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Politics and broadcasting – which way Southern Africa?

Politics and broadcasting – which way Southern Africa?. Keynote speech by Guy Berger “Public broadcasting in troubled times” Cape Town, 28 Sept – 1 Oct 2008. Coming up. The theory The practice Troubled times Coming complications Which way?. 1. THE THEORY.

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Politics and broadcasting – which way Southern Africa?

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  1. Politics and broadcasting – which waySouthern Africa? Keynote speech by Guy Berger “Public broadcasting in troubled times” Cape Town, 28 Sept – 1 Oct 2008

  2. Coming up • The theory • The practice • Troubled times • Coming complications • Which way?

  3. 1. THE THEORY • Parties – win mandates on broad policy • Govts – consult details = White Papers. • Legislatures – consult on law-making • Regulators – consult on regulation • Civil society – ensures gender, etc. • Operators – licensed and accountable

  4. 1. THE THEORY • Audiences – happy! • Citizens, and consumers - served! = pluralistic, independent, accessible, broadcasting landscape in African Info Soc. (cf. Broadcast Charter, AU Commission’s Decl on Principles of FoX)

  5. Three steps to 3 tier system Through liberalisation, privatisation, public-isation = • Community broadcasting • Private broadcasting • Public broadcasting

  6. Complementarities

  7. Complementarities

  8. Complementarities

  9. Complementarities

  10. Complementarities

  11. 2. THE PRACTICE • Policy and law: • Few countries have consultative process, or trinity of policy & licensing. • Funding: • all 3 sectors chasing advertising, competing. • Access: • mixed bag of access.

  12. More practice • Public service: • Usually all have some obligations (elections, language)… albeit uneven. • Ownership: • State ownership is corporati$ed • Independence: • Still weak for regulators & broadcasters

  13. MISA info • “Many of the regulators are just an extension of the government machinery” • Independent radio licence fees – Lesotho • Zambia: live phone-ins under threat. • Political dismissals : Zimbabwe, Namibia. • Audiences: Zim – thugs ban satellite dishes, police charge vendor listening to Voice of America!

  14. 2002: Theory in Zambia

  15. 2002-8: Practice in Zambia

  16. 2002-8: Practice in Zambia

  17. 1998: Theory in SA

  18. Cynical politics: SA 2007…

  19. Cynical politics: SA

  20. Cynical politics: SA

  21. Cynical politics: SA

  22. Cynical politics: SA

  23. Cynical politics: SA

  24. Cynical politics: SA

  25. Politics – Afribarometer: • On top of politicking on state stations… • Private licensees are few and given to the favoured. • (Stagnant) state broadcasters still monopolise national reach. • Hence: state broadcasters remain a political target cos dominant players.

  26. More politics of the present • Worst of all worlds: politically controlled AND market-driven. • Huge amount of imported soap. • Public service dispersed in patches across the broadcast sector – and restricted to apolitical areas (culture, health, etc).

  27. State of the stations • Benin: 74 private & community radio stations, one state station. • Burkina Faso: 20 private & 19 community, 18 religious, 4 public. 3 private TV, 1 public. Another 31 radios and 2 TV being licensed. • Cote D’Ivoire: 2 state TV, 3 x state radio. 2 private, 7 religious and 83 community radio. • Ghana: 128 radio stations, 27 TV stations.

  28. More West Africa • Guinea Bissau: 22 community, 4 private and 1 state radio stations. • Liberia: 40 radio stations. • Sierra Leone: 50 radio stations. • Niger: 21 private stations, 102 community. 3 private TV stations, 2 public. • Mali: 210 radio stations!!! • LAGGARDS: Nigeria, Guinea, Togo.

  29. AMDI East Africa • Kenya: 49 radio stations (8 state, 30 private). TV = 3 state, 5 private. • Uganda: 5 state radio stations, 75 private. 1 state TV, 3 private TV.

  30. AMDI southern Africa • DRC: 150 private, 152 community, 13 state radio. 64 private TV stations, 11 state TV. • Angola: 22 state radio stations, 4 private, 1 religious. 1 TV station. • Mozambique: 11 state radio, 15 non-state radio. 5 state TV, 30 non-state TV. • South Africa: 18 state, 90 community, 12 private radio. 3 state TV, 5 private TV.

  31. More southern Africa • Tanzania: state radio 3; private radio 36, other 8. TV – 1 govt, 14 private. • Zambia: 14 community & church radio, 7 private. 3 state. TV – 1 state, 2 private. • Botswana: 2 private radio, 2 state radio. 1 state TV, 1 private TV. • Zimbabwe: 4 state radio stations, 1 state TV.

  32. Lessons • Southern Africa much less dense than West and East Africa in terms of broadcasting. • If we follow same trend, private will be the sector that is growing. • Expect religious stations to also grow. • Constraints on all are likely to continue …

  33. Media Sustainability Index 06/7: • Niger: community radio can’t do news. • Senegal: community radio can’t do ads. • Togo: Radio Victoire closed for 15 days in January because it disobeyed an instruction from the regulator to not re-feature a commentator who had criticised ex-Chair of Togolese Football Association, Lt-Colonel Rock Gnassingbe.

  34. 4. TROUBLED TIMES DOWN SOUTH Same old – • Poor policy and regulation, • Pressures from politicians, • Funding dependence on advertising and/or donors, • Negative commercial impact on programming,

  35. More of the same old trouble… • Lack of statistics on audiences, • HiV-Aids impact weak, • Propaganda or civil service mentality amongst staffers...

  36. More recent trouble! Problems that are bigger than politics! • Digital migration – or digital divide?* • * Sentech: R955m for digit infrastructure; R917m for dual illumination! • 2008 – wider economy, oil & food crises • Xenophobia – and copycat effects. • World Cup – critical or co-opted?

  37. 5. COMING COMPLICATIONS A NEW ARCHITECTURE IS EMERGING: • Can’t stick with old thinking anymore as if state sector was forever… • Critics are watching and acting… • Competition from private broadcasters who correctly cry “unfair competition”. • Competition from subscription broadcasting.

  38. More complications • Audiences fragmenting with growing choices. • Competition from cellphone companies using DVB-H • Competition from Broadband internet TV (incl cellular to come!) • Competition from User Generated Content.

  39. 6. WAY AHEAD • Keep the faith with the 3 tier ideal. • Survival of state sector at stake. • Decentralise state broadcaster so it is less of a national target. (Germany has 12, Australia has 2) • Get rid of monolithic vibe…

  40. Changing mindsets • Need to leverage wider changes in order to change the political will… • Must stop seeing broadcasting as an instrument to be wielded by a given force. • See it instead as an institution with own integrity, parameters and audience accountability!

  41. How to reform… • Activism also has to come from within state broadcasters – uphold the vision. • Clarity is needed as to what is not PBS – and then communicate to the public what (and when) is government-service, what is sponsored/ad-driven. • i.e. Create visible functional and structural separations… (& identify product placements too).

  42. More reform • Diversify revenues. • Earmark and insulate government funding. • Match your mandate to the money model you have. • Seek to complement, not compete…

  43. Not survival for its own sake.. • Public service broadcasting is not synonymous with a state-owned broadcaster… • That would be a circular definition… • Define what is distinctive PBS that can be delivered – and not too diluted.

  44. Define your particular remit • democracy, rights and political debate • Impartial citizenship in elections • marginalised languages • all cultures • children and youth • trans-national “African” spirit • education and development • experimentation & exploring identity.

  45. Seizing the moment • Do a “peer review” exercise to build joint momentum. • Capitalise on Digital Migration costs to promote reform to govts. • Use 2010 for longer-term gains. • Use technology – especially web and cellphones.

  46. Seizing the politics • Utilise political flux to flex muscles and gain some autonomous space. When there’s polarisation, that’s the time to occupy the common ground. • Use the courts (eg. Macra, SABC) • Be responsive to all lobbies and complaints… • Promote media literacy, win the public.

  47. And if you don’t? YOU WILL… • Preside over a declining institution • Be party to discredited content • Disserve your audiences • Betray your historical potential… • Make us all Afro-cynics…

  48. TO SUM UP • Nice theory: let’s keep it! • Not nice practice: change it! • West Africa shows some of the future • Politics of the present very challenging • And to come: many more complications • Way ahead? Reform, define your remit, seize the moments. • Don’t let us down!

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