Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Media. Show all posts
Monday, May 14, 2012
$1 Million African News Innovation Challenge
Africa’s first major contest designed to promote the development of digital media products and innovations is now accepting applications.
African News Innovation Challenge (ANIC) will provide grants from $12,500 to $100,000 for the best projects aimed at strengthening and transforming African news media. The contest is modeled on the highly successful Knight News Challenge in the United States. Grantees will also receive technical advice, startup support and one-on-one mentoring from the world’s top media experts.
Of particular interest are proposals that improve data-based investigative journalism, audience engagement, mobile news distribution, data visualization, new revenue models and workflow systems.
The African Media Initiative (AMI), Africa’s largest association of media owners and operators, announced the contest last November as part of a pan-African initiative to spur digital experimentation and technology-driven projects and startups.
“African media have a tremendous opportunity to leapfrog the business disruption faced by media in Europe and the U.S.,” says AMI chief executive Amadou Mahtar Ba. “The growing reach of mobile networks and improving Internet access is beginning to reshape the media landscape in Africa. We believe this competition will help African news organizations stay ahead of the curve.”
Contest partners include Omidyar Network, Google, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the U.S. State Department, the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA).
“Omidyar Network is delighted to be supporting the African News Innovation Challenge,” said Stephen King, partner at Omidyar Network. “Across the continent we are seeing innovative ways in which technology is providing people with greater access to information. This challenge is a great opportunity for journalists, entrepreneurs and technologists to join forces and help enable the African media to hold their leaders to account.”
Digital strategist Justin Arenstein is managing the initiative as part of his work with the AMI and International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C.
HOW TO APPLY:
Entries must be submitted to the ANIC website by midnight (Central African Time) on July 10, 2012.
WHO CAN APPLY:
Proposals may be submitted by news pioneers from anywhere in the world, but entries must have an African media partner who will help develop and test the innovation. Projects that are designed for Africa will stand a better chance of receiving support.
PROJECTS OF GREATEST INTEREST:
ANIC is seeking new ways to create, discuss and share news and make quality journalism sustainable. This could include new revenue or production models, new ways to gather, produce or distribute news. Ideas that can be scaled up across the continent or replicated elsewhere are of particular interest. Preference will be given to ideas that solve bottlenecks facing Africa’s media.
THE JUDGING PROCESS
Winning projects will be selected by an ANIC panel of judges, following public voting and a review by an international jury.
About ICFJ
The International Center for Journalists is a non-profit organization that advances quality journalism worldwide. Its programs combine the best professional standards with the latest digital innovations. ICFJ believes that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition.
About AMI
The African Media Initiative is the continent’s largest umbrella association of African media owners, senior executives and other industry stakeholders. AMI’s mandate is to serve as a catalyst for strengthening African media by building the tools, knowledge resources and technical capacity for African media to play an effective public interest role in their societies. This mandate includes assisting with the development of professional standards, financial sustainability, technological adaptability and civic engagement.
About Google Inc.
Google’s innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top Web property in all major global markets. Google's mission in Africa is to make the Internet an integral part of every day life in Africa, by increasing its relevance and usefulness, eliminating access barriers for potential users, and developing products that are meaningful for countries in the region. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.google.com/africa, see our Africa Blog, http://google-africa.blogspot.com/ or follow us on Twitter twitter.com/googleafrica
About Omidyar Network
Omidyar Network is a philanthropic investment firm dedicated to harnessing the power of markets to create opportunity for people to improve their lives. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, the organization invests in and helps scale innovative organizations to catalyze economic and social change. To date, Omidyar Network has committed more than $500 million to for-profit companies and non-profit organizations that foster economic advancement and encourage individual participation across multiple investment areas, including financial inclusion, entrepreneurship, property rights, consumer Internet, mobile and government transparency. To learn more, visit www.omidyar.com.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Is Nyasa Times still moderating comments?
Of late i have observed with keen interest the comments readers post on Nyasa Times. Alot of them are not supposed to be published if the site knew the damage they can bring to the peaceful nation.
As a democratic country we have freedom to say whatever we can say but we also have a responsibility to control what we are saying. Nyasa Times is becoming popular with many Malawians as it is fond of giving us breaking news. But the comments readers are making are worrying me.
You will find obscene, tribal and unrelated comments. As much as we all need to hear people's views on some topics, people need to control waht they say. It is also the duty of Nyasa Times to moderate debate on their popular site.
A few years ago a comment took time to be published after a reader posted it and you could not find obscene comments. Things have changed over the years. I understand that some of the comments have something to do with lost of trust in the ruling party. But that does not justify insults to the Munthalika family or any other person featured on Nyasa Times.
As a democratic country we have freedom to say whatever we can say but we also have a responsibility to control what we are saying. Nyasa Times is becoming popular with many Malawians as it is fond of giving us breaking news. But the comments readers are making are worrying me.
You will find obscene, tribal and unrelated comments. As much as we all need to hear people's views on some topics, people need to control waht they say. It is also the duty of Nyasa Times to moderate debate on their popular site.
A few years ago a comment took time to be published after a reader posted it and you could not find obscene comments. Things have changed over the years. I understand that some of the comments have something to do with lost of trust in the ruling party. But that does not justify insults to the Munthalika family or any other person featured on Nyasa Times.
Labels:
comments,
insults,
Malawi,
Media,
Nyasa Times
Friday, June 11, 2010
World Cup on Twitter
One of the things that makes the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup unique is the impact it is making in the social media. You can follow whatever is happening in South Africa on Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare or You Tube.
It is the first World Cup to be played since Twitter was founded late 2006. With only one game played, news about the cup has made it to the top of the trending topics.
On the eve of the World Cup, i followed most of the Kickoff concert's proceedings through various Twitter handles including Shakira and Knaan's who updated their statuses prior to their performance. Shakira even posted backstage pictures on Twitpic.
Apart from the normal football we will watch on the pitch, we will learn alot of things happening in camps faster than the traditional way of reporting. Several players including Kaka and Christian Ronaldo have accounts on Twitter. Ronaldo recently sent a picture of him and Mandela when the Portuguese team went to visit him (Mandela). The USA team has 10 players, out of the 23, with accounts on Twitter.
Twitter has since created a special world cup portal to give people a chance to follow the trending topics using their countries hashtags. Google has also teamed up with FIFA to give fans fast access on results and news of the world cup on the largest search engine. They are also using Google Maps to help fans find their way around South Africa. You can find detailed directions to restraunts, accomodation or any important places.
As a passionate follower and user of the social media, am very excited with all this. The only drawback is Twitter's capacity to handle the traffic. Wonder what will happen to Twitter when England plays USA. History is seriously being made and there is no better place to make it than in Africa.
It is the first World Cup to be played since Twitter was founded late 2006. With only one game played, news about the cup has made it to the top of the trending topics.
On the eve of the World Cup, i followed most of the Kickoff concert's proceedings through various Twitter handles including Shakira and Knaan's who updated their statuses prior to their performance. Shakira even posted backstage pictures on Twitpic.
Apart from the normal football we will watch on the pitch, we will learn alot of things happening in camps faster than the traditional way of reporting. Several players including Kaka and Christian Ronaldo have accounts on Twitter. Ronaldo recently sent a picture of him and Mandela when the Portuguese team went to visit him (Mandela). The USA team has 10 players, out of the 23, with accounts on Twitter.
Twitter has since created a special world cup portal to give people a chance to follow the trending topics using their countries hashtags. Google has also teamed up with FIFA to give fans fast access on results and news of the world cup on the largest search engine. They are also using Google Maps to help fans find their way around South Africa. You can find detailed directions to restraunts, accomodation or any important places.
As a passionate follower and user of the social media, am very excited with all this. The only drawback is Twitter's capacity to handle the traffic. Wonder what will happen to Twitter when England plays USA. History is seriously being made and there is no better place to make it than in Africa.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
PRESS FREEDOM DAY
As the people all over the world commemorate this day, Malawian journalists will as usual take to the streets in Blantyre carrying placards with various messages written on them. I would have joined them had it been that I was in Blantyre but am some 80km away and will be working the whole day. I respect and value this noble profession for the mere fact that they feed my growing appetite for information but I don’t envy their salaries or the environment that they work in.
The past year has been very interesting in relation to press freedom in Malawi. If you were in the shoes of the Nation Newspaper you should have been complaining of the advertisement ban from the government and its various departments which came along in that period. I guess you could have written a placard expressing your anger at the treatment your fellow journalists went through in trying to cover government events.
In the eyes of the newly born Weekend Times, you should have bemoaned how easy it was to expose scandals of high profile people. The freedom of writing whatever you found of other people’s lives could have been on your lips all the way to the end of the big walk. If you were Brian Banda you could have thanked all the people who have graced your latest program, Capital Straight Talk. Some questions you asked are sensitive but you forced your way to get the answers. Big fish from both sides of the coin have been your guests. Sad that the drycleaner is not here to join his brother, Paparazi, Makiyolobasi, Twister and Bartender in displaying linen they have been trying to clean all this time.
From a layman’s point of view, we are still enjoying the freedom of expression we voted for in 1994 but there are some areas we can do better. The public broadcasters are still singing praises to the government of the day just as it was with the past regimes. It shows that journalists working in these media houses are not yet free to write or report what they want to (or have they been brainwashed to the point that they don’t see anything newsworthy in the opposing views). Some time there was talk that changing the Communications Act was the only way of making sure that every party will be heard on the public broadcaster. There is no better time to debate and pass the Access to Information bill and change the Communications Act than now when the ruling party has a majority in Parliament.
By the end of the day after a tiresome walk, there will be a dance at Mount Soche Hotel where outstanding journalists will be awarded for their good work. As consumers of the information they report, we don’t have much say on the awards but if I were given a chance I could have chosen Brian Banda and his Capital Straight Talk as the best thing that has happened to the media fraternity the past year. The questions asked in the program are superb, the guests interviewed are at the thick of things and the reporter is just very good. Then there is the Sunday Times. It is a full package that Malawians in need of information needs to read. Muckraking on Sunday, Just a word, Hard Tackle, Wings of Hope, Oped and True Life drama are simply the best. Maybe Zebedee is too old to be getting praises but he is still giving out the best.
Finally I wish all the media guys a very good day in celebrating press freedom. But don’t get very drunk to miss stories for tomorrow’s front pages.
The past year has been very interesting in relation to press freedom in Malawi. If you were in the shoes of the Nation Newspaper you should have been complaining of the advertisement ban from the government and its various departments which came along in that period. I guess you could have written a placard expressing your anger at the treatment your fellow journalists went through in trying to cover government events.
In the eyes of the newly born Weekend Times, you should have bemoaned how easy it was to expose scandals of high profile people. The freedom of writing whatever you found of other people’s lives could have been on your lips all the way to the end of the big walk. If you were Brian Banda you could have thanked all the people who have graced your latest program, Capital Straight Talk. Some questions you asked are sensitive but you forced your way to get the answers. Big fish from both sides of the coin have been your guests. Sad that the drycleaner is not here to join his brother, Paparazi, Makiyolobasi, Twister and Bartender in displaying linen they have been trying to clean all this time.
From a layman’s point of view, we are still enjoying the freedom of expression we voted for in 1994 but there are some areas we can do better. The public broadcasters are still singing praises to the government of the day just as it was with the past regimes. It shows that journalists working in these media houses are not yet free to write or report what they want to (or have they been brainwashed to the point that they don’t see anything newsworthy in the opposing views). Some time there was talk that changing the Communications Act was the only way of making sure that every party will be heard on the public broadcaster. There is no better time to debate and pass the Access to Information bill and change the Communications Act than now when the ruling party has a majority in Parliament.
By the end of the day after a tiresome walk, there will be a dance at Mount Soche Hotel where outstanding journalists will be awarded for their good work. As consumers of the information they report, we don’t have much say on the awards but if I were given a chance I could have chosen Brian Banda and his Capital Straight Talk as the best thing that has happened to the media fraternity the past year. The questions asked in the program are superb, the guests interviewed are at the thick of things and the reporter is just very good. Then there is the Sunday Times. It is a full package that Malawians in need of information needs to read. Muckraking on Sunday, Just a word, Hard Tackle, Wings of Hope, Oped and True Life drama are simply the best. Maybe Zebedee is too old to be getting praises but he is still giving out the best.
Finally I wish all the media guys a very good day in celebrating press freedom. But don’t get very drunk to miss stories for tomorrow’s front pages.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
MALAWIAN MEDIA AND THE INTERNET – UPDATE
Several developments have happened since I wrote an article on Malawi media and the internet a few months ago. One notable thing is the improvement of the two popular media houses’ websites.
Zodiak Broadcasting Radio has improved their website and this year Malawians had a rare opportunity of finding the examination results on the internet. The country’s examining body, Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB), does not have a website (or is it that I don’t know about it?) so Zodiak published the results on their site. It was the same with the 2010 University of Malawi Entrance Exams.
The award winning publishing house, Blantyre Newspapers Limited, is now operating a new website which covers all of its publications, The Daily Times, Sunday Times and Malawi News. Even though at times it is updated a bit late; the BNL Times website is becoming popular among people who need to know what is happening in Malawi. The site is well designed and is interactive and easy to navigate.
Another Malawi online news site was launched recently. The Maravi Post is an improvement of blog called Malawi Politics. It now focuses on a broader picture of what is happening in Malawi than concentrating on politics alone. A seasoned journalist and blogger, Kondwani Bell Munthali is one of the people behind this site which promises to be a trusted source of Malawi News.
The popularity of Facebook, Twitter, Mocospace and other social networking sites among Malawians has contributed to the birth of a Malawian owned social site, ifeyo.com. The brain child of Justin Malewezi Jnr and Hetherwick Ntaba Jnr (sons of well known politicians), ifeyo.com is a platform for young Malawians to network, share pictures, videos and music. It also acts as a discussion forum for young people on various issues concerning them.
With the more and more sites turning to the mobile platform, Malawian developers are not to be left out. Two young Malawians recently launched a site to upload, download and promote music from the mobile phone. Mwtunes.com is giving chance to upcoming musicians to expose their music to the world.
Things are really moving in the Malawian cyberspace even though accessing the internet remains a challenge to an average Malawian. It is still very expensive for one to use the internet especially in the rural areas.
Zodiak Broadcasting Radio has improved their website and this year Malawians had a rare opportunity of finding the examination results on the internet. The country’s examining body, Malawi National Examinations Board (MANEB), does not have a website (or is it that I don’t know about it?) so Zodiak published the results on their site. It was the same with the 2010 University of Malawi Entrance Exams.
The award winning publishing house, Blantyre Newspapers Limited, is now operating a new website which covers all of its publications, The Daily Times, Sunday Times and Malawi News. Even though at times it is updated a bit late; the BNL Times website is becoming popular among people who need to know what is happening in Malawi. The site is well designed and is interactive and easy to navigate.
Another Malawi online news site was launched recently. The Maravi Post is an improvement of blog called Malawi Politics. It now focuses on a broader picture of what is happening in Malawi than concentrating on politics alone. A seasoned journalist and blogger, Kondwani Bell Munthali is one of the people behind this site which promises to be a trusted source of Malawi News.
The popularity of Facebook, Twitter, Mocospace and other social networking sites among Malawians has contributed to the birth of a Malawian owned social site, ifeyo.com. The brain child of Justin Malewezi Jnr and Hetherwick Ntaba Jnr (sons of well known politicians), ifeyo.com is a platform for young Malawians to network, share pictures, videos and music. It also acts as a discussion forum for young people on various issues concerning them.
With the more and more sites turning to the mobile platform, Malawian developers are not to be left out. Two young Malawians recently launched a site to upload, download and promote music from the mobile phone. Mwtunes.com is giving chance to upcoming musicians to expose their music to the world.
Things are really moving in the Malawian cyberspace even though accessing the internet remains a challenge to an average Malawian. It is still very expensive for one to use the internet especially in the rural areas.
Labels:
bnltimes,
developers,
Malawi,
Media,
mobile,
technology
Saturday, September 12, 2009
MALAWIAN MEDIA AND THE INTERNET
BACK GROUND
When several websites published the controversial report by Plan International on Child Labour in Malawi’s tobbacco estates, a hornet’s nest was stirred. The Malawi government was up in arms against it to the extent that the Labour Minister and a Plan Malawi official held a press conference to counter some of the points raised in the report titled “ Hard Work, Little Pay, Long Hours” But the report had reached out to a lot of people through the internet and was picked up by various influential news sites all over the world.
A few years back a reknowned journalist and blogger, Victor Kaonga, predicted on his blog that the Malawi 2009 Elections will be fought on the internet. His predictions came true in the run up to the May 19 General elections when several candidates including independent, James Nyondo, MCP’s John Tembo and Petra’s Kamuzu Chibambo developed websites to explain their manifestos. But it was a move by Zodiak Radio to start broadcasting via the internet that captured the hearts of many Malawians especially those living in the diaspora. For the first time people had a chance to listen to a live announcement of the results and this was spiced up by the recognition of Zodiak by the Electoral Commission as the official results broadcaster of the 2009 Elections. Zodiak continues to broadcast their live programs online.
Those that follow Malawi politics are familiar with the hatred that the Malawi Government or the ruling DPP has with the award winning online news site, Nyasa Times. In a battle that recently turned to be Nyasa Times vs Dr. Ntaba, DPP and the government accusses the website of publishing false stories about it and claimes that it gets its funding from the former president and Dr. Mutharika’s nemesis, Dr. Muluzi. The fact is Nyasa Times is widely read and every published story, true or false, reaches out to a lot of people and qouted by several other news sites.
These three examples and many others shows how popular the internet is becoming to Malawians and the potential it has to shape the media.
PRESENT SITUATION
Apart from the award winning Nyasa Times and Zodiak Radio, there are several other websites that reports various issues concerning Malawi. The two traditional diaries, The Nation and The Daily Times have gone a step further to have websites where they publish some stories carried out in their papers. The Blantyre Newspapers Limited, publishers of The Daily Times also have websites for The Sunday Times and Malawi News.
These are media houses that give us balanced information and are well respected in the media circles but they fail to live to their expectations when it comes to online reporting. They are not updated in time for the hungry audience that eagerly wait for breaking news from Malawi. The Malawi News was last updated on 30th November 2008 and the Sunday Times on March 18 2009. Their counterparts in the neighbouring countries are doing fine in online reporting like New Vision and Daily Monitor in Uganda, The Zimbabwean in Zimbabwe and Lusaka Times in Zambia.
There are also some websites that dedicate their time to reporting news about Malawi like; Malawi Digest, Best of Malawi, Stories on Malawi, Malawi Financial Mirror , Timve Magazine and several blogs by Malawians listed on the Mablog (blogging Malawi) website. The two dailies are better placed to be leaders in reporting and being trusted online news sources because of their well trained reporters across the country, their vast experience and professionalism. Several radio stations also have websites most of which have no current news and are not regularly updated. Another website worthy mentioning is Capital FM which rebroadcasts their Day Break Malawi programme on their website. Kwacha FM and Radio Yako are also good Malawian owned online radios but are rarely on the ground to report issues in Malawi and put much emphasis on music. Recently Radio Yako agreed to be broadcasting the popular Channel Africa’s programme, Zochitika mu Africa on their website.
It is a known fact that the internet is shaping the flow of news reporting all over the world. The coming in of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed; video sharing like You Tube and Hulu; social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious, Reddit and Mixx has not spared the traditional way of news reporting. In the recent elections in Iran, Facebook and Twitter played a very important role in informing the world of what was happening where the main stream media had no access. Lots of videos were uploaded on You Tube, pictures on Flickr and Facebook depicting the ugly scenes of the violence in Iran dring the elections. It was also used in the Gabon Elections, Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton’s visits to Africa. The popular BBC Africa Have Your say also uses Twitter and a Facebook group to get views from people all over the world.
WAY FORWARD
Internet technology is moving at a faster pace and this generation is moving with it. Media houses in Malawi needs to move with technology to enhance the image of the country to the world. They need to look for ways to earn money on their websites in form of adverts. Advertisers look for websites which generate a lot of traffic and traffic follows several things on a website including content, design and simplicity. Developers are now turning to the mobile internet which has a great potential to be the next big thing.
Days of static websites are fast fading and being replaced by regularly updated websites and mobile phone compatible websites.With the coming in of RSS and feeds technology, readers just subscribe to the websites and read the news as they happen on their feed readers like Google Reader. Apart from the Nyasa Times which has recently upgraded their website so that one can subscribe to their feeds, the dailies are yet to embrace the technology while the personal blogs rely on Atom.
Thousands of Malawians are now on Facebook and few others on Twitter but they are yet to see a real impact of the local media on these sites. One can follow news from CNN, BBC, New York Times, The Guardian on twitter but fail to read their own local news from Malawi save for a few passionate Malawians who follow where Malawian news is and bring it on Twitter and Facebook.
A lot of celebrities are now on Twitter and Facebook. Our development partners are tweeting, Obama tweets and many other popular politicians. The White House maintains a blog where it breaks out important announcements, transcripts of various speeches daily briefings and weekly addresses. This is the way news is being shared all over the world and Malawian media needs to be fully involved.
I wait for the day when my favourite paper, The Sunday Times will form a group to interact with readers on Facebook, submit news on Delicious, Digg or Reddit and be on Twitter to alert us on latest news. I long for the time I will be able to browse Malawi News, Weekend Nation or the recently established evening news, Weekend Times on my Nokia 6070. Only then will the world know the real Malawi not the image Madonna built, or the western media shapes, but the warm heart of Africa that we all know. Dr. Ntaba will be the happiest person on earth for he will no longer grace our televisions to refute a false story published on Nyasa Times.
When several websites published the controversial report by Plan International on Child Labour in Malawi’s tobbacco estates, a hornet’s nest was stirred. The Malawi government was up in arms against it to the extent that the Labour Minister and a Plan Malawi official held a press conference to counter some of the points raised in the report titled “ Hard Work, Little Pay, Long Hours” But the report had reached out to a lot of people through the internet and was picked up by various influential news sites all over the world.
A few years back a reknowned journalist and blogger, Victor Kaonga, predicted on his blog that the Malawi 2009 Elections will be fought on the internet. His predictions came true in the run up to the May 19 General elections when several candidates including independent, James Nyondo, MCP’s John Tembo and Petra’s Kamuzu Chibambo developed websites to explain their manifestos. But it was a move by Zodiak Radio to start broadcasting via the internet that captured the hearts of many Malawians especially those living in the diaspora. For the first time people had a chance to listen to a live announcement of the results and this was spiced up by the recognition of Zodiak by the Electoral Commission as the official results broadcaster of the 2009 Elections. Zodiak continues to broadcast their live programs online.
Those that follow Malawi politics are familiar with the hatred that the Malawi Government or the ruling DPP has with the award winning online news site, Nyasa Times. In a battle that recently turned to be Nyasa Times vs Dr. Ntaba, DPP and the government accusses the website of publishing false stories about it and claimes that it gets its funding from the former president and Dr. Mutharika’s nemesis, Dr. Muluzi. The fact is Nyasa Times is widely read and every published story, true or false, reaches out to a lot of people and qouted by several other news sites.
These three examples and many others shows how popular the internet is becoming to Malawians and the potential it has to shape the media.
PRESENT SITUATION
Apart from the award winning Nyasa Times and Zodiak Radio, there are several other websites that reports various issues concerning Malawi. The two traditional diaries, The Nation and The Daily Times have gone a step further to have websites where they publish some stories carried out in their papers. The Blantyre Newspapers Limited, publishers of The Daily Times also have websites for The Sunday Times and Malawi News.
These are media houses that give us balanced information and are well respected in the media circles but they fail to live to their expectations when it comes to online reporting. They are not updated in time for the hungry audience that eagerly wait for breaking news from Malawi. The Malawi News was last updated on 30th November 2008 and the Sunday Times on March 18 2009. Their counterparts in the neighbouring countries are doing fine in online reporting like New Vision and Daily Monitor in Uganda, The Zimbabwean in Zimbabwe and Lusaka Times in Zambia.
There are also some websites that dedicate their time to reporting news about Malawi like; Malawi Digest, Best of Malawi, Stories on Malawi, Malawi Financial Mirror , Timve Magazine and several blogs by Malawians listed on the Mablog (blogging Malawi) website. The two dailies are better placed to be leaders in reporting and being trusted online news sources because of their well trained reporters across the country, their vast experience and professionalism. Several radio stations also have websites most of which have no current news and are not regularly updated. Another website worthy mentioning is Capital FM which rebroadcasts their Day Break Malawi programme on their website. Kwacha FM and Radio Yako are also good Malawian owned online radios but are rarely on the ground to report issues in Malawi and put much emphasis on music. Recently Radio Yako agreed to be broadcasting the popular Channel Africa’s programme, Zochitika mu Africa on their website.
It is a known fact that the internet is shaping the flow of news reporting all over the world. The coming in of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Friendfeed; video sharing like You Tube and Hulu; social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious, Reddit and Mixx has not spared the traditional way of news reporting. In the recent elections in Iran, Facebook and Twitter played a very important role in informing the world of what was happening where the main stream media had no access. Lots of videos were uploaded on You Tube, pictures on Flickr and Facebook depicting the ugly scenes of the violence in Iran dring the elections. It was also used in the Gabon Elections, Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton’s visits to Africa. The popular BBC Africa Have Your say also uses Twitter and a Facebook group to get views from people all over the world.
WAY FORWARD
Internet technology is moving at a faster pace and this generation is moving with it. Media houses in Malawi needs to move with technology to enhance the image of the country to the world. They need to look for ways to earn money on their websites in form of adverts. Advertisers look for websites which generate a lot of traffic and traffic follows several things on a website including content, design and simplicity. Developers are now turning to the mobile internet which has a great potential to be the next big thing.
Days of static websites are fast fading and being replaced by regularly updated websites and mobile phone compatible websites.With the coming in of RSS and feeds technology, readers just subscribe to the websites and read the news as they happen on their feed readers like Google Reader. Apart from the Nyasa Times which has recently upgraded their website so that one can subscribe to their feeds, the dailies are yet to embrace the technology while the personal blogs rely on Atom.
Thousands of Malawians are now on Facebook and few others on Twitter but they are yet to see a real impact of the local media on these sites. One can follow news from CNN, BBC, New York Times, The Guardian on twitter but fail to read their own local news from Malawi save for a few passionate Malawians who follow where Malawian news is and bring it on Twitter and Facebook.
A lot of celebrities are now on Twitter and Facebook. Our development partners are tweeting, Obama tweets and many other popular politicians. The White House maintains a blog where it breaks out important announcements, transcripts of various speeches daily briefings and weekly addresses. This is the way news is being shared all over the world and Malawian media needs to be fully involved.
I wait for the day when my favourite paper, The Sunday Times will form a group to interact with readers on Facebook, submit news on Delicious, Digg or Reddit and be on Twitter to alert us on latest news. I long for the time I will be able to browse Malawi News, Weekend Nation or the recently established evening news, Weekend Times on my Nokia 6070. Only then will the world know the real Malawi not the image Madonna built, or the western media shapes, but the warm heart of Africa that we all know. Dr. Ntaba will be the happiest person on earth for he will no longer grace our televisions to refute a false story published on Nyasa Times.
Labels:
elections,
Internet,
madonna,
Malawi,
Media,
News,
Nyasa Times,
Plan International,
Zodiak
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)