What they say about the future of the African media

Linus Wamanya,The Innovations Manager, Vision Group, UgandaAfrican countries need to build strong legal and social structures that protect and promote free speech and access to public information.In several countries you find that the tax and licensing structures are strict on the media; for the media to emerge from the shadows, such structures should become fair so as to increase competition in the market. More importantly, crimes committed against media professionals, citizen reporters and media outlets should be prosecuted vigorously and the national laws should protect the editorial independence of their state media.-------------------------------------------------Dr. Roukaya Kasenally,African Media Initiative, Kenya Director of CommunicationsMedia in Africa has to be careful where it gets its finances because we should prioritise independence. My view is that there are many African grown banks that are willing to give loans to media houses, rather than getting aid from institutions that may compromise our independence. We must strengthen our infrastructure first and make our products compelling to the market. Once we have this in place, we shall be able to convince banks to finance us.-------------------------------------------------Albert Rudasimburwa,Manager, Contact FM RwandaSustainability is still a challenge in Africa and it is mostly because media practitioners do not know how to market their products. There is no business like showbiz- and this is what press houses in Africa do not understand. Entertainment news sells most to the world because of its appealing kind, but you find that media in Africa is mostly poised towards hard political or business news.-------------------------------------------------Bent Norby Bonde,Managing Partner of African Communication Sarl, TunisiaThere is usually conflict between journalists and their managers on the issue of creativity and required skills and if working conditions are not improved, these conflicts usually become a negative element to the media house. That is why media owners must improve the working conditions and salaries for journalists in order for them to chase after worthy stories and to work while content.v------------------------------------------------Aisha Tusule, Deputy President of the Nigerian Guild of DirectorsWe are now in the 21st Century and need to wake up from our slumber to take our rightful places and take our stories and not let western media dictate.The media is lagging behind in terms of infrastructure and personnel and have let the West who have everything to write our own stories but in distorted ways at times. We disappoint our people by not giving them first hand information by relying on foreign media.In Kanu, a media house that operated for more than a decade fell flat and went out of shop because of mismanagement; they had even failed to pay workers salaries. We need to wake up and manage our media institutions well, find sustainable funding and ensure that they are self sustainable.-----------------------------------------------Sadler Kamudyarirwa,CEO, South Africa Media Development FundAfrica needs strong media laws, as well as incentives like tax cuts. There are many media groups that are dying away and closing down because they are operating above their costs. If we are not careful we are going to see the media exclusion that came up after colonialism, and a movement dying away because the conditions set by our governments that are not conducive for a free and sustainable press.-----------------------------------------------Ignatius Kabagambe,Media Development Project Coordinator, Rwanda Governance Board.Journalists in Rwanda called on the government to pull out of media regulation and it did; the current media law provides for self regulation of the media, albeit ensuring that media responsibilities are upheld together with freedoms and liberties.We want to see financially stable public and private media rise up not only in Rwanda but Africa as a whole. In order for them to tell the African story, they must have skilled and professional managers and well paid journalists who work in safe working conditions.