Demand for Science Reporting Growing in Africa
November 27, 2012
I’m sitting in the central newsroom at Canal 2 International television in Cameroon’s largest city Douala.
Flanking me around a large oval table are 20 journalists cataloguing the private broadcaster’s news menu for the day…
The arguments are intense. Such vigorous debates over which stories should be in the line-up are becoming more and more common.
Only a few years ago, there would have been a consensus to put the science report at the tail end of the day’s newscast. Back then, editors complained the stories were simply not sexy, and far too abstract to interest the audience.
But observers say they’re noticing the dawn of a new era for science journalism on the continent. Reports on climate change, epidemics, research and innovation are increasingly competing for headline space with politics and sports.
Kejang Henry Atembeh, an editor at Canal 2 International in Cameroon, said "stories about politics have become boring to a lot of people. They do not see much change happening and so are just fed up. The same sit-tight leaders are still in power, corruption and bad governance continue all across the continent."
Kejang said viewers are asking for more science stories, which are consequently getting more media attention.
"Take the recent floods across West Africa, " he said, "people are keen on knowing why it happened and how they could prevent a recurrence in the future. Farmers want to hear about research findings that enable them grow better-yielding crops. People are excited about medical breakthroughs announcing new drugs against malaria. Others want to hear about the latest cellphone technology and so on."
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