By Jeremiah Nutsugah
The Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Prof. Amin Alhassan, says that to sustain local media, it is crucial for African governments all across Africa to ensure that they stand with local media and find ways to secure their economic stability.
According to him, “this will enable the production and broadcast of African content for African audiences, fostering a richer dialogue and cultural exchange on the continent.”
He said this on the second day of the 3rd Media Convention on May 16, 2024, in Accra, highlighting that even in an era of media liberalisation across Africa, there is still a significant gap in the production and dissemination of local stories by Western media outlets.
The theme of the event was “Enhancing Freedom and Environmental Sustainability in a Dynamic Media Landscape”.
Prof Alhassan also underscored the importance of having a local media landscape.
“Content production is very expensive. Without a sustainable model to finance it, our communication channels will be dominated by content from Chinese, British, and German media, resulting in a media landscape that is largely European and Chinese.”
He added, “Today, media giants like RT from Russia, CNT from China, the BBC, and others are signing agreements to measure and distribute media content across Africa. This happens because local media lacks the financial resources to produce sufficient content for airtime.”
Prof. Amin argued that the media, while an institution of democracy, is fundamentally a business. He urged lawmakers to recognise that media organisations are being challenged by technological changes and that this issue requires national-level discussions across Africa.
He pointed out that countries like Canada and Australia have enacted legislation to regulate big tech platforms and ensure funding for local media. He suggested that African governments should adopt similar measures.