Phase 1 Report Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa
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Phase 1 Report Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa STRATHMORE BUSINESS UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI LAGOS BUSINESS SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS RHODES UNIVERSITY GORDON INSTITUTE OF SCHOOL SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND PAN ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF MASS BUSINESS SCIENCE, MASS COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION AND RADIO UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA Cover: Medina Dauda and Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Media Fellows, Class 2 (Nigeria); Vernon Wessels, Bloomberg L.P. Editor and Faculty; Bella Genga, Bloomberg News Reporter and FJT Alumna (Kenya); Sheena Adams, FJT Alumna (South Africa); FJT Delegate (Nigeria). Underwritten By: With Support From: Executive Summary 4 Financial Journalism Training 10 Media Fellowship 20 Africa Business Media Innovators 26 Community Media Fund 32 Monitoring & Evaluation 38 At a Glance 44 Acknowledgments 50 Appendix 54 3 Executive summary Information has the power to transform economies. From reliable data to accurate reporting, access to information plays a critical role in promoting transparency and accountability — ultimately helping to advance markets, inspire new investment and encourage economic development. Africa is seeing an increasing demand for information fueled by a growing middle class and new investors; the continent’s continued progress relies on increasing the availability of timely and accurate information. In 2014, Michael R. Bloomberg — founder of Bloomberg L.P., philanthropist, and 108 th Mayor of New York City — launched an initiative to do just that. Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa (BMIA), Michael R. Bloomberg at the launch of the Bloomberg Media sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa February 2014. and supported by the Ford Foundation, is a pan-African program to advance business journalism by building media capacity, “ The Bloomberg convening African and international leaders, and improving access to financial Media Initiative information in Africa. BMIA uses a multi-pronged approach — post-graduate Africa will foster training, fellowships, forums, and support for community journalism — to emphasize collaboration, the catalyzing role business journalism can play in attracting international investment. support professional In doing so, BMIA aims to increase the number of business and financial journalists, growth and nurture and support the use of economic data to improve reporting in Africa. the leaders who are Underpinned by partnerships, the BMIA contributing to the team collaborated with local experts, media houses, African NGOs, and faculty from the continent’s very continent’s leading business and journalism schools to develop and deliver the initiative. bright future.“ It targeted Africa’s three leading economies: Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, and Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder, directly impacted more than 1,000 key Bloomberg L.P., Philanthropist and individuals, the media outlets they influence, 108th Mayor of New York City and the people they serve. 4 Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa Since 2014, BMIA’s four core programs: the • 3 of the 6 business and journalism Financial Journalism Training (FJT) Program, schools that offered BMIA’s the Media Fellowship, the Africa Business post-graduate business journalism Media Innovators Forum (ABMI), and the training have elected to permanently Community Media Fund (CMF) — have adopt the course, ensuring that future achieved a number of significant, journalists will contribute to the measurable successes: development of a globally competitive media and financial reporting sector • 568 participants graduated from the while continuing to promote flagship cross-disciplinary FJT Program transparency, accountability, • 45 mid-career professionals and good governance in Africa completed BMIA’s hands-on In the future, BMIA will extend and deepen Media Fellowship this impact with new offerings, including • More than 300 industry and an online training program and new world leaders convened for BMIA’s workshops targeting university faculty first three forums and senior government and business executives. The initiative will also bring its • 10 organizations received grants existing programs to new markets — to develop civic-minded ventures through the continuation of the global through the CMF forum, a second round of CMF grants, and plans for expanding the FJT Program into Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia. BMIA Programs Financial Journalism Media Fellowship Africa Business Community Media Training (FJT) Media Innovators Fund (CMF) Forum (ABMI) 5 BMIA objectives Long-term goals • Build media capacity by expanding • Create an informed citizenry, the number of well-qualified able to understand and influence African business and financial policies that affect their lives journalists through training and leadership development • Accelerate international investment and inclusive economic growth • Promote quality financial, business, and data-driven media coverage • Make a significant contribution to relevant to Africa’s investment human development on the continent and economic growth • Convene leaders to promote dialogue, build cross-border relationships, and share best practices • Promote the link between business, financial reporting, transparency, accountability, and economic growth Trevor Ncube, Michael R. Bloomberg, Professor Rahmon Ade Bello, Achmat Dangor at the launch of the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, February 2014. 6 Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa: background In 2013, the BMIA research team service of the initiative, including in-house conducted more than 100 interviews to experts and volunteers. Synergos, a identify challenges unique to Africa and leading NGO specializing in reducing effective ways to address them. BMIA global poverty, was also instrumental in Program Director Erana Stennett the research and implementation process. advocated for the initiative internally at Bloomberg and championed this initial After months of stakeholder engagement, research. Her success in securing internal three key areas for support and buy-in also enabled the BMIA team to development were identified, outlined capitalize on the company’s employees in in the chart below: Theme Findings Build Capacity BMIA identified an opportunity to build skills among financial journalists and data professionals, encouraging greater focus on business and financial journalism among media owners, managers, universities, journalists, and editors in Africa Promote Peer Feedback highlighted the benefits of creating a platform Exchange for sharing knowledge and experience on the continent — connecting leaders with each other, emerging trends, and worldwide best practices Increase Reliable Research indicated an opportunity to increase access Data to timely and accurate data and information in Africa After extensive interviews with key • There was a need for greater gender stakeholders in the media and education diversity, and, in some markets, sectors, coupled with research and ethnic diversity observations, several key insights surfaced: • An opportunity to provide greater • There was a need to expand the pool of access to timely and more useful working journalists knowledgeable about data and information subjects important for effective business and financial reporting; this need • An opportunity to increase multi- resulted in part from limited economic, stakeholder dialogue and collaboration financial, and business journalism training among those who make and at the university level and on the job cover the news globally • Shallow analysis, especially in local and • There would be value to investing community media in the community media sector, which plays an important role in • Greater access to timely and more useful bringing news and information data and information would be an to underserved communities important enabler to economic and human development 7 Ultimately, the FJT Program, the Media coverage of business and financial issues. Fellowship, the ABMI, and the CMF were This realization led to the development of developed to support the objectives of the complementary Media Fellowship, building media capacity and increasing which provides leadership development reliable data as well as encouraging and training in business reporting to collaboration on the continent. editors, mid-level professionals, and other senior media professionals. The FJT Program is BMIA’s core program for improving business and financial BMIA’s third program, the ABMI, connects journalism; it was developed in response to media owners and operators with business, research showing an opportunity to government, technology, and civil society increase journalists’ capacity in this area. leaders by providing a platform for The BMIA team supported a group of high-level, cross-sector interaction distinguished African academics in creating regarding business, financial journalism, a multi-disciplinary FTP curriculum focusing and new media. on practical application; the program helps build participants’ financial and business Additionally, the Ford Foundation knowledge and technical expertise. recommended that the BMIA team consider supporting community media at In addition to reporters and mid-level the grassroots level, leading to the creation professionals, editors and established of the CMF to advance citizen and professionals also need to understand the community reporting on financial importance of improved data-driven and economic issues. Partnership: collaborating for maximum impact Bloomberg