Africa Media Sustainability Index 2009 - The Development of Sustainable Independent Media in Africa

The 2009 edition of the Africa Media Sustainability Index (MSI), published by IREX, provides an analysis of the media environment in 40 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa. The basis for this analysis is the opinions of African media professionals and their scores in a standardized questionnaire. As this is the third MSI study of the region, there are now several years of data, enough to draw a meaningful understanding of the development trajectories for the region, and the individual countries studied. 

By "sustainability" IREX refers to the ability of media to play its vital role as the "fourth estate". How sustainable is a media sector in the context of providing the public with useful, timely, and objective information? How well does it serve as a facilitator of public discussion? To measure this, the MSI assesses five "objectives" that shape a media system: freedom of speech, professional journalism, plurality of news, business management, and supporting institutions. 

The objective of the MSI is to allow policymakers and implementers to analyse media systems and determine the areas in which media development assistance can improve citizens’ access to news and information. Armed with knowledge, citizens can help improve the quality of governance through participatory and democratic mechanisms, and help government and civil society actors devise solutions to pervasive issues such as poverty, healthcare, conflict, and education. 

The MSI also seeks to provide important information for the media and media advocates in each country and region. The MSI reflects the expert opinions of media professionals in each country and its results inform the media community, civil society, and governments of the strengths and weaknesses of the sector. IREX continues to encourage professionals in their vital efforts at developing independent and sustainable media in their own countries or, in many cases, preserving alternative voices in the face of repressive governments. 

The results of the 2009 index capture the rapidly changing new media landscape on the continent. According to the report, although new media promise to open new avenues of expression, some governments view the expansion of such technologies as a threat. At one end of the spectrum, South Africa and Tanzania enjoy a relatively high degree of digital freedom. Many other countries, including Eritrea and Ethiopia, heavily monitor, censor and restrict the use of new media tools. Interestingly, many African governments that censor traditional media do not yet restrict the Internet. Perhaps these governments believe it to be unnecessary and instead might be relying on poor access and the prohibitive cost of connecting to dampen the internet's influence. 

As stated in the report, although many scores did not change dramatically in the 2009 edition, serious shifts within the objectives nonetheless reveal significant changes. Although no countries studied in the MSI Africa edition have yet moved into the range of sustainability on the MSI scale (signified by a score between a 3 and a 4), at 2.99, South Africa's 2009 MSI overall score climbed to the brink, strengthening its leadership status in the region and on the continent. At the other end of the spectrum, a handful of countries, including Eritrea, Equatorial Guinea, and Zimbabwe, continue on a severely destructive course. Eritrea continues to receive the lowest scores — the lowest for not only the Africa MSI, but the Middle East and North Africa and the Europe and Eurasia editions, as well.