Keys to the future of media

The proliferation of mobile phones and connectivity in Africa creates both opportunities and challenges in the way information is accessed and used by citizens. If people have the necessary skills and knowledge, open data and new technologies hold the key to the future of media.

Code for Africa is the continent’s largest network of civic technology and open data labs. We work with media partners to create actionable information that helps citizens in their daily lives. From checking if their doctor is brave to seeing if they’re registered to vote, Africa Code for Africa’s tools are used in dozens of countries to empower people.

How can technology be used to further democratize access to information and news across Africa in the coming years? Below are a few things that experts predict.

Drones

Dickens Olewe of African skyCAM It was inspired when British filmmaker Danny Cook shared aerial footage online of Pripyat, a town in Kenya that was damaged by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Cook used a $1,500 drone camera for this project 18 months ago. Since then, African skyCAM has covered a number of stories, including floods, political demonstrations and marathons. They are also looking at the development of 3D models using drone footage and have created a 3D model of a landfill in Nairobi, giving users an interactive experience with physical properties.

Expensive helicopters have become a cheaper alternative when airplanes are needed for aerial photography. The agility of off-the-shelf “copters” means they can be deployed to investigate historical details that would otherwise be inaccessible.

The biggest challenge for civic drone use is regulation. Several African governments have issued decrees banning civil movement, citing threats to security and privacy. In January 2015, the Kenyan government published a notice banning the use of drones. Uganda and Morocco have similar provisions.

South Africa is now one of the world leaders in progressive drone control.

However, South Africa’s approach helps to reverse this copycat reaction. Like other countries, it has also banned drones. But while the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACCA) has expressed concerns about drones interfering with commercial aircraft, it has acknowledged there are viable civic services. SACCA has pledged to engage the industry and published new regulations in May 2015. South Africa is now one of the world leaders in progressive drone regulation and Kenya’s civil aviation authority has indicated it is considering reversing the ban.

In order to ensure the future of drone journalism in Africa, there is a need to collaborate with other industries that have a professional interest in the technology and jointly negotiate a friendly regulation.

Mobile phones

Kathryn Gicheru, ICFJ Knight’s International Journalism Fellow at Code for Kenya, said that computer ownership and use in her country is growing relatively slowly, adding that people are more likely to use computers than to use them.

However, there has been a significant increase in mobile phone ownership – As of September 2015, 88.1% penetration is known. In the same quarter, an estimated 31.9 million Kenyans are internet users, meaning 74.2% of the population now has access to online services.

The development of new media and technology has changed the way journalists work and how they access and produce information. Gicheru pointed out that the business of news is increasingly becoming a dialogue between news providers and information receivers.

Citizens now have more control over how and when they receive information and can respond and engage with it if they choose. Audience participation, whether through mobile phones or social media, has created a culture in which many people view media freedom broadly. The anonymity offered by these platforms means that ideas and information can be shared widely and quickly with many people, but these same innovations also create opportunities for the widespread use of information, which is difficult to generate.

Threats to media freedom

Mr. Jicheru warned of new threats to media freedom arising from these technologies. Mobile phone companies are obliged to hand over mobile phone records when subpoenaed by a court, presenting journalists with the challenge of keeping their sources confidential.

Kenya’s 2014 Security Laws Amendment Act, which weakens protections and restricts the scope and powers of the police as well as national security agencies to monitor and intercept communications, limits media freedom. Importantly, it limits citizens’ ability to cite and question government failures. Hacking forums like Code for Africa’s Afrileaks play host to both citizens and journalists sharing stories and tips.

Digital technologies have enabled journalists to be creative, ethical and inclusive, and to work collaboratively to solve problems and improve lives. The Gottovot platform, which Gicheru cited as an example, not only provides citizens with information on elections that were not easily accessible before, but also provides journalists with information that adds variety and depth to their reports.

As more journalists develop the skills to analyze, synthesize, and interpret the vast amounts of statistical data available on the Internet, the value of these tools will become increasingly apparent.

Data for health

According to Temi Adeoye, ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellow at Code for Nigeria, There is a great need for affordable healthcare in Nigeria’s poorly funded, understaffed and under-equipped health sector. This has led to many – especially the poor and vulnerable – falling into the hands of people unqualified to treat them, also known as quacks. The effect of pollution is very serious. The cost includes human frustration, health problems and in some cases unnecessary death.

Public medical institutions in Nigeria are not immune to this cancer. The complicity and culpable negligence of employers in the Public Health Service Commissions paves the way for quacks to infiltrate the system. Even when they are found guilty, punishment is rare.

When the authorities struggle and the judiciary fails, Adeoye said, vulnerable citizens die. So Code for Nigeria, West Africa’s largest online news outfit, has partnered with Sahara Reporters to develop an app called Dodgy Doctors, using information from the official Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to help citizens quickly verify that their doctor is properly registered. They just type in the doctor’s name and the service cuts through the MDNC Master Record.

Other apps include Hospital Finder and Drug Pricing, which help people reduce the time it takes to find nearby health facilities and check how much the government expects them to pay for drugs.

Such data-driven tools are changing how media affects our lives. It is not enough to talk about what is wrong with our world; Media should provide citizens with simple, practical and easy-to-use tools to solve their own problems.

*Published by the Media Institute of South Africa, Africa’s Free Press is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. Based on the work of whk25.misa.org.