Getting the Message Across

　　It is universally understood that informationlies at the center of all forms of development, whetherthese be diplomatic, cultural or economic. In the contextof Sino-African relations, one of the major drivers of thedeepening ties has undoubtedly been the growing presenceof Chinese media in Africa and the information beingdisseminated.

　　“The China-Africa relationship is historical,” said AminaMohammed, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs,adding that the presence of Chinese media platforms onthe continent is a blessing that will cement the “old andgray haired” bond between China and Africa.

　　Moses Wetang’ula, a senator and former cabinetminister in Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade,supports the Chinese media presence in Africa. He saidthat China is beneficial to Africa’s development and thatthe role of the media in nurturing bilateral ties is obvious.

　　Being proactive

　　Chinese media has, through its factual reporting of eventsin Africa and informing Africa of China’s reality, been wellreceived on the continent.

　　Tervil Okoko, a journalism lecturer and regionalcoordinatorfor media freedom, advocacy and research at theDjibouti-based Eastern African Journalists Association, saidChina’s media presence in Africa, which has traditionally reliedon Western media for information, was long overdueand does much to promote the Sino-Africanrelationship.

　　“Objective reportage was often elusivein Western media, with the loudest storiesof China-Africa relationship being those ofexploitation, neo-colonialism and proppingup of leaders,” said Okoko.

　　He added that the policy of Chinese internationalmedia should refrain from following in thefootsteps of other international media, capturingonly the negative episodes in Africa.

　　Bob Wekesa, Executive Chairman of theKenya Journalists Association and Ph.D studentat the Communication University of China, echoes Okoko’ssentiments. Wekesa said that news reports of foreign newsservices like France 24 and Russia Today often mitigatenegative images of their countries and that the Chinesemedia should not shy away from nurturing the alreadystrong bond enjoyed between China and Kenya.

　　In fact, Wekesa’s counsel qualifies renowned Nigeriannovelist Chinua Achebe’s cautionary warning againstcrying louder than the bereaved - as the Chinese/Africanmedia should themselves take a proactive move to promotethe Sino-African relationship via objective coverage,rather than sitting back to wait for media from elsewhereto fill the void.

　　Media is also a vehicle to communicate the messagesof how a nation sees itself and its place in the world -which in turn promotes understanding fromreaders and listeners.

　　Speaking during a panel discussion at theDeustche Welle Global Media Forum in Bonn,Germany, in June this year, Yu-Shan Wu, saidthat a media presence is one way to communicatea country’s point of view to the world.

　　“People are more sympathetic tothenarratives they hear,” said Yu, who has beentracking the rise of Chinese media companiesin Africa as a researcher at the Global Powersand Africa Program at the South African Instituteof International Affairs in Johannesburg,South Africa.

　　Deng Yanting, a researcher at the GraduateSchool of the Chinese Academy of Social Sci-ences, said in a China Daily opinion article in February lastyear that to make the world aware of China’s role in Africa,the Chinese mass media has to break the monopoly oftheir Western competitors in Africa and spread the facts,as well as the views, of the Chinese Government andthink-tanks across the world.

　　Long history

　　Chinese media first entered Africa in the 1950s, a tenureas long as the independence of many African countries.However, in recent times, there has been a sharp increaseof Chinese media on the continent. Nairobi, the capital ofKenya and East Africa’s economic and social hub, is thepreferred base for most Chinese and other internationalmedia outlets in Africa.

　　Despite Kenya’s strategic position in East Africa,Nairobi’s preference as the seat of Chinese media was notby fate, but design. Wetang’ula, who was Kenya’s ForeignAffairs Minister at the time, said that during the 2006China-Africa summit for heads of states in Beijing, Kenya’sthen-President Mwai Kibaki signed an agreement thatestablished capacity building with China in media andcommunications technology.

　　The above mentioned agreement enhanced exchangeprograms between the Kenya News Agency andits Chinese equivalent, Xinhua News Agency. “It was partof the agreement that China Radio International ended upinstalling two state-of-the-art radio studios at the KenyaBroadcasting Corp.,” Wetang’ula said.

　　Perhaps apart from ChinAfrica, a Sino-African orientedmonthly current affairs magazine that has its Africanbureau in Johannesburg, quite a number of Chineseinternational media houses that focus on Africa are basedin Nairobi.

　　Beyond the Xinhua News Agency that established itspresence in Africa in the 1970s and now operates morethan 20 bureaus across the continent, Nairobi also hostsXinhua’s television station, the CNC World.

　　The China Radio International, formerly Radio Beijing,and originally Radio Peking, broadcasts in Nairobi inKiswahili, English and Mandarin.

　　Last year, the China Central Television (CCTV) joinedthe top three international media empires: CNN, BBCand Aljazeera, when it launched its Africa bureau officein Nairobi’s affluent suburb of Hurlingham. Elsewhere inAfrica, CCTV has state-of-the-art studios in Johannesburg,Khartum in Sudan, and Abuja in Nigeria.

　　Media benefits

　　Eric Shimoli, news editor of the Daily Nation, Kenya’s leadingnewspaper and the largest independent media housein East and Central Africa, argues againstthe floodgate of criticism about the proliferationof Chinese media in Africa.

　　“Allegations, especially by internationalmedia houses also operating in Africa,that the Chinese media [in Africa] haslittle value hold no water,” Shimoli said.

　　Shimoli said the Chinese mediadoes not compete with the local Africanmedia and that beyond conveying news,their presence has other benefits, likethe creation of opportunities for advertisementrevenue and employmentof African journalists. “These[Chinese]media houses have the distinction ofemploying African editors and reporters,unlike other international mediathat relies on their own citizens as fieldreporters in Africa,” Shimoli said.