"Africa is beginning to tell its own story"

On a continent hungry for information, the media also have an educational role and help spread democratic values, Ncube told DW. "Unfortunately, many African governments see the media as an enemy and tend to undermine the media’s role to inform and educate." They are particularly uncomfortable with investigative journalism, he said, because it tends to uncover corruption and abuse of power. "Many African governments have enacted undemocratic laws that impinge on freedom of expression and press freedom," Ncube commented.

Trevor Ncube is the deputy executive chairman of the Mail and Guardian in South Africa and chairman of Alpha Media Holdings in Zimbabwe. Ncube will speak at the first plenary session of Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum on the topic "Ratings Versus Quality: Media Caught Between Market Pressure and the Mission to Educate" on Monday, June 25, 2012 in Bonn. His co-panelists include Professor Franz-Josef Radermacher of the University of Ulm and a member of the Club of Rome, and Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Envoy of the Russian President.

"Africa is beginning to tell its own story," Ncube said. "We cannot tell the Western media how they should cover Africa." But he noted that the Western media’s obsession with all manner of negative things "is changing thanks to the many positive stories that are coming out of Africa." Ncube said that the Western media cannot afford to ignore the progress Africa is making without risking their own relevance." Yes, Africa has problems," he said, "but the continent is on the move."

Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum, June 25-27, 2012

The Deutsche Welle Global Media Forum 2012 takes place under the patronage of the German Commission for UNESCO. The conference is co-hosted by the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Sparkasse in Bonn and also supported by Germany's Federal Foreign Office, the European Regional Development Fund, the State Chancellery of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia, the City of Bonn, Deutsche Post DHL, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as well as the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.

Registration

Press representatives can register for free with hendrik.schott@dw.de T. +49.228.429-2148 – or during the conference at the press counter in the WCC Bonn.