AWiM Conference provides a roadmap for newsrooms

The AWiM 2022 conference provided ample opportunity to address African women’s road to equality so far.

Many of the conversations sought to examine the media landscape both from larger and smaller scales. Key topics such as online harassment, newsroom funding, and editorial relationships are factors that can make or break a story.

South Africa

South African journalist and SABC Foreign Editor Sophie Mokoena reflected on vital lessons learned from earlier in her career.

At the time, discrimination was particularly rife in the news industry and Mokoena realised it wasn’t just her image that was being assessed by colleagues and the public.

“I had to be very strong to represent women well,” she recalled.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela was one of the notable figures that helped to instil confidence in her.

She pointed out feeling heard and respected in conferences and events where her input was valued.

“That gave me some courage that there are people who recognise my skills.”

Though there may be more conversations about African female inclusion, cyber harassment has ushered in a new era of unease. Editors need to be up to the challenge.

“Online there’s a lot of bullying and we’re not prepared for that kind of stuff…the solution is constant training and support. Assure your journalists that you will be there to support them.”

Ethiopia

Ethiopian journalist and founder of  Addis Standard, Tsedale Lemma also brought an oft-overlooked discussion to the panel.

It mainly boiled down to one key question:

What happens when independent media is centralised to one location?

“Journalism is confined pretty much to the capital, Addis Ababa. There’s basically no independent media outside of Addis Ababa,” she said.

When all the country’s stories come from one area, not only may the quality lack range but the pressure could be too much for many journalists.

“One of the things I did when I left the newsroom a year and a half ago is that the journalists coming and the editors have a framework. In countries like Ethiopia where editors can be demanding and journalists are facing so many challenges… it’s one of the dynamics that need to be developed into a delicate balance.”

Stories could also be affected when journalists aren’t given the funding or attention required to let their talent flourish.

“Limited funding reverberates down into the newsroom. You will need to have robust funding for your media. In countries like Ethiopia that remains an issue.”

Lemma also emphasised that safety is a concern, which is why editors should see to that when decision-making. Editors also have to deal with a complex state-media dynamic in countries like Ethiopia.

“Take into account that responsibility between the editors and journalists and their challenges.”