Africa and China forge shared future in digital media era

The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation may have been established only two decades ago but in hindsight, it has made gigantic strides in transforming the lives of its people. Nowhere is this more evident than in the visible fruits of Africa-China cooperation in the media industry.

In 2014, the establishment of the China Africa Press Exchange Center was one of the earliest achievements of the forum's Fifth Ministerial Conference in 2012. At this early stage, exchanges and visits between Chinese and African media houses were initiated, enabling some African journalists to spend some time in China covering issues related to the economy and development issues.

As the forum marks its 20th anniversary, it became clear at the China-Africa Media Cooperation Forum 2020 held virtually on Tuesday that the digital era has opened endless opportunities for more cooperation in the media industry.

According to Tian Yuhong, the executive secretary of the All China Journalists Association, digitization and media convergence has become an inevitable trend in media development and the Chinese and African press should strengthen exchanges and cooperation, learn from each other and jointly promote the development of media convergence.

"The All China Journalists Association is ready to work with African journalists' organizations to explore training models, innovate training mechanisms, exchange training experience and promote mutual learning among journalists of different countries. The Belt and Road Journalists Network will organize study and exchange sessions in China for the heads and key members of the journalists' organizations," Tian said during the forum, which was organized by the Chinese embassy in Kenya and the Media Council of Kenya.

Tian's remarks capture the increasing cooperation between Africa and China in the media industry as a result of aspirations captured under the forum. In 2019 alone, China implemented a digital television project for rural areas to be connected to satellite television in Uganda, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation built partnerships with the Chinese Television Media Group and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation signed a partnership agreement with China's National Radio and Television Administration.

Tom Mshindi, a seasoned East African journalist and former managing editor of Kenya's Nation Newspaper Group, agrees that Chinese investments have opened up more opportunities in all sectors related to journalism.

"The advantage that the Chinese have is that they have the resources to help train African journalists and expose them to the latest technology. The media industry in the African continent has been one of the beneficiaries of the growing Sino-Africa ties," Mshindi said during a panel discussion at the forum.

In addition to identifying the numerous opportunities offered by the digital era to the media industry, the panelist also suggested that more cooperation is necessary in combating challenges arising from media digitization. The most notable challenge identified was the spread of fake news and regulating information in the age of social media.

According to Zhang Yong, a documentary director and researcher at Zhejiang University, China has adopted convergence of the media to ensure that information being circulated by the media is regulated.

"Even though social media plays an important role in creating mutual understand in the digital age, it is easy to create fake news and it will take long to recover from its effects. A journalist who uses social media to share stories should be able to use all the tools to share stories based on the truth," Zhang said.

Ochieng Rapuro, editor-in-chief at Kenya's Standard Media Group, added that the media is expected to promote the public good but digitization has presented an opportunity for mischief. He added that regulation in the social media age should be aimed at promoting public good for media practitioners and reducing mischief.

"New media has a big challenge and we cannot stop people with gadgets to do what they want to do. Journalists need to counter the information being shared by being fair, fast and factual," Rapuro said.