Harnessing Africa's Digital Future

HarnEssing Africa’s digitaL FuturE Edited by Francis Mdlongwa & Moagisi Letlhaku Harnessing Africa’s digital future Edited by Francis Mdlongwa and Moagisi Letlhaku © 2010 Konrad Adenauer Stiftung No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except in the context of reviews. Published by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Johannesburg South Africa Layout and Design by Brian Garman ISBN 9780868104645 Printed in Cape Town, South Africa by Mega Digital Contents 3 Foreword: The pursuit of an affluent African Information Society ............................. Frank Windeck ........................... 4 Editors’ note: Harnessing Africa’s digital future ............................................ Francis Mdlongwa & Moagisi Letlhaku ......... 6 01 Chasing the Future: What content do youthful audiences consume and why? Ray Hartley �� 8 02 News is now FREE: Who will pay for quality journalism? Subash Gobine .......................................................................................................................................................... 16 03 So much news, so little time: survival skills in the networked world David Duarte �� 24 04 Peering into the ‘connected’ world: Will you be there? Linus Gitahi �� 32 05 A tale of two technologies: Growth of broadband and mobile phones in Africa Dawit Bekele �� 42 06 Digital innovation, youthful fun and connectedness: A case study of South Africa’s MXit Herman Heunis �� 48 07 Youth participation in news generation: The key to newspapers’ survival Moagisi Letlhaku �� 56 08 Welcome to Addis: What it means being a journalist in Ethiopia Mesfin Negash �� 64 09 User generated content: Friend or foe? Diane Macpherson �� 74 10 NGOs tapping into digital media: The case study of Betegna Kibnesh Chala �� 84 11 The making of The Media: Innovation, strong brand the keys to success Sandra Gordon �� 92 12 Monetising digital audiences: Senegal’s small steps Assane Diagne �� 100 13 Mobile and online media uptake in Lesotho Teboho Senthebane �� 108 14 Ghana’s media fails to cater to the young John Yarney �� 120 Contributors ................................................................................................................................................................ 126 KAS and Sub-Sahara Africa Media Programme ......................................................................................... 136 Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership .................................................................................................. 136 4 ForEword The pursuit of an affluent African Information Society Media leaders across the African continent are all grappling with the burning issue of our time: globalization, information and Africa’s role therein. Media executives are clamouring for new and alternative business models and industry associations everywhere are holding seminars and conferences on how to create and discover them. Because of the enormous changes in technology, economics, and lifestyle in recent years, the needs of customers have changed, the kinds of content they want, and the ways they obtain news, information and entertainment have been dramatically altered. If media firms do not address these changes in consumer needs and behaviour, no amount of worry about revenue streams will stem the fundamental challenge that audiences are leaving traditional print and broadcast media behind for content providers and distribution platforms that better serve their needs. Without a doubt, the challenges facing African media in the so-called digital age are daunting. It is clear that a growing number of managers in media industries understand the need for innovation because of the declining sustainability of current operations and because internet, mobile, e-reader, and on-demand technologies are providing new opportunities. The real innovation challenges in established media, however, are not perceiving the need for change or being able to get needed technology, but organizational structures, processes, culture, and ways of thinking that limit willingness and ability to innovate. This is compounded because many managers are confused by the opportunities and don’t know what to do or how to pursue innovation. This is a reality which has not been lost on Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), and our partner, the Sol Plaatje Institute for Media Leadership, who speak to this urgent need through our annual Africa Media Leadership conference (AMLC), which in 2009 convened in Ghana under the theme “Learning from the Future: Africa’s Media Map in 2009.” By promoting high-level interaction among Africa’s media chiefs, we aim to seek home-grown, practical, innovative and creative solutions to the very many challenges faced by African media organisations and professionals. These annual high-level gatherings represent an important component of our continuous efforts to help prepare Africa’s media leaders for a constantly changing media landscape. When we started the AMLC series in 2002, the traditional media were dominant. But the content of traditional media products was created in specific technical, economic, and information environments that no longer exist. In order to evolve and prosper, media companies must revisit the foundations of their businesses, ensure that they are providing value that customers want, and provide their products/services in a unique or different way from other media firms. This is why the opinions of internet entrepreneurs, bloggers and other new media practitioners must be included in any discussions on media survival these days. It’s worth noting also that the gap between poor and rich has been made starker, and not better, by the power of information and communications technologies. While these technologies have liberated lives, created stock market miracles and improved economies, they have only touched a fraction of the world’s population. Furthermore, the hardware disparity between poor and rich nations is not nearly as troubling as the scarcity of information, which directly undermines the ability of a nation to keep its citizens informed. The rapid development of human resources and employment opportunities are also critical challenges facing African media leaders in the information age. Low levels of education and literacy are crippling the 5 ability of Africans to exploit the new generation of ICTs. Limited use of English has also been cited by many as a constraint. Although increasingly multilingual, the internet is still largely an English-language medium. It may be that the long-term deployment of the internet by developing countries will depend less on technology and costs and more on their capacities to educate their young populations in basic literacy, a prerequisite for using text-based content. Information affluence is, in my humble opinion, the sine-qua-non to development. Without it, attempts to alleviate poverty, bring health, wealth and education – indeed our attempt to create a sustainable, compassionate, civilization – will be without success. I firmly believe that the urgent imperative of our time is the creation of an affluent African Information Society, and the 2009 Accra AMLC is testimony to our commitment to this very important process. We must believe that we have a lot more power to effect change, both individually and collectively. The great anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.” Indeed, she says, “it is the only thing that ever has”. I would like to thank

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