Power and Pressure: African Media and the Extractive Sector

Journalism in Africa has come far in recent decades. The decline of one-party dictatorships, which traditionally kept a grip on the press, has brought about rapid changes. (1) The number of media outlets has expanded and in many countries, such as South Africa and Nigeria, the press is now known for being lively and outspoken. The old days in which the government controlled the one broadcaster, strictly licensed just a few newspapers and kept a tight grip on newsprint allocation are gone in most countries. (2) From having a few dozen media outlets at the end of the colonial period, Africa now has hundreds. Across the continent, small newspapers and radio stations have sprung up, many with just a few thousand listeners and tiny staffs. The rapid expansion of new technology also bodes well for journalistic freedom. Online publications also allow wider participation and the growth of citizen journalism, which can boost governance and promote transparency. A well-functioning media in Africa is a critical development need. African governments face serious policy challenges, and many government institutions do not function effectively. High-quality journalism, which is necessary to highlight the problems that need solving, digs deep and explains the topics of the day in clear language. Despite these needs, and despite the recent changes described above, there are grave deficiencies in the quality of African journalism. (3) Critiques of the portrayal of Africa by the Western mainstream media include its focus on crisis, disaster, war, famine and its oversimplification of social organization and ethnicity. (4) Conversely, the local African press remains a disappointment for many people on the continent. Not only would Africans like to see well-written and detailed coverage by Africans of the news that affects their lives, but they want the media to cover the important topics that will affect their country's economic and political development. With some notable exceptions, the quality of daily journalism is not as good as it should be, and there is a shortage of detailed investigative reporting on key topics. As a result, many of the African urban elites rely on foreign media such as the BBC or CNN for their daily news diet. There are a number of exceptions to this gloomy picture and the good news is that change can and does happen quickly in many developing countries. Shifts in political regimes, media ownership, investment in education, economic growth and the introduction of new technology have all contributed to rapid improvement in countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and South Africa. Today, in many African countries, there are a handful of quality dailies and broadcasters adhering to high standards, employing the best reporters and editors they can find and paying above-average salaries. It is also important to recognize that many of the problems endemic to African media are shared by journalists all over the world in both developing and developed countries. Many of the criticisms made about newspapers and television reporting in Africa can be made about media in other parts of the world. One must also remember that what African journalists are being asked to do (i.e. cover in great detail all kinds of technical topics related to economic development) is not a kind of journalism seen frequently in the Western press either. An in-depth investigative story on mining or oil companies appears only rarely in places like the New York Times or Financial Times. When these types of articles do appear, it is often because the journalist was helped by government investigators or tipped off by short stories that appeared in the local press. This article argues that one of the reasons for the poor performance of African journalism is the difficult conditions under which African journalists work. This has naturally affected their reporting. Underpaid, poorly trained and working under both political and commercial pressures, many African journalists suffer from the devaluing of their profession, which has left them vulnerable and isolated. …