Media Sustainability Index Documents Challenges Facing African Media

IREX unveiled the inaugural edition of the Media Sustainability Index (MSI) for Africa in June, with presentations at both the Canadian International Development Agency in Ottawa and the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington. Covering 37 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the MSI represents the most comprehensive study of African media in one source. Building on the previous successes of the MSI, the Africa edition combines quantitative scores with a qualitative chapter for each country, written from the perspective of local media professionals. The results of the study highlight both regional themes and the individual nature of each country’s media sector.

Africa presented a logical choice for expanding the geographical coverage of the MSI. Many countries there have a diverse, established media sector that has played an important role in civil society for a decade or more. As many countries opened up politically in the 1990s, so too did the media sector. However, several other countries maintain less open societies, including severe restrictions on the media sector. Studying the media in these countries using the MSI methodology afforded an in-depth view into the varying state of the media throughout Africa.

The MSI was created by IREX in 2000 as a tool to assess the state of media in any country. The MSI considers all the factors that contribute to a media system—the quality of journalism, effectiveness of management, the legal environment supporting freedom of the press, and more—to arrive at rankings on a scale of 0 to 4. These scores represent the strength of the media sector components and can be analyzed over time to chart progress (or regression) within a country. Countries or regions also may be compared to one another. The MSI was first used in 2001 to study 20 countries in Europe and Eurasia. In 2005, 18 countries in the Middle East were added. In 2008 more than 80 countries will be included.

The Africa MSI was funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, The World Bank Institute, and USAID. IREX engaged 10 African partner organizations to prepare the study. Funders of the other studies have included USAID, the US State Department’s Middle East Partnership Initiative, and UNESCO.

The Africa study revealed some common findings across countries, such as a relationship between professional journalism and the financial and managerial footing of media outlets. In particular, a lack of financial strength at media outlets results in low (and sometimes no) pay for journalists, in turn resulting in news and information that is vulnerable to, and indeed often strongly influenced by, political or business interests. The MSI detailed pressures on the media in every country, from subtle political coercion to outright violence and severe prosecutions.

The Africa study also resulted in a new high score for MSI countries, South Africa, but also a new low, Eritrea. Benin, a country that has received high marks for its political development in general, and media freedom in particular, also received relatively strong scores from the MSI participants. However, they pointed to a number of outstanding legal and other issues that continue to hinder media development there.

In addition to providing a wealth of information to donors and others seeking to develop or otherwise engage the media in Africa, the results of the MSI will be used for advocacy purposes to help improve the legal, professional, and business environments that the media operate in. IREX is engaging local organizations to share the results of the MSI and use them to identify possibilities for, and achieve, positive reforms. The 2008 study will provide a second set of results that will help guide this process as trends of progress or regression in African media become apparent. An electronic copy of the Africa MSI is now available on IREX’s website. If you are interested in a hard copy, please contact msi@irex.org.