Opinion: COVID-19 and the Dramatic Changes To African Newsrooms, By Christoph Plate
Serious media is popular, now more than ever, because it separates fact from fiction, and it informs and it stimulates debate. The mid-term perspective for many media houses that survive is an unhealthy increase in donor-funding and donations.
But, moreover, creativity and the ability to improvise are important. Abaas Mpindi, a tech-savvy and innovative young media personality in Uganda, immediately jumped into action to translate coronavirus pandemic prevention messages into 15 local languages, and published guidelines from journalists, which have been used even in francophone Africa. And the M&G’s new partner publication,, is unique in that it is designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp, for free.
Serious media is popular, now more than ever, because it separates fact from fiction, and it informs and it stimulates debate. The mid-term perspective for many media houses that survive is an unhealthy increase in donor-funding and donations. This will certainly compromise the independence of some publications. But it still seems a lot better than adapting the Chinese media model, which involves strict government censorship.
The future for journalism on the continent, a vanguard of decolonisation and democratisation, can only be found in innovation, improvisation, and the ability to try something, fail and stand up again. Or, as Aksar in Niamey says: “We need to survive. After all, we are a pillar of democracy.” Christoph Plate, a long-time Africa correspondent for German media, is director of KAS Media Africa of the German Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung in Johannesburg. Follow him on Twitter @ChristophPlate
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