Media exploring AI use to boost quality and revenue
The African Editors Forum President Churchill Otieno with Kenya Editors Guild President Zubeida Kananu at a past meeting.
What you need to know:
- Prof Nancy Booker, an associate professor and the dean of the Graduate School of Media and Communications at Aga Khan University, stressed the importance of collaboration between academia, industry and innovators to navigate the complexities facing modern journalism.
- “New technologies, new ways of storytelling, new approaches and an evolving audience are pushing us to rethink not just how we tell our stories but also how we sustain journalism and engage with other communities in meaningful ways,” she said.
African editors and publishers are exploring artificial intelligence (AI) models as a way of harnessing the power of technology at a time when the media landscape is changing dramatically.
The Africa Editors Forum (TAEF) president Churchill Otieno said editors and publishers want to improve the quality of journalism by harnessing the vast amounts of data generated across the continent.
The forum, he said, is taking the bold step to “stop the theft of our intellectual property”. He further explained that content generated by the media was being exploited by others—to train AI models and generate ad revenue on social media and search platforms—without any return to the creators.
“African editors and publishers are beginning to unite, forming a collective bargaining front to reclaim what is rightfully ours. Beyond that, the Africa Data Alliance, led by Prof Guy Berger, is exploring how we can harness the enormous amounts of data generated across the continent to benefit our media,” Mr Otieno said on Wednesday.
“Data is not just a commodity, it is a tool for enhancing the quality of our reporting, especially during critical moments like elections. It is also essential for ensuring business resilience by helping us understand audience behaviours and preferences, ensuring that we meet their needs more effectively,” he added.
Speaking during the WAN-IFRA Digital Media Africa Conference 2024 at the Aga Khan University in Nairobi, he said that a time had come when news organizations must invest in research and development.
“We need to find new ways to tell our stories—ways that are engaging, relevant and aligned with how technology is shaping the consumption of information,” he said. He explained that beyond storytelling, research and development are key to understanding the audiences, building stronger relationships with them, and adapting as the news process continues to evolve.
“Without this investment, we risk becoming irrelevant in a world where attention spans are short, and competition for engagement is fierce,” said Mr Otieno.
The conference brings together industry leaders and academics to chart the future of journalism at a time when the industry is grappling with major shifts in revenue models and the growing menace of disinformation.
Prof Nancy Booker, an associate professor and the dean of the Graduate School of Media and Communications at Aga Khan University, stressed the importance of collaboration between academia, industry and innovators to navigate the complexities facing modern journalism.
“New technologies, new ways of storytelling, new approaches and an evolving audience are pushing us to rethink not just how we tell our stories but also how we sustain journalism and engage with other communities in meaningful ways,” she said.
The university’s provost, Dr Tania Bubela, underscored the media’s critical role in democracy, particularly in fostering trust and uniting communities.
“We cannot have functioning democracies without a free press, without a free media, and without the voices that matter being heard,” she said.
