Digital rights and freedoms were not on the table as an issue when the crafters of the Windhoek Declaration articulated their aspirations for a free, independent and pluralistic media in Africa 30 years ago. But the penetration of new technologies and the reliance on digital forms of information and entertainment in Africa is undeniable. What are the current concerns and challenges, and what does the future hold? Our panelists discuss this and more as they reflect on the evolution of media in the past 30 years.

#WHK30: Big Tech, social media, rights and freedoms - defending Africa’s needs and interests

In part 1 of this #FreeSpeak podcast we looked at the issue of artificial intelligence and its impact on journalism, and in a conversation with Mattia Peretti, of the LSE’s Polis project JournalismAI, we focused on the rollout of AI in newsrooms, and what this concept really means. We stopped short of looking at practical ways in which media owners and managers are currently exploring the potential of this tool in enabling the work of journalists. So, in this episode of the two-part podcast our #FreeSpeak host, Gwen Lister, chats to Styli Charalambous, who’s been an innovator since he co-founded the Daily Maverick in South Africa in 2009.

S2 #3: Part 2 - Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Journalism.

#FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister talks to Joseph Ailonga (Jossy Joss) Broadcast Manager at The Namibian and Tangeni Amupadhi Editor of The Namibian newspaper, about the newspaper’s exciting initiative to branch out into radio. The Namibian is about to launch its new venture, Desert Radio, as part of its multimedia offering. They reflect on the media’s struggle for sustainability in a time when audiences have been captured by the digital space, on pushing a multimedia newsroom and, most importantly, on how to sustain good journalism.

S2 #4: The Namibian newspaper on a roll with Desert Radio.

Access to information (ATI) is a topical issue. We’ve just celebrated the International Day for Universal Access to Information, and there’s finally an ATI Bill before Parliament years after the Action Namibia Coalition and others started work on the project with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) in 2016. So, there’s light at the end of the tunnel as it is set to become law. The Covid pandemic however has given even more impetus to the necessity of such access on the part of both citizens and journalists alike, given the predominance of disinformation around Covid measures in general and vaccines in particular. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister chats with Frederico Links, the chairperson of the Coalition, about the urgency of an ATI law in the prevailing circumstances.

S2 #5: Access to Information – Lessons from the Covid era.

Great journalism needs good journalists.  Few would argue with this statement. The media world is currently preoccupied with the challenge of sustaining good journalism and the Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD) is no exception. GFMD is an international network of journalism support and media development organisations intent on securing a sustainable future for journalism as a public good. For this to be realised, training excellence, newsroom diversity and the strong presence of women in the sector, are a given. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister discusses this and more with the director of the Namibia Media Trust and first African chairperson of the GFMD, Zoé Titus.

S2 #6: Securing a sustainable future for journalism as a public good.

On November 2 we join the rest of the world to commemorate the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists (IDEI) - an important day for press freedom. More specifically to focus on the safety of journalists, who need an enabling environment – and not a climate of fear – in order to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Mozambique is one of the countries in which attacks on journalists has become commonplace. #LetsTakeAMoment to unpack this issue with #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister and Editor of Mozambique’s leading weekly newspaper, Fernando Goncalves.

S2 #7: Don’t shoot the messenger - #JournalismIsNotACrime

Do young people trust the media? And why do Africans seem to care less about freedoms now than they did a decade ago? Youthful Ndapwa Alweendo, freelance writer and editor, and Omar van Reneen, a civil rights activist & co-founder of Equal Namibia, explore concerns of declining levels of trust in the media with our #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister.

S2 #8: Trust and the Media

Today we take you back to what was #FreeSpeak’s first vodcast on the #Fishrot scandal. Our host Gwen Lister spoke with Shinovene Immanuel, head of the investigative desk at The Namibian newspaper and Helgi Seljan, investigative reporter of Icelandic National Broadcasting Corporation just as the scandal was beginning to erupt in 2019.

S2 #9: #Fishrot – How it all started.

Building on more than a century of its history, radio remains one of the most trusted and widely used media. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister unpacks the importance of radio with Norah Appolus, a seasoned journalist with more than 40 years' experience in the broadcasting industry, and shining light in the Namibian broadcasting landscape David Bishop, Head of news at Future Media.

S3 #1: World Radio Day 2022 - Radio and Trust.

Our #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister connects via Zoom with JJ Omojuwa, Chief Strategist at Alpha Reach to discuss the controversial topic of social media influencers and what this may mean for journalism and access to information, especially in the African context. Omojuwa is a Nigerian blogger author, public speaker, political commentator and a verified social media expert with over a million followers on Twitter.

S3 #2: The influencer phenomenon – Its impact on social media and journalism.

Gregory Gondwe is director of the Platform for Investigative Journalism (PIJ), and has already paid a price for exposing corruption. In this podcast, FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister, digs deep with Gondwe into the scourge of corruption, the state of journalism, the broader political landscape in Malawi and the future of democracy.

S3 #3: Caught in the crosshairs of Power, Politics & Corruption: Journalism in Malawi

Online platforms have given people voice they never had before the onset of the digital era, and while these fora are sometimes used as an an amplifier of progressive views opposed to racism and injustice, among others, they also serve as a platform for hate speech and insult. Gwen Lister and Dr. Admire Mare discuss these issues in the context of the #BlackLivesMatter and #GallowsMustFall campaigns.

S1 #13 FreeSpeak (Part 1): Free Speech vs Hate Speech, Racism and Insult & the Role of Social Media

What can be done when public trust in media is severely eroded and what are the consequences for democracy? It seems this worryingly negative trend across the continent in recent years may currently be in reverse but it’s too early to celebrate yet because of very complex African attitudes to freedoms, notably press freedom. This, according to findings of Afrobarometer, a Pan African series of national public attitude surveys on democracy, governance and society. #FreeSpeak host Gwen Lister sits down with researcher Christie Keulder to shed light on these issues. Keulder heads the Survey Warehouse which conducts the Namibia assessment of the Afrobarometer.

S1 #15 FreeSpeak: Public perceptions about media... do they matter and are we listening?

The Namibia Media Trust, publisher of The Namibian newspaper, promotes free speech, access to information & excellence in journalism in Namibia & beyond its borders. Here we tackle all things media .... #PressFreedom #FreedomOfExpression #JournalismSafety #MediaEthics

FreeSpeak

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks