3 - African Media Coverage of NEPAD: Implications for Reporting Africa
Corresponding Author(s) : Andrew Kanyegirire
Africa Media Review,
Vol. 13 No. 1 (2005): Africa Media Review, Volume 13, n° 1, 2005
Abstract
The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) has emerged in recent years as an African-owned development framework for the African continent. Despite its emphasis on sustainable development, democratic governance, regional integration and strategies to implement these, a major challenge for NEPAD remains the continent-wide knowledge and understanding of its agenda and initiatives. This baseline study examines African news media coverage of NEPAD in order to assess the extent and nature of media engagement with NEPAD. Based on a content analysis of coverage in African newspapers and news providers available through the online news portal Allafrica.com, the study provides an overview of NEPAD coverage from January to July 2005 in a sample of African countries. Findings show that coverage of NEPAD is event based and elitist with little consistent critical analysis of processes that underpin the NEPAD framework. Analyses of this nature provide insights into how African media are reporting and engaging the public with regard to this continent-wide development initiative. The implications of these findings are discussed with reference to ‘African journalism’.
Keywords
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- Adesina, J. O., 2002, ‘NEPAD and the Challenge of Africa’s Development: To- wards the Political Economy of a Discourse’. (http://www.sarpn.org.za/docu- ments/d0000326/index.php). 19 February 2004.
- Adesina, J. O., 2004, ‘NEPAD and the Challenge of Africa’s Development: Towards the Political Economy of a Discourse’, Society in Transition, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 125–144.
- Anyang’ Nyongo, P., Ghirmazion, A. and Lamba, D., 2002, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD): A New Path? Nairobi/Berlin: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
- APARC, 2005, ‘A Survey of American Media Coverage of African Democracies: 1994–2004’, Presented at African Presidential Roundtable 2005, Johannes- burg, South Africa. (http://www.bu.edu/ 8 April 2005.
- Berger, G., 2002, ‘Nepad News: The Good, Bad and the Ugly’. (http://www.highwayafrica.ru.ac.za/-archive/2002/paperstextberger.html). 18 September 2005.
- Bond, P., 2002, ‘The New Partnership for Africa’s Development: An Annotated Critique’. (http://aidc.org.za/NEPAD/nepadannotatedcritique.pdf). Accessed 16 March 2004.
- Dahlgren, P. and Chakrapani, S., 1982, ‘The Third World on TV News: Western Ways of Seeing the “Other”’, in W. Adams, ed., Television Coverage of International Affairs, Norwood, NJ: Ablex. pp. 45–63.
- De Waal, A., 2002, ‘What’s New in the “New Partnership for Africa’s Development”?’ International Affairs, Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 463 –475.
- He, Z. and Zhu, J. H., 2002, ‘The Ecology of Online Newspapers: The Case of China’, Media, Culture and Society, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 121–137.
- Herbert, R., 2002, ‘Implementing NEPAD: A Critical Assessment’, African Report- Assessing the New Partnership, Ontario: The North-South Institute, pp. 93– 134.
- Herbert, R., 2003, ‘Becoming My Brother’s Keeper’, E-Africa: The Electronic Journal of Governance and Innovation, SAIIA, October, pp. 6–10.
- IFEX, 2005, ‘International Organisations Express Concern about the Approach to Press Freedom of the African Union’s NEPAD Initiative’. (http://www.ifex.org/ en/content/view/full/64243/). 18 September 2005.
- Jensen, M. R., 2001, ‘Policies and Strategies for Accelerating Africa’s Information Infrastructure
- Development’, in G. Nulens, N. Hafkin, L. Van Audenhove and B. Cammaerts, eds., The Digital Divide in Developing Countries: Towards an Information Society in Africa, Brussels: VUB Press. pp. 113–160.
- Kariithi, N., 2000, ‘Reporting for the West: How Coverage of Zairean Civil War Toed the Policy Lines of Western Governments’, Rhodes Journalism Review, 18.
- Kotze, H and Steyn, C., 2003, African Elite Perspectives, AU and NEPAD: A Comparative Study across Seven African Countries, Johannesburg: Konrad- Adenauer Stiftung.
- Kouakou, K., 2003, ‘Giving the Product Legs: Building the Nepad Brand’, Conver- gence, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 44–47.
- Mbeki, T., 2003, ‘The Media, the African Union, NEPAD and Democracy: Address by the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki at the SANEF Conference’, unpublished manuscript, Johannesburg, April 12.
- Mogekwu, M., 2004, ‘Mass Media and the Challenge of Xenophobia in Promoting the Ideals of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)’, Communicare, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 238–246.
- Molefe, P., 2003, ‘News Coverage in Africa’, Paper presented at the Media in Africa Conference, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
- Moore, F., 2002, ‘Telling It like It Is: News Websites and Online Newspapers’, Global Networks, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 171–177.
- NEPAD, 2001, ‘New Partnership for African Development’. (http:// www.NEPAD.org). 16 March 2004.
- NEPAD, 2004, ‘Telling the NEPAD Story to Africa and Beyond’, NEPAD Dialogue English E-Newsletter, Issue 40, pp. 1–2.
- NEPAD, 2005, ‘Concerns over Press Reports on Peer Review Summit’, NEPAD Dialogue English E-Newsletter, Issue 97, pp. 1–6.
- Olukemi, F.O., 2004, ‘Interactivity in Online Journalism: A Case Study of the Inter- active Nature of Nigeria’s Online Guardian’, unpublished MA Thesis, Grahamstown, Rhodes University.
- Palmer, R., 1987, ‘Africa in the Media’, African Affairs, Vol. 86, No. 343, pp. 241–47. Paterson, C. and Sreberny, A., 2003, International News in the Twenty-First Century, Hants: John Libbey.
- Pavlik, J., 2000, ‘The Impact of Technology on Journalism’, Journalism Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 229–237.
- Schraeder, P. J. and Endless, B., 1998, ‘The Media and Africa: The Portrayal of Africa in the “New York Times” (1955-1995)’, Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 29–35.
- Taylor, I. and Nel, P., 2002, ‘New Africa, Globalisation and the Confines of Elite Reformism: Getting the Rhetoric Right, Getting the Strategy Wrong’, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp.
- –180.
- Volkmer, I., 2001, ‘International Communication Theory in Transition: Parameters of News in the
- Global Sphere of Mediation’, in S. Hjarvard, ed., News in a Globalized Society, Goteborg: Nordicom.
References
Adesina, J. O., 2002, ‘NEPAD and the Challenge of Africa’s Development: To- wards the Political Economy of a Discourse’. (http://www.sarpn.org.za/docu- ments/d0000326/index.php). 19 February 2004.
Adesina, J. O., 2004, ‘NEPAD and the Challenge of Africa’s Development: Towards the Political Economy of a Discourse’, Society in Transition, Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 125–144.
Anyang’ Nyongo, P., Ghirmazion, A. and Lamba, D., 2002, New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD): A New Path? Nairobi/Berlin: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
APARC, 2005, ‘A Survey of American Media Coverage of African Democracies: 1994–2004’, Presented at African Presidential Roundtable 2005, Johannes- burg, South Africa. (http://www.bu.edu/ 8 April 2005.
Berger, G., 2002, ‘Nepad News: The Good, Bad and the Ugly’. (http://www.highwayafrica.ru.ac.za/-archive/2002/paperstextberger.html). 18 September 2005.
Bond, P., 2002, ‘The New Partnership for Africa’s Development: An Annotated Critique’. (http://aidc.org.za/NEPAD/nepadannotatedcritique.pdf). Accessed 16 March 2004.
Dahlgren, P. and Chakrapani, S., 1982, ‘The Third World on TV News: Western Ways of Seeing the “Other”’, in W. Adams, ed., Television Coverage of International Affairs, Norwood, NJ: Ablex. pp. 45–63.
De Waal, A., 2002, ‘What’s New in the “New Partnership for Africa’s Development”?’ International Affairs, Vol. 78, No. 3, pp. 463 –475.
He, Z. and Zhu, J. H., 2002, ‘The Ecology of Online Newspapers: The Case of China’, Media, Culture and Society, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 121–137.
Herbert, R., 2002, ‘Implementing NEPAD: A Critical Assessment’, African Report- Assessing the New Partnership, Ontario: The North-South Institute, pp. 93– 134.
Herbert, R., 2003, ‘Becoming My Brother’s Keeper’, E-Africa: The Electronic Journal of Governance and Innovation, SAIIA, October, pp. 6–10.
IFEX, 2005, ‘International Organisations Express Concern about the Approach to Press Freedom of the African Union’s NEPAD Initiative’. (http://www.ifex.org/ en/content/view/full/64243/). 18 September 2005.
Jensen, M. R., 2001, ‘Policies and Strategies for Accelerating Africa’s Information Infrastructure
Development’, in G. Nulens, N. Hafkin, L. Van Audenhove and B. Cammaerts, eds., The Digital Divide in Developing Countries: Towards an Information Society in Africa, Brussels: VUB Press. pp. 113–160.
Kariithi, N., 2000, ‘Reporting for the West: How Coverage of Zairean Civil War Toed the Policy Lines of Western Governments’, Rhodes Journalism Review, 18.
Kotze, H and Steyn, C., 2003, African Elite Perspectives, AU and NEPAD: A Comparative Study across Seven African Countries, Johannesburg: Konrad- Adenauer Stiftung.
Kouakou, K., 2003, ‘Giving the Product Legs: Building the Nepad Brand’, Conver- gence, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp. 44–47.
Mbeki, T., 2003, ‘The Media, the African Union, NEPAD and Democracy: Address by the President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki at the SANEF Conference’, unpublished manuscript, Johannesburg, April 12.
Mogekwu, M., 2004, ‘Mass Media and the Challenge of Xenophobia in Promoting the Ideals of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)’, Communicare, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 238–246.
Molefe, P., 2003, ‘News Coverage in Africa’, Paper presented at the Media in Africa Conference, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Moore, F., 2002, ‘Telling It like It Is: News Websites and Online Newspapers’, Global Networks, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 171–177.
NEPAD, 2001, ‘New Partnership for African Development’. (http:// www.NEPAD.org). 16 March 2004.
NEPAD, 2004, ‘Telling the NEPAD Story to Africa and Beyond’, NEPAD Dialogue English E-Newsletter, Issue 40, pp. 1–2.
NEPAD, 2005, ‘Concerns over Press Reports on Peer Review Summit’, NEPAD Dialogue English E-Newsletter, Issue 97, pp. 1–6.
Olukemi, F.O., 2004, ‘Interactivity in Online Journalism: A Case Study of the Inter- active Nature of Nigeria’s Online Guardian’, unpublished MA Thesis, Grahamstown, Rhodes University.
Palmer, R., 1987, ‘Africa in the Media’, African Affairs, Vol. 86, No. 343, pp. 241–47. Paterson, C. and Sreberny, A., 2003, International News in the Twenty-First Century, Hants: John Libbey.
Pavlik, J., 2000, ‘The Impact of Technology on Journalism’, Journalism Studies, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 229–237.
Schraeder, P. J. and Endless, B., 1998, ‘The Media and Africa: The Portrayal of Africa in the “New York Times” (1955-1995)’, Issue: A Journal of Opinion, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 29–35.
Taylor, I. and Nel, P., 2002, ‘New Africa, Globalisation and the Confines of Elite Reformism: Getting the Rhetoric Right, Getting the Strategy Wrong’, Third World Quarterly, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp.
–180.
Volkmer, I., 2001, ‘International Communication Theory in Transition: Parameters of News in the
Global Sphere of Mediation’, in S. Hjarvard, ed., News in a Globalized Society, Goteborg: Nordicom.