Expert urges African media to embrace digitalization

In a keynote address titled “Challenges and Opportunities in a Digital World; Envisioning New Media Business Models,” Prof. Levine urged African media not to shy away from the digital revolution for fear of cost regardless of the global financial crisis, saying the move will keep African media in tune with new trends in social media […]

In a keynote address titled “Challenges and Opportunities in a Digital World; Envisioning New Media Business Models,” Prof. Levine urged African media not to shy away from the digital revolution for fear of cost regardless of the global financial crisis, saying the move will keep African media in tune with new trends in social media technologies.

The professor said poverty should not be an excuse because if news stories are engaging enough, people would give their time and money to access it, adding that illiteracy is not a hindrance to digitization because radio can transmit messages in many languages and is accessed by people who cannot read nor write.

“Our stories should impact deeply on the peoples’ insight and experiences,” he said.   

He added that understanding the audience is key and the future in digitization is the cell phone, which is giving more people, particularly in Africa, access to the internet.  He therefore called on African media to invest in investigative journalism in order to give their audience more information than they could find elsewhere.

Director of South Africa based Highway Africa, Chris Kabwato also emphasized the need for digitization saying that more people in Uganda are accessing the internet for the first time on their mobile phones, not computers.

He added that digitization would offer the African Diaspora community opportunities to get in touch through services that the media are offering.

Chairman of AMLF, and Editor in Chief of This Day newspaper, Nduka Obaigbena, observed that in this age of digitization, the need for entrepreneurs to secure licenses from governments before establishing broadcast stations is outdated and called on the forum to prevail on governments to discontinue this policy which he says inhibits free speech.

Also speaking at the event, Executive Director, Africa Media Initiative, Mr Amadou Mahtar Ba said, holding the forum in Nigeria is meant to demonstrate the seriousness attached to the development of the media in the continent. “By convening the forum in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous democracy, we are sending a message that the strengthening of mass media system is an urgent imperative for societal advancement and needs the support of government, business leaders and civil society,” he said.