African Voices in the Global Media SpaceGRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA 4–7 JULY 2010

Amie Joof, the Executive Director of FAMEDEV, the Inter Africa Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development speaks at the RDF session on underground radio in fragile states.See Page Eleven

EDITION 3WEDNESDAY, 7 JULY 2010

HIGHWAY AFRICA’S NEWSPAPER COVERING BOTH HIGHWAY AFRICA 2010 AND WJEC-2

http://www.highwayafrica.comhttp://reportingDNA.orghttp://wjec.ru.ac.za/

By Lynn Nowers

ew media has radically reshaped the media landscape. Generating revenue in cyber-space has been a mirage until very recently. This emerged at the Emerging Media Busi-ness Models session held yesterday.

Ory Okolloh, co-founder and Execu-tive Director of Ushahidi – an open source project where users “crowd-source” crisis information and distribute it via cellphones – chaired the session which included panel-lists from the US, Kenya and Uganda.

Matthew Buckland, CEO of web agency and digital consultancy, Creative Spark, suggested that, despite today’s high con-sumer demand for online content, the aver-age publication is only making 10 to 20% of its revenue online. “Advertising in online publishing is crude,” he said, adding, “it’s not innovative enough.” Buckland gave the example of banner advertising, which hasn’t changed in years.

“Online media is struggling to get atten-tion. The online world is a busy place,” said Buckland. He explains that Google and other aggregators make it difficult for online publications to secure an audience; consumers go directly to the aggregators to get links to news. This means the news sites themselves struggle to gain loyal readers.

Salim Amin, chairman of Camerapix, The Mohamed Amin Foundation as well as A24 media, said that one of the benefits of the internet is its flexibility, especially when it

comes to advertising strategies and pro-duction. What media institutions need to do is use these to their advantage. “You have to have unique and good content to appeal to people,” he said.

Adam Clayton Powell III, a professor at the University of Southern California, presented several emerging media business models, including geo-related revenue where adver-tisers cater for the user, depending on their location. For advertisers looking to invest in digital media, this would be a good way to make sure that the information that reaches the consumer is relevant. “Advertisers know your location, so it’s a good tool,” Powell said. This is especially true of mobile tech-nology, where advertisers can pinpoint your exact location and make suggestions, such as where the nearest coffee shop is.

For a country like Kenya, this could be the answer. Charles Onyango-Obbo works in Nairobi, where he is Nation Media Group’s executive editor for the Africa and Digital Media Division. He said there is a major shift taking place in the country, with more peo-ple accessing online content via cellphones than computers. “If we are to survive in our primary market, we need to invest in digital media,” said Onyango-Obbo.

The idea of paid content, another possible business model, has been much discussed in recent years but, Buckland was sceptical about this approach. Instead, he proposed a system much like DSTV, where consumers pay a fee for multiple outlets. He exempli-

fied this with Google, who are busy looking into pay-walls where consumers can pay a fee to have access to a variety of publica-tions. “I think that will work. It mirrors online consumer behaviour, we consume multiple online publications at once,” said Buckland.

Buckland also argued that devices like the iPad will have a monumental effect on the way audiences consume media. “The tablet

computer is an amazing thing for the print world. This is going to be the start of a par-adigm shift. They are opening up a whole sphere of leisure computing,” he said. Tra-ditionally, computers have been associated with business but, with tablet computers, people will increasingly use their comput-ers for relaxation. “It’s good news for maga-zines and newspapers,” said Buckland.

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(Left to Right) Ory Okolloh (Chair), Professor Adam Clayton-Powell, Matthew Buckland, Charles Onyango-Obbo and Salim Amin made up the multi-national panel at yesterday morning’s Emerging Business Models session. Photo: Thabo Lesoro

Part of a large crowd that attended yesterday morning’s Emerging Business Models session. Photo: Thabo Lesoro

2

Africa gets a lot of negative

coverage in global media. Open

Source asked some delegates what

African media needs to do to get

more positive attention globally.

By Shameez Joubert, Thabo Lesoro and Ruth Woudstra

Beate Josephi: Germany “We need to mock

entrenched stereotypes and expectations. Say, “Sorry, we won’t have a starving child in

this photograph.”

Daudi Khamadi: Kenya“We should stop caring about the global media space and

focus more on local and regional news.”

Wang Fan: China“First of all I’m from China and I don’t hear a lot of news from Africa. I think they have to do more promotion of their own news because at home I only

get news from CNN and BBC.”

By Alessandro Candotti

The panel discussion, on driving the future of journalism curricula, revved its intellectual engines as delegates accelerat-

ed into debate, described as a “panorama point-ing out hotspots” by panel coordinator Kaarle Nordenstreng.

Hot on the dashboard were Asia and Latin America, with the Unesco model curriculum securely in the passenger seat, since 54 journal-ism schools from 44 countries expressed interest in adapting the curriculum.

Michael Cobden, one of the central authors of the Unesco curriculum, said that it aims to pro-mote “de-westernisation” and to “fight against developments from our baser instincts,” such as “the insinuation of advertising and marketing” and the “tabloidisation of journalism.” He wouldn’t “tinker” too much with the content, but neverthe-less mentioned that “there is a lot of rethinking to be done. The [syllabus is the] best part, as far as I’m concerned. Academics tend to guard their syllabuses jealously,” he grinned.

Launched three years ago in June, the updated curriculum reflects an “emphasis on intellectual knowledge and development,” with “a special emphasis on writing and reporting throughout the programme” said Cobden. He noted its generic imperative, pointing out that many jour-nalism schools have been “scrambling to adopt their programmes” to technological changes, but “might be better off reinventing them”. “I must say, Unesco can be proud of the contribu-tion to journalism education and to the public,” he concluded.

Asia’s contribution was next, as Violet Valdez, from Ateneo de Manila University, presented a

“hybrid learning programme” in her curriculum for Asian journalists, that has courses given on cam-pus and online. She acknowledged, that Unesco provides a “valuable benchmark” with its project, and that the proposed Asian curriculum reflects the two principles emphasised by Cobden.

Guo Ke, of Shanghai International Studies Uni-versity, provoked laughter when he joked that Chi-na’s 650 programmes are “a huge amount”. He described China as having a “dilemma between fast paced media and the slow catch-up” with tra-ditional media education methods. “Due to rigid controls in China, reforms can be slow,” he said, and there is a “growing difficulty to maintain the curriculum.” Challenges included, “English jour-nalism education programmes finding it difficult to identify themselves as a real academic disci-pline.” When asked whether he was happy with the state of journalism education in his region, Ke replied, “That’s a very tough question. We still have problems but there is progress. If you really want an answer I’d say yes, I’m happy, but there’s still a big but.”

Latin America, often overlooked in these dis-cussions, according to Nordenstreng has, like China, had “phenomenal growth in the last 30 years” in journalism education. Sophia Virginia Moreira, of Rio de Janeiro State Univer-sity, was nevertheless dissatisfied with journal-ism education in Brazil. “We mostly have curricu-lum problems. I think the curricula are very old; we don’t keep pace with the students learning. They are struggling, debating a lot of things that they wouldn’t have in real life,” she said. Cultural variations hamper the only Portuguese speaking country in Latin America, since not being able to read in Spanish “makes a lot of difference” for collaborative efforts.

Sonia Virginia Moreira from Rio de Janeiro State University participated in a fiery panel discussion about driving the future of journalism curricula. Photo: Noel Kokou Tadegnon

By Zamathiyane Ndaba

“Launching a book is like blessing the book; it’s like a ship going being launched for the first time,” said Priscilla Boshoff at the launch of three books yesterday.

Boshoff, who teaches Media Studies at Rhodes University, was the official host for the launch, part of both Highway Africa confer-ence and the World Journalism Education Congress (WJEC). She said she was proud there were more media books being published in Africa today than there were 10 years ago.

Wits University academic, Dumisani Moyo, launched his book; Media Policy in a Changing Southern Africa: Critical Reflections on Media Reforms in the Global Age. He said it had taken him three years to finalise the book, which looks at the continuity and change

that media and communication policies are making in Southern Africa. The book tackles broadcast, print and information commu-nication technologies, and the various debates and issues around policy-making in Southern Africa.

The Zimbabwean-born Moyo said he was proud that his book was one of several others by African authors. “There are not enough books telling what is happening in Africa by Africans,” he said, add-ing, that westerners normally write about Africa.

“The story sounds different if the African analysis is done about Africa through African eyes.”

Rhodes University’s Professor Guy Berger launched his book, Challenges and Perspectives of Digital Migration for African Media, which he said was aimed at correcting the widespread misconcep-tions that analogue radio will have to be switched off in the next five

years as part of the “digital migration”. The book sets out the issues involved in digital transformation in

broadcast media from the viewpoint of African media stakehold-ers, especially community radio. The book would be useful for any-one who is interested in digital change in Africa. It might also assist those who are not aware of the changes that are about to occur, such as digital television. Berger said that this is an important topic and was quite sure that digital migration is not for Africa.

Another book that was being launched was Successful ‘New Media’ Business Models: Case Studies in South Africa by the Sol Plaatje Institute. The book is about the business model and its evolution in the media industry, an idea that has been in existence for some time, and has been a source of great debate at Highway Africa conferences.

3

Frederick Masiga: Uganda“We need to change the mindset

of ‘bad news is good news’ through training and in the newsroom.

Journalists need to be reminded that good news is good news.”

Lillian Williams: USA “Invite citizen journalists to report on events… stories

that make them proud of their communities, which will allow

reporters to fi nd more positive story leads.”

Shenid Bhayroo: South Africa “News by nature focuses on the unusual. It should cover

people doing creative work, fi nding a way to… support

their families, not only themselves.”

Wayne Wanta: USA“Showing co-operation with

neighbours is positive. The East African Community modelled on the European Union is a step in

the right direction.”

EDITION 3

By Daniella Potter

HIV/Aids and related issues may have become a fatiguing topic

for both audiences and media pro-ducers, but they are pertinent issues in today’s society and are not going away. The Hearts and Minds cam-paign tries to change the way journal-ists report on these issues to make them more accessible to audiences. The campaign encourages journalists

to engage with the community to steer their reporting away from statistics and towards human stories.

The main focus of Hearts and Minds is to create sustainability, by teaching the youth and providing communities with the skills to continue addressing the issues after journalists have left. It is through the process of communi-ties telling their stories that journalists can access more humanised HIV/Aids related stories, which are more read-

able for audiences. Representatives from Botswana,

Zambia and Kenya were at the Hearts and Minds workshop yester-day to speak about the three different approaches to reporting on HIV/Aids and related issues.

Country Director for the Twinning Centre, John Capati, said journal-ists need to marry the technical aspects and creativity in their report-ing. He said the aim is for journalists

to engage both with community mem-bers and with other journalists. But to manage the breech between being a journalist and a social worker, journal-ists are encouraged to work with com-munity organisations so that the jour-nalist can interact with the stories, but not get personally involved.

National Director of the Media Insti-tute of Southern Africa (MISA) in Bot-swana, Thapelo Ndlovu, explained how the distance between journalists

and the community is broken down through a project called Mafoko Matl-hong which means interacting face-to-face. “In Botswana there is no com-munity radio and so Mafoko Matlhong provides the medium for communi-cation as representatives discuss the issues with communities, record and then disseminate the information,” he said. Ndlovu stressed the need to educate the youth, and MISA provides the technical support and training assistance for students in secondary schools to write newsletters on how HIV/Aids are affecting them.

MISA began journalist training in 2007 with the Heart and Minds approach of discussing HIV/Aids issues with a humanised perspective. In Kenya, a project called Abstinence and Behavioural Change informs chil-dren about the high risk of HIV/Aids and related issues. The programme is aimed at children between 11 and 14 years old and is broadcast in Eng-lish and Swahili, Kenya’s official lan-guages, on the radio – Africa’s pow-erful tool. The programmes are also recorded onto CD and distributed to schools.

The Zambia Institute of Mass Communication Educational Trust (ZAMCOM) has a project of com-munity engagement with media and HIV/Aids. Director of ZAMCOM, Dan-iel Nkalamo, said the rapidly growing media sector offers a local platform to influence behaviour. ZAMCOM trains media students to link media with community mobilisation. The idea is to teach students to inform the com-munity via radio, newspapers and national workshops and then allow the communities to inform each other.

Hearts and Minds is sponsored by the partnership between the American International Health Alliance’s HIV/Aids Twinning centre, the University of Kentucky, Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in Botswana, the ZAM-COM and the Kenya Episcopal Conference (KEC).

John Capati, SA Country Director for the American International Health Alliance (AIHA). Here Capati leads a discussion in the “Hearts and Minds: Effective HIV and AIDS Journalism in the Community” RDF session. Photo: Stephane Meintjes

4

A better skilled workforce, improved tourism infrastructure and expanded word of mouth marketing; just some of the spinoffs of the World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup TM isn’t, and never was, an end in itself for South Africa and the travel-tourism industry. It was always a milestone on South Africa’s journey to global destination competitiveness.

However, the World Cup has forever changed the way the world views South Africa. We have seen South Africa’s global reputation rise, from one where millions of people weren’t sure what the destination offered, to one where people now know that South Africa is capable, safe, accessible and exciting.

The World Cup has given South Africa a better skilled workforce in tourism; better tourism infrastructure and facilities to grow arrivals and foreign-direct spending into the economy. It has given World Cup fans an experience of the destination that will almost certainly result in repeat visits and word of mouth recommendations.

It is not only leisure tourism that will reap the benefi ts of the legacy of the World Cup. The business tourism sector, which deals with conferences, large meetings and incentive travel, will also fi nd itself in an enviable position. South Africa’s upgraded travel infrastructure, its numerous

fi ve star hotels, modern conference centres and refurbished international airports make it an attractive prospect in this highly competitive and lucrative sector.

This was the fi rst FIFA World Cup TM that was subject to discussion on the social media. YouTube, FaceBook and Twitter all contrived to spread exceptionally positive and utterly credible, messages about South Africa and, netted the destination compelling publicity that money simply could not buy.

This is all exceptionally good news for a destination that’s already shown excellent growth in arrivals. Overseas arrivals grew 8.2 percent in the period March 2009 to March 2010.

South Africa offers not only superb infrastructure, high tech IT facilities and fi ve star accommodation, it also boasts a fascinating and textured cultural mix, unsurpassed natural beauty and a populace that’s warm, friendly and welcoming to visitors.

The destination is superbly poised, not only to leverage interest that the World Cup generated, but also to continue marketing South Africa on the strength of numerous destination virtues to a world of people recovering from the global economic crisis and eager to discover new places and make new friends.

By Lauren van der Vyver

College Newsnet International (CNI) is exciting, because it gives global exposure to stu-

dents. “Student journalism is the pur-est, freshest and most exciting voice out there,” says Mary Cardaras, head of Digital Media and Communica-tions at the New England Institute of Art in Boston.

CNI is a global approach to the prac-tice of journalism – by students for students. Cardaras is partnering with Dr Robyn Goodman, head of Commu-nication Studies at Alfred University in New York, to create an online global website. Here, student journalists can submit news articles, photographs, podcasts, videos and cartoons, with their news attracting global audienc-es and international exposure. The website is set to launch in Septem-ber 2010 but, student journalists are encouraged to register before this, so they can submit their work when CNI makes its much anticipated debut.

Cardaras modelled CNI on CNN’s World Report which welcomes view-points from TV networks across the world. Its approach allows student journalists from all over the world to see what’s going on in other coun-

tries and continents. This international forum will change perceptions about countries outside Western Europe and North America and provide journalists with information to learn, share and connect. Cardaras told Open Source, that CNI can eradicate some of the stereotypes of the African continent. “Africa gets bad press in the Western world. The presence and voice of Afri-ca on CNI will change the perception to something positive and exciting,” she says.

Cardaras explains how the creation of a global platform, to showcase stu-dent work, will change the perception of journalism itself. “Students have a passionate, no-nonsense approach to journalism. They are still learning and have the presence of mentors to keep their work responsible.” Card-aras stresses that CNI is not citizen journalism. Instead, stories are vetted before online publication and student journalists have the potential to mimic real-life journalistic practices, “CNI will be structured around being fair and balanced,” says Cardaras. Cardaras is hoping CNI will attract giant media employers like CNN, BBC, the New York Times and other publications and networks from around the world.

The fresh student voice is usually hid-

den by big networks which domi-nate the airwaves and online reach. Cardaras’ brainchild is likely to push journalism into new directions where stereotypes are broken and where connecting teaches the world about the world. Student journalists are taking over via the digital revolution.

Visit www.collegenewsnet.org or, follow CNI on facebook.com/cni-project and twitter.com/cniproject.

Mary Cardaras hopes that the

global site, CNI, can change perceptions and make a

difference to the journalism

profession. Photo: Lauren van der Vyver

Issued by FD Media and Investor Relations on behalf of South African TourismFor further information contact:

Sandisiwe Gugushe Allison MacDonaldTel: +27 11 895 3000 Tel: +27 11 214 2400Email: sandisiwe@southafrica.net Email: allison.macdonald@fd.com Website www.southafrica.net

Register on our media extranet to browse the latest news releases (from SA Tourism as well as the tourism industry in general), access the news archive and get details of all upcoming tourism industry events (both locally and internationally).

http://mediaextranet.southafrica.net

South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a pre-ferred tourist destination. It is headed up by Chief Executive Offi cer, Ms Thandiwe January-McLean and Chief Marketing Offi cer and acting Chief Operations Offi cer, Roshene Singh

5EDITION 3

By Zamathiyane Ndaba

They affectionately call it ‘a fool’s guide’ to advertising and marketing and it’s intended to help small businesses in the print and radio sector.

Lumko Mtimde, CEO of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), launched the advertising and marketing toolkit during a short Highway Africa conference session yesterday.

Developed by LeeQuid Brand engineers from Johannes-burg, the toolkit aims at creating a simple, easy to under-stand, marketing kit for old and emerging commercial media projects. It is a step-by-step guide on how small media agencies can sustain themselves through advertis-ing and marketing. They are able to generate income to compensate for the lack of funding they often face by being able to market themselves efficiently and gain advertising.

Mtimde said the MDDA identified a market for the toolkit after his team held training sessions for business managers at small media organisations. At these sessions it arose that managers weren’t able to keep up because the training was too advanced. He was worried that organisations would rely on MDDA funding forever. Mtimde hoped that with the toolkit, organisations would become more sustainable.

The toolkit has already been distributed in the South Afri-can provinces of Free State, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape. Although there has, as of yet, been no feedback, Mtimde is positive it will be a success. He feels that those who haven’t studied advertising and marketing will still be able to understand and use it efficiently.

“We will mentor them and assist them in developing sys-tems which will help them sustain themselves,” Mtimde said.

LEFT:Lumko Mtimde, CEO of MDDA, explains the company’s newly launched adver-tising and market-ing toolkit. Photo: Philisiwe MbongwanaBELOW LEFT:Lumko Mtimde talks to Up-start learners. Photo: Stephane Meintjes

By Ruth Woudstra

Learners from Grahamstown and Mafikeng in North West Province broke into applause during a practice interview session with Media Devel-opment and Diversity Agency (MDDA) CEO Lumko Mtimde. It was Mtimde’s emphasis on writing and speaking one’s home language that elicited the spontaneous response.

The MDDA-sponsored media liter-acy programme invited learners from several Mafikeng schools and Upstart students from Grahamstown to prac-tice their new interviewing skills by asking Mtimde some questions. Upstart is a youth newspaper linked to Grocott’s Mail, the oldest independ-ent newspaper in South Africa.

“You have to articulate yourself as yourself,” said Mtimde. “When you write in English, the thought disap-pears as you write. It loses the weight of what you wanted to say. It’s impor-tant to get to know the deep elements of your language.” Mtimde empha-sised the importance of young peo-ple being proud of interacting in their own languages. The MDDA offers funding and media training sessions, giving preference to initiatives such as community newspapers and com-munity radio stations in indigenous languages.

Mtimde believes it is difficult for peo-ple to write in their home language, because of a post-colonial mentality where parents encourage their chil-dren to speak and write in English. “You don’t need to speak English to try to be cool. What is important is the content.”

Through its media literacy pro-grammes, the MDDA provides schol-ars with an opportunity to decide if they want a career in media. Mtimde favours a pro-active approach. “Yes, you must listen to the radio and read the newspaper, but you must prepare yourself to participate in producing, owning and controlling media. Media is power,” he said.

Although the MDDA supports all new media platforms, it prefers to fund newsletters and radio stations for disadvantaged communities in rural areas where poor infrastruc-ture make it difficult for new media to survive. The MDDA hopes to get big advertisers to adopt schools and assist in paying for the production of newsletters and other media.

Sinethemba Baxana, a grade 10 learner from Nathaniel Nyaluza Senior Secondary School in Grahamstown, said the talk was very touching, and that he had changed his mind from wanting to be a physiologist to being a journalist.

Although the MDDA supports all new media platforms, it prefers to

fund newsletters and radio stations for disad-vantaged communities in rural areas where poor

infrastructure make it diffi cult for new media

to survive

Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), a South African government initiative has launched an advertising and marketing tool-kit worth bragging about

7EDITION 3

By Yusuf Omar

occer is more than just a game with 22 men and a soccer ball, as was the theme addressed at the Sports Issues workshop held yesterday.

Like the World Cup, the workshop had a truly international cast. Marianne Peters of the Netherlands chaired the meeting, American, Wayne Wanta, was appointed discussant, and, there were speakers from Germany, England and Sweden.

Having spent months researching football in Spain, Jim O’Brian, spoke passionately in his presentation, Football, Politics and the Nation in Spanish Football, emphasising the importance of football in Spanish society.

“If you want to know someone’s political position in Spain, ask them what team they support,” said O’Brian. “Real Madrid generally indicated centre or right. Barcelona typically resembles left of centre.” Spain has five daily sport newspapers, generally football dominated. South Africa has none. In what he called the “politicization of football,” he explained how football has historically been an integral part of Spanish identity, politics, culture and even democracy.

Robert Kautsky, a speaker from Sweden, has a great job. He studies fan participation and fan parks during the World Cup tournaments, understanding the dynamics of media events in the media age. “FIFA fan parks make it very easy for journalists to

find a story,” he said. Kautsky focused on how the media construct and represent identity during the World Cup. He highlighted several key findings in his research including, how fan parks have become a “commoditised, highly commercialised experience.” His research identified concepts of globalisation and hybridity, with fans from all nations using vuvuzelas, for example.

“Rediscover slowness,” said Thomas Horky of Germany, encouraging journalists to take their time and do stories thoroughly. He spoke of the norms and hazards of sports journalism, saying sports journalists often “degenerate towards entertainment.” Horky described how sport journalists frequently act like fans instead of remaining neutral.

London-based sports journalist Neal Collins spoke of the “dire shortage of good sports journalists in South Africa.” He described the current sports journalists as from a “previous regime.” South Africans should be reporting football at the same level as rugby and cricket and, considering this is a football loving nation, it is poorly serviced by the media. Having studied journalism himself at Rhodes University, he appealed to universities to teach sports writing as an academic skill. Rhodes currently doesn’t offer such a speciality. While Collins acknowledged the negative affect tabloids (especially in the UK) can have on sports, he said, “If you don’t cover the game properly, the game doesn’t progress.” Collins added, “So many things in South Africa have improved. Sports journalism hasn’t.”

S

Red Card the RefBy Allesandro Candotti

There’s a beauty of a game called soccer,

Where a street-wise ref is the stopper,

But technology’s ignored,

When the goal is implored,

And FIFA is blind to the shocker!

Delegates and journalists join in the universal tune by blowing their vuvuzelas at the MTN sponsored screening of the Netherlands-Uruguay match at the Rhodes University Great Hall. Photo: Philisiwe Mbongwana

By Kate Bishop and Phetane Rapetswane

lack and yellow drapes decorated the walls of the Great Hall, transforming it from an academic venue into a mini fan park for the semi-final match between the Netherlands and Uruguay. Chris Kabwato, director of Highway Africa, clad in the orange of Cote d’Ivoire in support of the Dutch, welcomed everyone and kicked off the evening with a few competitions and games.

The hall was filled with delegates wearing yellow MTN beanies and scarves, which complemented the numerous Bafana Bafana shirts. The excitement of the World Cup bubbled as the cosmopolitan crowd blew their vuvuzelas, and the hum of chatter mixed with the Kwaito, House and other Afro-Pop music. Delegates enjoyed the braai and drinks and took in the festive mood.

Charles Onyango-Obbo, Executive Editor of the Africa and Digital Media Division at Nation Media Group, commented that Africans are very enthusiastic and that the World Cup has “allowed many South Africans to reinvent themselves” through a shift in their mindsets.

There was massive support for the Dutch, and a lot of animosity towards Uruguay, who knocked out Ghana, aka BaGhana BaGhana, during the quarter finals last weekend. Clement du Plessis, lecturer at Cape Peninsula University of Technology and former sports reporter, said the Dutch players are “a collective, not a team of individuals”.

Other delegates were less analytical, but were still rooting for the Dutch. Ghanaian Reginald Jackson said, “After the unjust way we were defeated in the last round, I’m 100% behind the Netherlands.”

The entertaining and open game ended 3-2 in favour of the Dutch who are in the final for the third time in their history. They are riding a 25 match unbeaten streak, dating back to 2008 when they lost to Australia, and hope to go one better, after losing in the finals in 1974 and 1978.

B

A delegate getting ready to watch the semi-final

between the Netherlands and Uruguay at the MTN braai at the Great Hall.

Photo: Stephane Meintjes

Nnenna Nwakanma, the director of nnenna.org in her

soccer regalia. Photo: Stephane Meintjes

9EDITION 3

By Lynn Nowers

he conference madness over the past few days has brought together people from America to China to Germany, and there are two things everyone has in common: journalism and food. Delegates have spent their days having their brains nourished, but have they been going to bed with satisfied stomachs?

Andrea Vial from Chile, South America, had no complaints about the food. “I like it very much,” she said. “It’s a little bit spicy. I like spicy food.” Jeanne Nutter from New Jersey, USA said the food has been very similar to how it is at home, although Tuesday’s spicy chicken lunch, sponsored by the 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee, was especially enjoyable because of its distinct African flavour.

Vuyelwa Mdazana has been commuting everyday from Alice, a small town about 90km from Grahamstown, so she has only eaten a few lunches at the conference. “The food was fine. They tried to meet our interests. The queues have been very long, but it’s not their fault,” she said.

Marianne Peters from Utrecht in the Netherlands had only eaten one meal in the dining hall. She hadn’t tried anything specifically local, but she had enjoyed her Grahamstown restaurant experience. “I had a very nice omelette at a restaurant in High Street. Even at five o’ clock, I asked for it and they made it for me. It was perfect,” she said.

Delegates will be pleased to know that although the conference is coming to an end, the feasting isn’t over. Tonight SA Tourism will be hosting the Feel South Africa experience on the Kaif Lawns outside the Bantu Steve Biko Student Union. The dinner and market promise to be a great experience for everyone.

Before you leave Grahamstown, take an opportunity to visit some of the local restaurants and taste some of the delicious food on offer. for more information see Open Source’s restaurant guide in edition one.

By Phetane Rapetswane

elegates are not the only people benefitting from the seminars, workshops and networking opportunities that Highway Africa has to offer.

The Future Journalism Programme (FJP), which is one of Highway Africa’s several projects, happens annually during the conference and at other times throughout the year. This year it has assembled second year students from South Africa’s best institutions who offer journalism, media studies or communications courses.

One of the creators of FJP and current Training Manager, Moagisi Letlhaku, said they select second years because they are no longer undecided about whether or not they want to be journalists, they are young and fresh enough to absorb the new things they have to learn.

The FJP is a Pan-African initiative that encourages people from disadvantaged backgrounds across the continent. Aubrey Mokgerere, from the University of Limpopo, said that he has enjoyed learning about new media and how it can improve society. He also pointed out, that having facilities readily available has helped the learning process significantly, “The use of [computer] labs at my school is strictly for academic use, Facebook, Twitter and

T

There are two things

everyone has in common: journalism and food.

Staff at the Nelson Mandela Dining Hall serve lunch to delegates. Photo: Fungai Tichawangana

Delegates get ready to tuck into their lunch. Photo: Stephane Meintjes

blogging are not considered academic.” Unfortunately the 2010 programme has been restricted to South Africans, as the main sponsor, Open Society Institute for West Africa (OSIWA), was unable to secure funding for students from other countries.

Lebogang Mgiba, from the University of Johannesburg, said FJP has been a wonderful opportunity to learn social media and actively put what they have learnt into practice. Mgiba enjoyed the networking opportunity FJP offered.

“It has been amazing to learn how different universities learn about the media, and meeting some of our future employers has been a great experience,” he said.

In its third year, the FJP has already borne fruit. “We already have alumni in charge of training students and playing an important role in the running of the conference,” said Letlhaku. She also strongly believes in continuity and making space available for trainees and alumni alike to write stories on the FJP blog and Twitter account.

One of the alumni and the assistant manager for this year’s project is Anele Ngwenya.

“I really enjoyed my experience at FJP,” Ngwenya said, “being a trainer is a different challenge, but it is one that I am up to.”

D“The use of [computer] labs at my school is strictly for academic use, Facebook, Twitter and blogging are not considered academic.”

Second year university students from around South Africa participated in the Future Journalists Program. Photo: Noel Kokou Tadegnon

The 2010 FIFA World Cup was a milestone for the continent, South Africa and MTN. As official sponsor of the biggest event in the world, we have succeeded in positioning MTN outside its traditional market – showcasing our capabilities as a true global brand. With the World Cup wowing both our current and future customers and demonstrating our unique value proposition, Christian de Faria, Senior Vice President: Commercial and Innovation, calls on all MTNers to translate their renewed energy and excitement into a positive attitude that drives innovation, risk taking and entrepreneurial thinking.

Sponsoring the 2010 FIFA World Cup gave MTN a unique opportunity. Being associated with this landmark event, and bringing it to the continent and the world in the way we have, has enabled us to position and leverage our brand, creating awareness about who we are and what we do differently. While the World Cup captured the pas-sion and attention of people around the globe during the past month, in reflecting on its success, we must look at it as a powerful element in MTN’s greater business strategy. To this end, we need to use key insights gained from the event to continue to drive our four strategic pillars of innova-tion, customer experience, productivity and efficiency, and leadership and culture.

In the context of MTN, each of these pillars speaks directly to how we do business. When we talk about innovation for example, our focus can’t just be on products and services. We have to look at what we’re doing to constantly and consistently reinvent ourselves in terms of our business processes. We have to take a similarly performance driven approach to each of these pillars, using them to bring MTN closer to making its business vision a reality.

As a company, MTN currently finds itself at an important crossroad. How we choose to respond to this is imperative. In all our markets competition is increasing rapidly. A num-ber of serious players have already moved into our space very aggressively, relying on different business models to win market share. While we started preparing to meet this fierce competition a long time ago, and have put the necessary strategies in place, we need to remain cognisant of the fact that we operate in what will always be a very challenging industry, with requirements above and beyond outsmarting the competition. Operating costs for example are not decreasing nor look likely to decrease in the short-term, putting the company under significant pressure. Regulators in most of our markets are also becoming more demanding, and environmental concerns mean that we are not always able to secure the best possible sites for our infrastructure. This makes it critical for us to look at how we adapt, and the speed at which we’re able to adapt, under this amount of pressure.

In driving the strategy, we must make all of our business processes the most efficient, productive and innovative they can be. This means leveraging the collective expertise of the group and finding ways to create better synergy between operations. What we’ve seen in the past, and continue to see, is that despite our individual operations having a number of excellent ideas, we’re not particularly successful at extracting the value of these and leveraging this throughout the group. We thus need to put new and more effective processes in place to allow the group to interact more strategically with individual operations.

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With data convergence playing an even bigger role in what we do, and customers becoming more and more demanding MTN must define a clear vision as to where we want to be in five years’ time and in ten years’ time respectively – and execute on this. In recognising that the technology required for us to do business is readily available and will always be available, this vision must look at how we will address issues of customer demand and engagement; how we will adapt to meet the needs of individuals, corporate companies and small medium enter-prises (SMEs); and how we will address customer expecta-tions in terms of value proposition, customer care and after sales service. As such, we need to now focus on this series of actions (that have already been in the pipeline for some time) so as to extract the full value of the investments we have made in the past, in a more systematic, disciplined and integrated way.

From a mindset point of view, this involves redirecting the excitement that has been pulsing through our business for the past fifteen years and reinvesting this in meeting the chal-lenges that lie ahead. We need to concentrate on our custom-ers like never before – understanding and serving them even better. The 2010 FIFA World Cup has been an eye opener for all of us. It has taught us things we never knew and shown us new opportunities for the business. It is now critical that we use these to drive our entrepreneurial mindset aggressively. There is no time or room for complacency.

The next couple of months will see MTN capital-ise on the positive exposure we have received throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup, making this both lasting and enduring. This milestone event has opened up new horizons for our business. The sky is the limit for MTN. We now need to respond accordingly and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. Our business’s key success factor lies in our ability to anticipate and meet client demand going forward, espe-cially with technology changing as quickly as it is. It is up to each of us to think out of the box and find the possibility in each moment. We therefore need to harness the positive energy we all currently feel, and translate it into risk-taking, entrepreneurial thinking and innovation – making the World Cup a legacy we can all be exceptionally proud of.

Leveraging our legacy

Christian de Faria, Senior Vice President: Commercial and Innovation, MTN

11EDITION 3

By Kate Bishop

Conference delegates, committed to the fight for free-dom of speech, were treated to emotional presenta-tions by two experienced journalists on the theme,

Freeing the Voices: Underground Radio in Fragile States. Amie Joof, Executive Director of FAMEDEV, the Inter-

African Network for Women, Media, Gender Equality and Development, and John Masuku, Executive Director of Radio Voice of the People (VOP), were the two key speakers at the RDF Parallel Session. Joof, originally from Gambia, now lives in exile in Senegal. Masuku operates from Zimbabwe, although VOP is based in Cape Town and Holland.

Masuku was arrested for broadcasting VOP in Zimbabwe, the charges, however, were dropped. Most of the VOP con-tent is political, Masuku said. Although VOP started out as an alternative radio station, it has become very popular and is often the first-choice source of radio news in Zimbabwe, he added.

Joof runs an online radio station, Alternative Voice online radio for Gambians (AVG), which deals with issues and cir-cumstances in the lives of Gambians and gives them news that the government refuses to air. AVG also offers moral support to stations which have been closed down, of which there are two as well as to journalists who have disappeared or been killed, of which there are three.

“The media doesn’t have a friend or foe,” Joof said, “its business is to publish the truth.” For example, in 2008, the radio station exposed a publicity stunt by the Gambian pres-ident who claimed he had discovered a cure for Aids. “He is in control of state media,” Joof said, “there is only one inde-pendent newspaper.” Because internet access is limited in parts of Gambia, broadcasts are recorded on cassettes and news collectors drop them off to distributors. This illustrates the level of impunity that prevails in Gambia, said Joof.

By Yusuf Omar

YouTube: the space where anyone with a video camera and an internet connection can share their life, art, and voice, with the world. The days of exclusive broadcasting privileges are over. In fact, with over two billion views a day, no traditional broadcaster can compete with such global audiences.

With 483 million global users, “if our user base was a country, it would be the 3rd largest after China and India,” laughed Andrew Bangs, from YouTube San Francisco, yesterday at his YouTube and Citizen Journalism pres-entation in Eden Grove Red.

Bangs believes YouTube is the ulti-mate form of freedom of expression because, “It’s free, and anyone can use it.” Every minute, 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube.

Bangs said that the major benefit of YouTube is that, unlike traditional broadcasting – which is a one-way flow of communication – YouTube allows for instant feedback, via com-ments, creating dialogue.

YouTube recently launched a South African domain www.youtube.co.za. They want content to be “by Africans, for Africans,” said Dr Julie Taylor, Communications and Public Affairs Manager of Google South Africa. YouTube has also signed partner-

By Yusuf Omar and Kate Bishop

At about 11.30am on Monday morning, Rhodes Univer-sity lost access to Internet sites outside South Africa. Seacom, who provide bandwidth to Southern Africa, East Africa, Europe, and South Asia, have reported that a component of the fibre optic cable, between Mumbai and Mombasa, is faulty.

Unfortunately, it could be a week or more before the system is restored. Seacom published an initial state-ment on their web page last night, saying the fault has been located and a cable ship has been dispatched to the site. “While the repair process itself will only take a few hours, the overall process may last a minimum of 6 – 8 days.”

The Rhodes IT notice board says that “Rhodes has an interim plan that allows incoming and outgoing e-mail to continue working, albeit slowly.”

Once new cables systems, such as the East African Submarine System, the West African Cable System and the Africa Coast to Europe cable, come on stream over the next 18 months, disruptions like this one should become less commonplace and cable operators and telecommunications companies will be able to reroute traffic along other cables.

The internet downtime has affected some delegate’s international relations. Andrew Heslop, editor of Press Freedom and Media Development at the World Asso-ciation of Newspapers and News Publishers, has been unable to submit his four or five articles that he writes for different news sites.

Although the absence of internet has left many del-egates disgruntled, the conference has, largely, gone on unaffected. “All the sessions I’ve been to have not had any problems,” said Salim Amin, chairman of A24 Media Africa’s Voice. “I don’t think people rely too heav-ily on technology, they all have backups.”

ships with a number of South African media companies including the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and ETV.

Bangs said bandwidth is an issue on this continent. A trend they have iden-tified is that mobile media plays a big part, with people taking footage on their phones and uploading it online immediately. Africa, it seems, has skipped entire generations of technol-ogy, moving from no landline phones to cell phones and, from no internet to high-speed broadband.

One of YouTube’s key priorities is ensuring that videos load and play quickly, even in places like Africa where bandwidth is limited. In addition to the standard YouTube experience, users have the option to watch videos with YouTube Feather youtube.com/feather_beta, a stripped-down version of the page. It only shows the site’s most basic features to help ensure that those with low-speed internet connec-tions are able to play videos faster.

Bangs cited a series of incidents in Iran in June 2009, as an example of when YouTube was used to increase media transparency. The disputed re-election of President Ahmenijad, resulted in several weeks of protest. The Iranian government took the deci-sion to expel foreign media. Footage of the protests, some of it quite vio-

lent and graphic, began to surface on YouTube, filmed by eyewitnesses using video cameras and cellphones. YouTube became a citizen-fueled news bureau of video reports filed unfiltered, straight from the streets of Tehran. These citizen-generated videos pro-vided an exclusive look at the develop-ing violence. Footage of Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman who was shot on the street, resulted in tribute videos, and became a rallying point for inter-national protests.

Not all of Bangs’ news examples of YouTube were of violent protests or of scenarios where professional journalists were not present. They just provided a different perspective, sometimes humorous, that serves as a complement to traditional media and journalists.

YouTube has launched YouTube Direct, a dedicated channel for citizen journalism, in an attempt to better con-nect news organisations which have user generated content. It aims to make the relationship between media com-panies and citizen journalists, easier.

Rhodes University’s School of Jour-nalism and Media Studies air their broadcasting work on RhodesTV, a YouTube channel.

The PowerPoint slides used during the presentation can be accessed at www.wjec.ru.ac.za.

One of YouTube’s

key priorities

is ensuring that videos

load and play quickly

Amie Joof bursts out in emotional laughter at the RDF session on underground radio in fragile states. Photo: Stephane Meintjes

Highway Africa wishes to thank the following sponsors:

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Schmoozing on the sidelineLEFT:Nnenna Nwakanma blows her vuvuzela while waiting for the Netherlands-Uruguay match to start. Photo: Philisiwe MbongwanaRIGHT:A group of learners from Mafi keng en-joy their meal at the Nelson Mandela dining hall. Photo: Stephane MeintjesBELOW:The crowd blow their vuvuzelas loudly as they wait for the Netherlands-Uruguay game. Photo: Philisiwe Mbongwana

Open Source is published daily by the Highway Africa News Agency (HANA) at the Highway Africa 10 Conference in Grahamstown, South Africa (4–7 July 2010). Please feel free to reproduce material from this publication citing ‘HANA’ as the source. EDITORIAL TEAM: Editor: Steven Lang/ Assistant Editor: Sim Kyazze/ Sub-editors: Anna van Wynegaard, Saskia Kuiper/ Production Editor: Shalen Gajadhar/ Newsroom Assistant: Ruth Woudstra/ Design and layout: Ashleigh Eales, Melanie Dibben, Shameez Joubert, Robyn Shields/ Photographers: Fungai

Tichawangana, Thabo Lesoro, Noel Kokou Tadegnon, Philisiwe Mbongwana, Stephane Meintjes/ Writers: Daniella Potter, Kate Bishop, Phetane Rapetwane, Lynn Nowers, Lauren van der Vyver, Yusuf Omar, Allesandro Candotti, Zamathiyane Ndaba, Nomfundo Nondzube/ Printed by DupliPrint, Grahamstown. Highway Africa Director: Chris Kabwato. Contact Highway Africa: c.kabwato@ru.ac.za + www.highwayafrica.com This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/za/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 543 Howard Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA.