Media mogul and former journalist Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard has urged African media outlets to improve on the quality of their content because of the change in media consumption patterns among Africans.
Speaking at a public lecture held at the University of Zambia (UNZA) themed “International Media Investment in Africa: is it Good News for the Continent?”, the Franco-Gabonese founder of APO Group explained that in some African countries such as Nigeria, around 50% of media consumers are now more than ever opting to get their news from international news agencies than local ones.
Pompigne-Mognard said this was probably because Africans prefer original to copy and most African media outlets have started copying from the west.
“There are some African journalists who copy the way journalists from the West speak. I think this is because the Africans undermine themselves and this should stop. I believe they can also produce good content that can compete on the global media scene,” he said.
When asked by an attendee concerning the presence of international media outlets in African countries, the media mogul said African media needs African journalists to produce local content, and currently, international media outlets have started setting up offices in Africa thus producing the content.
“Some media outlets such as the Cable Network News (CNN) have subsidiaries in Africa and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) set up its largest office outside the United Kingdom (UK) in Nairobi, Kenya,” he added.
Pompigne- Mognard also explained why the international media outlets are setting up branches and news bureaus in countries such as Kenya and South Africa but not Zambia, which, he said he attributed to their having more talent and favourable infrastructure.
APO Group is a media relations consultancy firm with offices across Africa and the Middle East.