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Media owners from
across the African continent have vowed to end reliance on donor
funding and rid the industry of corrupt practices. This was made known
at the recently concluded African Media Leaders Forum (AMLF) in
Yaounde, Cameroon.

The purpose of the
meeting was aimed at coming to a consensus around the best ways to
develop African media that meets the needs of a dramatically changing
media landscape, while instilling the highest professional standards
and ethical reporting.

“This is a
watershed moment that holds out the promise of a new dawn in African
media,” said Trevor Ncube, co-chairman of the African Media Initiative
(AMI), a continent-wide body that sponsors the AMLF.

“News businesses
across the world are facing fundamental shifts due to changes in
content, demographic profiles, and technology,” said Amadou Mahtar Ba,
Chief Executive Officer of AMI.

“By bringing
African media owners together, the AMLF hopes to raise the profile of
issues central to development of African media, as well as African
democracy.”

The Yaoundé meeting
focused on critical issues affecting African media, including new
financing tools; easing barriers that impede access to capital;
promoting principled journalism through professional, ethical
reporting; strengthening media’s role in African development, and
curtailing the threats to media freedom that undermine democracy and
limit people’s participation in democratic processes.

“Media can help
accelerate Africa’s economic and social advance,” said Hunter-Gault, an
award winning journalist based in South Africa.

“This meeting comes
at a time when Africa is experiencing sustained economic growth in many
sub-Saharan African countries. Africa needs a strong media to record
these changes and to help its people understand and be a part of what
could finally result in an African Renaissance.”

Attending the meeting were representatives from African financial
institutions that pledged to assist in transforming media institutions
into both viable businesses and effective purveyors of credible news
and information.