REFERENCE SERIESNO. 19
NEWS AND NEW MEDIA IN CENTRAL AFRICA.CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
MAPPING DIGITAL MEDIA:
By Marie-Soleil Frère
MAPPING DIGITAL MEDIA NEWS AND NEW MEDIA IN CENTRAL AFRICA2
News and New Media in Central Africa.Challenges and Opportunities
WRITTEN BY
Marie-Soleil Frère
1
Te Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa. Rwanda andBurundi are among the continent’s smallest states. More than just neighbors, these three countries are lockedtogether by overlapping histories and by extreme political and economic challenges.Tey all score very low on the United Nations’ human development index, with DRC and Burundi among the half-dozen poorest and most corrupt countries in the world. Tey are all recovering uncertainly fromconflicts that involved violence on an immense scale, devastating communities and destroying infrastructure.Teir populations are overwhelmingly rural and young.In terms of media, radio is by far the most popular source of news. Levels of state capture are high, and media quality is generally poor. Professional journalists face daunting obstacles. Te threadbare markets can hardly sustain independent outlets. Amid continuing communal and political tensions, the legacy of “hate media” isinsidious, and upholding journalism ethics is not easy when salaries are low. Ownership is non-transparent.elecoms overheads are exorbitantly high.In these conditions, new and digital media—which flourish on consumers’ disposable income, strategicinvestment, and vibrant markets—have made a very slow start. Crucially, connectivity remains low. Butchange is afoot, led by the growth of mobile internet access.
December 2012
1. Marie-Soleil Frère is Senior Research Associate at the National Fund for Scientific Research (Belgium) and Director of the Research Center inInformation and Communication (ReSIC) at the University of Brussels. She is the author of
Te Media and Conflicts in Central Africa
(LynneRienner Publishers, Boulder, CO, 2007) and
Elections and the Media in Post-Conflict Countries: Votes and Voices for Peace?
(Zed Books, London,2011) (hereafter Frère,
Elections and the Media in Post-Conflict Countries
).
3OPEN SOCIETY MEDIA PROGRAM 2012
In this report, Marie-Soleil Frère surveys the news landscapes of DRC, Burundi and Rwanda. Marshaling animpressive range of data, she examines patterns of production and consumption, the often grim realities of law and regulation, the embryonic state of media policy, the role of donors, and the positive impact of onlineplatforms.Most media outlets now have an online presence. SMS has become a basic tool for reporters. Interactivity givesvoice to increasing numbers of listeners. Te ease of digital archiving makes it possible to create a collectivemedia “memory” for the first time. Chinese businesses are winning tenders for infrastructure projects. Above all, the unstoppable flow of digitized information enables ever more people to learn about current eventsand available services. “Te average news consumer in Central Africa will soon leap to new opportunities,”Frère predicts, “without having to pass through the intermediate stages of a personal computer and a fixedtelephone line.”Te report ends with a set of practical recommendations relating to infrastructure, strategies to reduce accesscosts for journalists and the public, education and professionalization, donor activity, governance, regulation,and media management.
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V. The Economics of News Production for News and New Media in Central Africa—Challenges and Opportunities
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa. Rwanda and Burundi are among the continent’s smallest states. More than just neighbors, these three countries are locked together by overlapping histories…
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