How African Economies Work a Gu Ide to Business and Economics
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Edited by Nixon K. Kariithi How African Economies Work: KAS Media Programme Sub-Sahara Africa How African Economies Work The Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung A Guide to Business and Economics Reporting (KAS) is an independent, Nixon K. Kariithi A Guide to Business and non-profit German political foundation that aims to Nixon Kariithi, CEO of Tangaza Economics Reporting strengthen democratic forces Africa Media, South Africa, is KAS Media Programme for Sub-Sahara Africa around the world. To this end, one of Africa’s leading scholars 60 Hume Road in business and economics KAS runs media programmes Dunkeld 2196 journalism. His other teaching in Asia, Africa and South East Republic of South Africa Edited by Nixon K. Kariithi and research interests include Europe. P O Box 55012, Northlands 2116 quantitative research methods, Republic of South Africa African media systems, media Tel: +27 (0)11 214 2900 KAS Media Africa believes that economics, and media and Fax: +27 (0)11 214 2913/4 a free and independent media politics. Kariithi holds a BA, www.kas.de/mediaafrica is crucial for democracy. As University of Nairobi, Kenya; an such, it is committed to the MA, Cardiff University, UK; and development and maintenance a PhD, University of Houston, USA. He was previously Associate Download an electronic copy of a diverse media landscape on Professor and the Pearson of How African Economies the continent, the monitoring role Work: A Guide to Business and Chair of Economics Journalism of journalism, as well as ethically Economics Reporting from at Rhodes University, SA and based political communication www.kas.de/how-african- Associate Professor and Head of economies-work with a focus on digitalisation. Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, SA. Kariithi KAS Media Africa is based in has held visiting professorships Johannesburg, South Africa. at Cairo University, Egypt; Addis ISBN: 978-0-620-85899-1 Ababa University, Ethiopia; and City University of New York, USA. He is co-editor of Untold Stories: Business and Financial Journalism in African Media, and author of more than one dozen journal articles and book chapters on business www.kas.de and economics journalism. How African economies work: A Guide to Business and Economics Reporting How African economies work: A Guide to Business and Economics Reporting Edited by Nixon K. Kariithi Published by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Regional Media Programme Sub-Sahara Africa 60 Hume Road PO Box 55012 Dunkeld 2196 Northlands Johannesburg 2116 Republic of South Africa Telephone: + 27 (0)11 214-2900 Telefax: +27 (0)11 214-2913/4 www.kas.de/mediaafrica Twitter: @KASMedia Facebook: @KASMediaAfrica ISBN: 978-0-620-85899-1 © Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, 2019 This publication is an open source publication. Parts thereof may be reproduced or quoted provided the publication is fully acknowledged as the source thereof. Download an electronic copy of How African Economies Work: A Guide to Business and Economics Reporting from www.kas.de/how-african-economies-work Cover photograph: North Mara mine in the district of Nyangoto, Tanzania (Gallo Images/Bloomberg) Cover design: Heath White Editing: Bruce Conradie Layout and Heath White, ihwhiteDesign production: [email protected] Printing: United Litho, a division of Type Printing Investments, Johannesburg, South Africa Foreword Dear Readers, Do you know how important it is for a journalist to be able to read the annual report of, let us say, the car-manufacturer Volkswagen? Or one of a big mining company in the DRC? Or how crucial it can be for a journalist to discover the shortcomings in the new budget presented by the Minister of Finance in Kenya? The reactions, not only of shareholders but also of consumers and voters, depend partly on what business journalists, these gatekeepers for readers, make of the information they receive and research. Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer experts in newsrooms and at universities on the African continent who can tell the younger ones how to do this. It is therefore that KAS Media Africa ran a coaching programme from 2017 to 2019, in which business lecturers from ten African universities started developing curricula to teach business journalism at their institutes in Namibia, Nigeria, Cameroon and Zambia, to name a few. Professor Nixon Kariithi, a Kenyan-South African teacher and former journalist, helped to draft and develop these curricula, assisting with suggestions and recommendations, which he discussed from his desk in Johannesburg via WhatsApp and Skype with the colleagues in remote places on the African continent. This publication brings together the research papers of the lecturers who worked with Kariithi, covering a diverse range of economic and financial topics. It intends to share with other interested practitioners some of the challenges and rewards for business journalism today. While journalism is experiencing difficult times, we need it more than ever as the critical observer of developments on the ground. Furthermore, business v Business and Economics Reporting in Africa journalism is needed to assist and explain what makes our economies run and what makes them fail. I would like to thank all the contributors to this publication; most of all I am grateful to Professor Kariithi for his passionate way of fighting for good business journalism in Africa. KAS Media Africa is proud to have worked with Kariithi and the others. Christoph Plate Director KAS Media Africa Johannesburg / Addis Ababa, November 2019 vi Table of contents About the contributors 9 Introduction 13 Whither business and economics reporting in African media? — Nixon K. Kariithi, South Africa 13 Part I. Theoretical perspectives to business and economics reporting in Africa 21 1. The Dearth of Business and Financial Reporting Scholarship in Africa and Philosophical Implications of the Absence of African Media Scholarship on the Panama Papers — Nhamo Anthony Mhiripiri, Zimbabwe 23 2. Understanding the utilisation of source generated content by business journalists in Malawi — Ellard Spencer Manjawira, Malawi 47 Part II. Practical business and economics reporting 67 3. Press coverage on the extractive industries in Africa: A case study of Tanzania — Abdallah Katunzi, Tanzania 69 4. Reporting the National Budget — Nixon K. Kariithi, South Africa 87 5. Media Coverage of Micro-finance in Ghana — Zakaria Tanko Musah, Ghana 115 vii Business and Economics Reporting in Africa 6. Africa’s Online Press and the Stock Exchange: A Content Analysis of Selected Financial Papers — Manka E. Akwo, Cameroon 133 Part III. Pedagogical perspectives in business and economics reporting 149 7. Artificial Intelligence for journalism and media students — Elva Gomez De Sibandze, Namibia 151 8. Seventy years of University Education in Nigeria: The State of Business and Economics Journalism Education — Oyewo Olusola Oyeyinka, Nigeria 173 9. Specialised reporting fundamentals for the business and economics journalist — Muyiwa Popoola, Nigeria 187 10. Media Reporting of illicit financial flows and money laundering in Africa — Nixon K. Kariithi, South Africa, and Juliet Tembo, Zambia 201 viii About the contributors Manka T Akwo lectures at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Buea, Cameroon. She is a member of a team of African scholars who have promoted business journalism over the past ten years. Akwo’s other teaching and research interests include mass communication theory and communications research methods. She is also an activist for women, peace and security in Cameroon. Akwo holds a BSc in Women and Gender Studies with Journalism and Mass Communications (Double Major) and an MSc in Journalism. She is a doctoral candidate in Mass Communications at the University of Buea, Cameroon. Elva A Gómez De Sibandze lectures at the Communication Department and the Harold Pupkewitz Graduate School of Business, Namibia University of Science and Technology, Namibia. She holds a BA and an MA from the University of Utah, USA and a Postgraduate Certificate in Translation Culture & Communication from the University of Natal, South Africa. Her teaching and research interests include communication and media technology, workplace projects, business and economics reporting, development journalism, organisational communication, intercultural communication, media and globalisation, research methodologies and advanced academic writing. Nixon Kariithi, CEO of Tangaza Africa Media, South Africa, is one of Africa’s leading scholars in business and economics journalism. His other teaching and research interests include quantitative research methods, African media systems, media economics, and media and politics. Kariithi holds a BA, University of Nairobi, Kenya; an MA, Cardiff University, UK; and a PhD, University of Houston, USA. He was previously Associate Professor and the Pearson Chair of Economics Journalism at Rhodes University, SA and Associate Professor and Head of Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, SA. Kariithi has held visiting professorships at Cairo University, Egypt; Addis Ababa University, 9 Business and Economics Reporting in Africa Ethiopia; and City University of New York, USA. He is co-editor of Untold Stories: Business and Financial Journalism in African Media, and author of more than one dozen journal articles and book chapters on business and economics journalism. Abdallah Katunzi lectures at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He holds an MA (Journalism and Communication)