TECHNOLOGY
AND NEW MEDIA
As Internet provides new avenues for
free expression in Africa, Freedom Forum
panelists discuss new media in Johannesburg
By JERELYN EDDINGS "Needless to say, African dictators everywhere
have outlawed everything associated with the
Internet today &emdash; free press, free radio,
free television, free postal service," Kadhi said.
He noted that "all this for a very long time has
been either outlawed or rigidly
controlled.""Miraculously," he added, "all these
means of communication are combined in an Internet
and have now been placed on the doorsteps of the
people of Africa," giving Africans access to a
global society. Kadhi, a professor at the University of Nairobi
and former editor of Kenya's Daily Nation
newspaper, spoke on September 3, 1999 at a
technology workshop on "New Media and the Internet
in Africa," held at The Freedom Forum African
Center in Johannesburg. Kadhi said there are
constant attempts by repressive governments to
control access to the Internet as a way of
continuing to control freedom of expression.
Despite those attempts, he said, African newspapers
can be read online by people all over the
world. He called the Internet "the new hope for
Africa." His only major concern was that commercial
considerations might overshadow the free-expression
role of the Internet. Other speakers included Stephen C. Miller,
assistant technology editor at The New York Times;
Jai Singh, editor of CNET News.com; Tanya Accone,
online editor of The Sunday Times in Johannesburg;
and Adam Clayton Powell III, Freedom Forum vice
president, technology and programs. In South
Africa, where press freedom is guaranteed by the
constitution and where Internet use has been
growing for years, there has been a "maturing of
the new media," said Accone. "The user base is more
sophisticated and more critical of what is
available." South Africa has more Internet users than any
other African country. Still, "at the moment it's a
medium of the few. We're trying to turn it into a
medium for many," she said. Miller said the
Internet was a treasure trove of information but he
cautioned journalists not to place too much faith
in the information generated by computers. "Just
because it's digital doesn't mean it's true, so
bring a healthy dose of skepticism to how you view
information on the Web."He suggested that
journalists view online sources with the same
skepticism they would have for other sources.
"Those people are no different than the ones we
interview in person or over the phone." Singh said the Internet presented new issues of
standards and ethics for journalists, but
"ultimately your personal ethics come into play."
He said a major issue was how to find credible
information on the Internet, where vast amounts of
unsubstantiated information are available. Readers
are generally smart and discerning enough, Singh
said, to recognize good journalism when it was
being consistently provided. Powell said the
Internet was changing everything from the way
people listen to the radio to the way they do their
jobs. There are 1,700 radio stations available live
over the Internet, he said, citing the example of a
Washington radio station, WTOP-AM, that has more
listeners over the Internet than over regular
radio. WTOP's on line audience is larger than its
FM audience -- but smaller than its audience on the
AM band. That is still quite a startling
development, and completely unexpected at the
station "People sit at their work stations and
listen to the radio live on their computers," he
said.
This report is copyrighted by free!, The
Freedom Forum web site www.freedomforum.org
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa &emdash; The
Internet has opened new avenues of expression in
African countries where dictators have
traditionally suppressed information and free
speech, according to Kenyan journalism professor
Joe S.M. Kadhi.
Eddings is an executive at the African Center of
The Freedom Forum.
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