Inmaintainingsustainablecooperation,however,itisundeniablethattobetterbenefitfromit,thetwopartnercountriesneedtoestablishmutualtrust,especiallyastheyhavedifferentcultures.Toassistwiththis,mediahaveanimportantroletoplayindeepeningthefriendshipandpartnershipbetweenChinaandAfrica.
Afterayear’sstayinBeijing,M.ModouMamouneFaye,formerheadoftheeditorialboardoftheSenegalesedailyLeSoleil,saidheadmiresChinesemedia,whichhasdiversifieditself,anticipatingthecrisisinwhichmanyWesternmediaoutletsarenowboggeddowninasaresultoffiercecompetitionfromtheInternetandsocialmedianetworks.Thislucrativediversificationstrategyhasallowedthemtofinanciallystrengthentheiroperations.
Faye’sstayinBeijingwasmadepossiblethankstooneofChina’scooperationprograms,whichenabledadozenseniorAfricanjournaliststoundergoaformativestayinthecountry.Twoyearslater,AlyDiouf,alsofromLeSoleil,benefitedfromthesameexperience.TheAfricanjournalistswhospenttimeinChinareturnedhomewithadifferentunderstandingandamoreobjectiveviewontherealitiesofthecountry,whichoftenreceivesnegativepublicityinWesternmedia.
Seeingisbelieving
TheexperiencesoftheSenegalesejournalistsinChinaallowedthemtocloselyfollowhowrelationsbetweenChinaandAfricancountriesareevolving.ThetradevolumebetweenthetwohasexperiencedanextraordinaryboomthankstokeyandhugeChineseinvestmentsparticularlyintheinfrastructuresector.TheincreaseinChineseinvestmentsinAfricahasnotescapedthecriticismoftheWesternmedia,relayingthewordsofEuropeanandAmericanleadersapparentlyworriedabouttheriseofthisdynamicnewcooperation.
SomeWesternanalystsevenwentasfarasaccusingChinaofrecolonizingAfrica.TheWesternmediahasbecomethemouthpieceoftheseattacks,forgettingthatcooperationbetweenChinaandAfricahasledtoachievementsthatthecontinenthasnotbeenabletoachieveforover50yearswhileworkingwithEuropeandtheUnitedStates.Tobeconvincedofthis,oneonlyhastotakealookathowChinaiscoveredintheWesternmedia.
InChina,themediaismainlyownedbythestate.Therefore,theglobalcrisisaffectingthemediadoesnothavemucheffectonthem.Thankstoimportanteconomiesofscale,thecirculationofChinesenewspapersusuallyexceeds1millioncopies,generatingsizeablerevenuesfromadvertising.Thisisapartfromtheadditionalresourcesderivedfromthediversificationpoliciesstartedadecadeago.
Ontheotherhand,Westernmediaaremainlyownedbylargefinancialorindustrialgroupsandareexperiencingasharpcrisisinthefaceofincreasinglyfiercecompetitiononthepartofsocialmedia.InAfrica,foritspart,mediacompaniesareoftenentitiesrunbyformerjournalistsconvertedintomediaowners.Themoststablemediaarestate-ownedenterprises,partiallyfinancedbypublicresources.
ToovercometheglobalmediacrisisthatonlytheChinesemediaseemstohavebeenabletoavoid,itisnecessarytoimagineandimplementapragmaticcooperationprogramtoassistAfrica’smediahouses.Sincetheearly1990s,theyhaveplayedagreaterroleintheconsolidationofdemocracy,thestrengtheningoffreedomsandthepromotionofeconomicdevelopmentonthecontinent.
Optionstoexplore
Unfortunately,inAfrica,thesmallsizeofprintmediacompaniesandtheiroverabundanceineachcountryarenotconduciveforaconsistentpolicyinsupportofthemedia.AnycooperationwithChinainthemediasectormust,therefore,takethisintoaccount.Operatinginasectorthatisoverlycompetitive,withaweakreadershipandanadvertisingmarketthatfavorsotherformsofcommunicationmedia,ChinaandAfrica,especiallySenegal,shouldfindanewmediacooperationdimension.
Infact,cooperationshouldfocusonseveralpoints:sharingofcontentsbetweenmedia,organizingstudytoursofAfricanmediaownersandjournalistsinChina,strengtheningthestatusofforeigncorrespondentswithaworkperiodofatleastthreeyearsinBeijing,andinvestinginyoungAfricanmediacompaniesorsettingupdedicatedfinancingsupportcooperation.Todate,ChinahasdonatedcomputerhardwaretoAfricanmediasuchasLeSoleilandfacilitatedvisitsofmediadelegationsinbothcountries.
Asforcontentsharing,ElHadjHamidouKassé,MinisterinchargeofcommunicationsattheSenegalesePresidency,hasmadeaneloquentplea.DuringaseminarorganizedlastyearinSalyPortudal,aseasideresortsouthofDakar,bytheChineseEmbassyinSenegal,heargued,“ContentsharingshouldfeatureprominentlyinthecooperationbetweenChineseandSenegalesemedia.”Kassésaidthatthisapproachwillstrengthenmutualunderstandingandtrustand“promotevaluesoffriendship,opennessandsolidaritybetweenthetwocountries.”
Today,thepartnershipmustfindanewdimension,arelevantdynamismandfurtheroptionstoexplore.Already,theFrenchmonthlyCHINAFRIQUEhasspearheadedanewformofpartnershipwithLeSoleilbyprintingitsmagazineinSenegal.Itisamutuallybeneficialexperience,muchsimilartotheonemadebyitsEnglishedition,ChinAfrica,inSouthAfrica.
Inaworldinperpetualchange,itiscriticalfortheAfricanmediatofollowtheexampleofthehighlyprofitableChinesemodel,whichhasbeenabletomodernizeandadapttoadifficultenvironment.Toadaptortodisappear,thisisthelessontobelearnedfromChina’smediamodel.
**Theauthorisaneconomist,journalistandformerheadoftheSenegalesedailyLeSoleil
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