Amplifying Africa’s Narratives: The Urgent Need for a United Media Entity

July 8, 2023

Africa, a continent renowned for its vastness and diversity has harbored an enduring aspiration for a unified media institution capable of projecting its collective voice onto the global platform. Although individual African nations boast flourishing media industries, the yearning for a continental media house that can effectively represent the diverse narratives and perspectives of the entire African continent remains unattained.

Nonetheless, determined endeavors are currently underway to bridge this disparity and finally bring to fruition the long-awaited realization of this shared dream. Within the confines of the African continent, a plethora of distinct countries with their own distinct media landscapes flourish. These countries showcase an assortment of vibrant media platforms, including newspapers, television networks, radio stations, and online outlets that cater to their respective populations.

These individual media industries have effectively served the information needs of their nations and contributed to their democratic processes. However, despite these formidable achievements, a critical gap persists in the shape of a consolidated and inclusive media entity capable of uniting the voices of all African countries. Recognizing the urgent need to bridge this gap and create a cohesive media house, concerted efforts are now being made by various stakeholders across Africa.

One of the primary aims of these endeavors is to establish an Africa-centered media institution that redefines the international narrative surrounding the continent. Currently, Africa is disproportionately portrayed through a lens that exaggerates its challenges, perpetuates stereotypes, or overlooks its remarkable progress and potential.

The envisioned continental media house aims to counter these imbalances by promoting a more accurate and comprehensive portrayal of Africa that showcases its multifaceted realities, innovation, and untapped potential. Furthermore, a united media house would act as a catalyst for pan-African cooperation, fostering dialogue and collaboration among African countries.

A united African media house would bolster African identity and foster a sense of collective pride among its citizens. By highlighting the achievements, cultural heritage, and collective struggles of African nations, this institution would engender a shared sense of belonging and appreciation for one’s African roots. It would strengthen bonds among its diverse people, transcending national borders and ethnic divisions in favor of an inclusive continental identity.

To ensure the success and sustainability of this continental media house, it is crucial to secure adequate funding and resources. Financial investments from public and private sectors, as well as partnerships with international organizations, will be essential in supporting its establishment and ongoing operations. Additionally, the institution must operate autonomously and adhere to the principles of journalistic integrity, ensuring unbiased and independent reporting that upholds ethical standards.

Collaboration and knowledge-sharing with established global media organizations can also nurture the growth and professional development of the continental media house. By forging connections and learning from global media best practices, African journalists and media professionals can enhance their skills, adopt new technologies, and employ innovative strategies that will further empower the institution and strengthen its impact. Ultimately, the realization of a united media house for Africa remains a collective aspiration that requires sustained commitment, collaboration, and resource mobilization.

The African continent boasts a dynamic and extensive media landscape, with each country sporting numerous media outlets – including newspapers, television networks, radio stations, and online platforms – that cater to their respective populations. This diversity of media organizations across Africa has, without a doubt, contributed to the development of several thriving media industries across the continent.

However, despite the impressive strides reached so far in African media, there is still a significant void in the form of a pan-African media outlet that can unite all the voices and perspectives of the entire continent. As it currently stands, the lack of cohesion between African media houses and the absence of a singular voice or platform to represent the narratives and different perspectives of the continent have resulted in a fragmented representation of its diverse cultures.

This fragmentation further limits Africa’s capacity to tell its own stories and shape its own narrative, thereby restricting its ability to project its voice and influence on a global level. The limited representation of Africa’s diverse cultures, as well as the undue influence of international media on the narrative around the continent led to a growing awareness of the need for a pan-African media outlet. A more united African media could influence global opinion and help dispel the harmful and inaccurate stereotypes and narratives that have been foisted on Africa in recent times.

Such an African media platform would provide African nations with a fuller representation on the global stage by showcasing the continent’s multifaceted cultures and unique stories. It would also highlight Africa’s magnificent potential, progressive developments, and innovation, which are often overshadowed by negative stereotypes and preconceptions. By uniting African voices, through a unified media house, it would be possible to update and redefine the international narrative surrounding Africa, changing the global perception of the continent and showcasing Africa’s contributions to the economic, cultural, and intellectual progress of humanity.

A united African media house would foster a sense of continental identity among the African people while promoting cross-boarder cooperation and productive dialogue among African journalists, artists, and other media professionals. This platform could also facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences among Africans, further nurturing Africa’s cultural heritage and promoting its development and growth. To achieve these goals, strong partnerships between African media organizations, institutions, and stakeholders must be fostered to ensure the sustainability of such a media house.

An African media house that unites all perspectives and voices must not only speak out about Africa’s issues, aspirations, challenges, and opportunities but ensure that its programs are balanced, fair, insightful, and informed reflecting the complex realities of the continent. The media house must be a channel of transparency and accountability that promotes responsible journalism and encourages fair, unbiased, and insightful reporting.

The African continent’s rich media landscape has the potential to be even more vibrant and impactful if united under a pan-African media house that speaks to the lived experience of Africans. Such a platform can elevate the African narrative to a global platform, ensuring that Africa’s extraordinary heritage, contemporary challenges, and innovative solutions get the kind of attention, appreciation, and recognition they deserve. With strong coordination, governance, partnerships, and funding, Africa’s united media house can accelerate the continent’s socio-economic growth while nurturing a shared sense of continental identity.

In setting the wheels in motion, the African Union has been tasked with handling the organizational aspects of developing this institution, highlighting the importance and need for cooperation among African nations. Collaboration is key in ensuring that every African country has a voice in the proposed institution, ensuring diversity and inclusivity. Furthermore, this collaboration will enable African nations to pool their resources to support the media house’s long-term growth and development.

The African media house aims to address the challenges of the African media industry by creating a forum dedicated to Africa’s diverse population, enabling Africans to share their stories, ideas, and perspectives. By providing a platform that represents the collective voice of Africa, these populations shall no longer have to depend on other media organizations to tell their stories, hence fostering a sense of responsibility. Moreover, a united African media house shall promote pan-African dialogue, which would help to consolidate the array of Africa’s distinct cultures and regional perspectives.

Africa is often portrayed in the international media negatively. The endless representation as a continent troubled by civil wars, hunger, corruption, greed, disease, and poverty is demeaning and dehumanizing and likely driven by a calculated strategy and agenda was quoted Abiy as saying at the 35th Summit. “The stereotypical and negative media representations of Africa not only disinform the rest of the world about our continent, but it also shapes the way we see ourselves as Africans.

Telling our own stories and shaping our own narratives must be our top priority. In this regard, I would like to propose to this august body the establishment of an African Union Continental Media House.” “This media house could be organized to provide authoritative news and information on our continent, fight disinformation, promote our collective agenda, and offer opportunities for Pan-African voices to be heard”, Abiy underscored.

Since recently, many more are joining the prime minister in calling for the establishment of an African media that serves the biggest and melting pot continent. Africa needs strong media in Africa. There has not been a success in setting up continental media for long, said Kirtan Bana, Director of Diplomatic Society, a commercial media based in South Africa in an exclusive interview via Whatsapp.

The Western media coverage of Africa has been damaging. Africa is a resilient and powerful continent. If it was not for Africa, the Western world would not be what it is today. It is ironic that the west that has been using the continent’s resources for hundreds of years is still painted as poverty stricken. It is now time for us to our own narrative. And, the tone should be that Africa is abundant land with many good stories to tell.

The official languages of the continental bloc are still the language of the colonizers. So are the medium of instruments for most of African media houses. Sometimes this would serve as a blessing in disguise to counter-challenge the negative narratives and set the right tone for Africans using their own languages, said Bana adding that the West is ignorant of Africa and it created its own version of narrative that does not match the continent, the manager added.

BY ADDISALEM MULAT

THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 8 JULY 2023