Americas and two in Europe.

That is an increase of 16 percent from 2010, according to the Reporters Without Borders report.

Pakistan was the single deadliest country for a second year, where 10 journalists were killed in 2011.

The number of journalists arrested in 2011 – a total of 1044 – jumped by 95 percent, up from 535 arrests in 2010.

“Overall, 2011 took a heavy toll on media freedom,” states the report, posted on its website, www.en.rsf.org.    Read more[more]

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