Africanews coming in 2015
THE CHANNEL
|
MEDIA MARKETS
Michael Peters, CEO of
Euronews S.A., and Jean
Obambi, Managing Director of
Télé Congo, have signed a
cooperation agreement for the
launch of a pan-African news
channel to be known as
Africanews.
The partnership will lead to
the creation in 2015 of a bilingual
news channel in French and
English, to be followed by other
major languages of the continent
(Portuguese, Arabic, Swahili,
etc.). The headquarters will be in
Brazzaville and regional offices
will be set up across the
continent.
The International News Safety
Institute, which celebrated its
10th anniversary last May,
recorded 126 journalists and
other media workers killed in 29
countries in 2013. The death toll
is down by 17% compared to the
previous year, however the
number of journalists assaulted,
threatened and kidnapped
appears to be increasing at a
concerning rate.
Syria and Pakistan retained
their position among the world’s
five most dangerous countries for
journalists. India, the Philippines
and Iraq are also in the top five.
Of the 19 journalists killed in
Syria, most were local journalists
targeted by either the authorities,
pro-government or rebel groups,
or killed by shelling or in crossfire.
Abductions among both local
and foreign news media
increased; as a result many
international news organisations
are now not sending their teams
to cover the conflict.
In the Philippines, nine of the
13 journalists killed were
murdered by unknown assailants,
and so far their killers have
enjoyed total impunity.
In India, seven journalists were
murdered, and nobody has been
brought to justice. Iraq was the
06
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ISSUE 1 2014
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THE CHANNEL
Financed by advertising,
Africanews will adhere to the
same editorial charter as
Euronews, guaranteeing its
independence. The two networks
will share their news, creating a
synergy that will give Africa “its
rightful place in the world of news
and give the world the latest
news from the continent.” Africa
specialist Stephen Smith is
working with Euronews on all
phases of building the Africanews
channel.
Euronews celebrated its 20th
anniversary in 2013 and was the
first European media to become
available on Google Glass. This
year Euronews will move its HQ
to Confluence in the centre of
Lyon, France.
Most dangerous: Syria,
India and the Philippines
Arab FM
radio
Research by Arab Advisors Group
has revealed that 246 local
government-owned FM radio
stations broadcast in 18 Arab
countries by August 2013, while
the number of private radio
stations stood at 220. The report
also analysed seven regional
radio stations that broadcast on
FM frequencies in multiple
countries.
Liberalisation in several Arab
countries was a key factor for the
growth in private FM stations.
Out of the 18 countries covered
in the report, three do not allow
private radio: Qatar, UAE, and
Yemen. In 2011, Mauritania and
Algeria allowed the licensing of
private radio stations, by August
2013, Algeria had still not
launched any such stations,
while Mauritania had launched
three.
The need to broadcast in
multiple languages to cater for
expatriates enhances the
number of FM radio stations
even in countries where private
FM radio stations do not exist.
The UAE is a clear example of
this as it hosts FM radio stations
that broadcast in Arabic, English,
Malayalam, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil,
and Persian.
Taking a snapshot (August
2013) of all the analysed Arab
countries, Iraq led with the total
number of radio stations (69), as
well as private-owned radio
stations, followed by Palestine
with 60 FM radio stations.
Algeria, on the other hand, had
the highest number of state-
owned radio stations (56),
followed by the UAE with 37
state-owned radio stations.
fourth most dangerous country
for journalists, with 11 members
of the news media killed - 10
murdered by unknown armed
groups.
Pakistan remains in the top
five most dangerous countries
for journalists, where bombings
and targeted killings are
common. One of the biggest
risks for journalists there is
being caught up in secondary
blasts.
The most dangerous countries
in 2013 and number of journalists
killed: Syria 19; India 12;
Philippines 13; Iraq 11; Pakistan
9; Somalia 8; Egypt 6; Brazil 6.
