Nairobi (Kenya) Sept.20 (ANI): The African media environment has received a shot in the arm with the launch of A24 Media's online content delivery site, which is designed to bring the African voice to a global audience hungry for an authentic perspective on African issues.
"A vision that started three long years ago is finally coming to reality. A24 Media will change the face of journalism in Africa and will truly give us Africans control over our stories," said Salim Amin, the chairman of A24 Media at Thursday's glittering launch event in Nairobi. Over 100 top media executives and journalists attended the event.
A24 Media is Africa's first online delivery site for material from journalists, African broadcasters and NGO's from around the Continent. The organization says that it is committed to building the capacity of reporters and photographers to compete globally for share of voice for African issues and is thus solely structured with the journalist's needs in mind.
Content generators will send their material to the main office in Nairobi where it will be verified and re-edited as necessary to create a slick, marketable and branded story. The stories will be checked and verified for balanced, accurate and independent content, and will be of the very highest technical and journalistic quality. Feedback will also be provided to the contributor in order to promote a culture of journalistic excellence.
The content will then be marketed to broadcasters around the globe through a compelling and easily navigable website developed to enable broadcasters to view and purchase high-quality video for broadcast on their TV channels.
Access to local content has traditionally been a barrier for broadcasters seeking to provide an authentic African perspective on issues affecting the continent.
A24 Media has opted to redefine the media landscape in Africa for the first time putting the contributor in control.
The revenue will be split on a 60:40 basis in favour of the contributor and most importantly the contributor will continue to own the copyright of the original footage.
This focus on safeguarding the intellectual property of the contributor and compensating journalists fairly for their work marks a welcome break with past practices which often exploited local journalists.
A24 Media has recruited a heavyweight editorial Advisory Board comprised of leading journalists and broadcasters who have set the news agenda around the world. Chris Cramer, Chairman of the A24 Media Editorial Advisory Board, lauded the initiative for providing a long awaited platform for the African media, noting "A24 will give Africa its own voice for the first time and will empower the continent's journalists to tell their stories to the world."
John Owen, a fellow member of the Advisory Board, highlighted the vision of A24 Media to inspire audiences about African stories: At long last a truly pan-African news agency that exists to commission the stories about Africa that inspire rather than horrify and most importantly to pay African journalists fairly for their work. It's a tribute to Salim, Asif and others at A24 Media who have made the dream a reality. I am proud to be associated with this history-making project". (ANI)
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