According to reports seen by BMA, the Africa Center in New York is collaborating to develop a Global News Media Index alongside Africa No Filter, Media Monitoring Africa, and the University of Cape Town (UCT).
The Media Index will track and analyse how top global media outlets cover Africa by examining how 20 leading global media platforms tell Africa’s stories, the voices heard, and how they are covered.
The Global Media Index is the latest project supported by Africa No Filter and The Africa Center, and it focuses on African media narratives. Herman Wasserman, Professor of Media Studies at UCT’s Centre for Film and Media Studies, Associate Professors Tanja Bosch and Wallace Chuma, and Dr Meli Ncube will lead the research with William Bird from Media Monitoring Africa.
The research will employ various techniques, such as content analysis, institutional analysis, and interviews with journalists working for global media outlets. The goal is to identify the prevalent themes, narratives, and journalistic methods that shape Africa’s image. For example, reports from throughout the world are frequently chastised for portraying Africa through the lenses of sickness, poverty, conflict, corruption, and poor leadership.
“Very few institutions are as powerful as the global news media,” Moky Makura, Executive Director of Africa No Filter, commented on the planned project. As storytellers to millions of people, the news media define policy agendas, frame the political discussion, and shape worldwide public perceptions. The Global Media Index is part of our watchdog role, and it’s meant to show what’s great in Africa reporting rather than what’s wrong.”
The Africa Center’s CEO, Uzodinma Iweala, described the Index as “essential and timely.” “If we are to transform narratives about Africa and its Diaspora to make them more representative and reflective, we must first understand what those narratives are and where they reside. This Index is a positive step forward. It will contribute to the development of a new qualitative and quantitative approach to understanding how journalists cover Africa and its people, as well as where their messages resonate most in the international media landscape,” he said.
