Addis Ababa — 16:30 - 18:00 hrs Tuesday 26 October 1999 - Objective: A panel of experts examined how media integration with ICTs can promote a more diverse and pluralist media environment and how conventional media can operate as a gateway to the Internet for people who do not have access.
Chair: Peter da Costa, Senior Communication Adviser, ECA, Ethiopia Panellists: James Deane, Director, Panos Institute, UK; Bruce Girard, comunica.org, The Netherlands; Rashied Galant, Media Institute for Southern Africa, Namibia; Olufemi Ajayi, UNESCO, Nigeria;
Summary:
The session focused on sharing experiences across the board on the use of ICTs by the media. It was noted that the media finds itself within the context of a global media industry that is shaping media all over the world. African media struggles to survive in the face of media conglomerates shape the kind of content that is further rebroadcast or repackaged for national audiences. The result of this domination is decreased local content and analysis.
Presentations focused on the threat of the global media context, the advantages of using a combination of technologies (internet, e-mail and broadcasting among others), the dilemma faced by traditional forms of media in the face of the convergence of new technologies and the use of low-cost technologies for wide dissemination of daily development analysis. Examples were drawn from Ecuador (Radio Pulsar), Nigerian Print Media and Sabanews, a radio news product in Zimbabwe.
Discussions noted that:
- The threat currently faced by the decreasing local content should be reversed by building the capacity of the media to generate, produce and disseminate local information; - There is no threat to print or broadcast media in the advent of new technologies, that convergence of different forms of media helps to disseminate to different audiences; - In the face of constant struggles with government control over the right to communicate, the media must engage in self-regulation; - Journalists should negotiate better remuneration terms in light of the sales generated through rebroadcast.
The full text of all speeches, statements, press releases and summaries are available on the ADF Home Page at: http://www.un.org/depts/eca They are supported by video and audio clips of keynote addresses and other major moments. This site also includes the programme, list of participants, theme papers and other relevant background documents.
For more information on the Forum or to interview participants, please contact: Peter da Costa Senior Communication Adviser Economic Commission for Africa P.O. Box 3001 Addis Ababa Ethiopia Tel: +251-1-51 58 26 Fax: +251-1-51 03 65 Cell: +251-9-20 17 94 E-mail: dacosta@un.org or ecainfo@un.org Web: http://www.un.org/depts/eca
