Where is Africa in Diageo journalists’ awards?

Nigerian comedians used to joke about a particular Nigerian TV station that would rather report, for instance, the crisis in Syria from London or its New York base. What type of news would a viewer receive from such TV station compared with the reporter that is on ground in Syria?

This is symptomatic of the Diageo recent Africa Business Reporting Awards, where Europeans were adjudged to have known, recognised and told African stories better than Africans.

From many facets, Europe attempts to demonstrate supremacy over the African continent. Efforts by the continent to show ‘it has arrived’ (emancipated) is always ‘resisted’ by one form of undertone strategy or another.

It has also become obvious that European institutions have internalised this strategy to construct and make Africans’ sense of identity seen from European mirror. European and Western media portray Africa in the colour that suits their desires. Some see Africa as one country, poverty stricken continent, war-torn continent, undemocratic, and recently emerging market. The shape of Africa and its stories are told by them, believed by them and spread to the world.

For instance, on FIFA rankings, African nations are ranked with methodology that is not clear to some African football lovers, but they ‘accept’ it, on the concept that FIFA has its ‘methods.’ Even when Nigeria won the 2013 African Cup of Nations and should be number one in Africa, but it is placed fifth, but Spain lost the Confederation Cup and it is still number one on the ranking because it won the last World Cup.

At the 2013 Diageo journalists’ award held recently in London, most of the winners adjudged to have successfully told African story came from Europe. The company is perhaps only stamping the European belief that Europeans are in the right position to shape and tell African stories better.

Winners from the 10 categories came mainly from the UK. The 2013 winners of the Diageo Africa Business Reporting Awards are: Best Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Feature was won by Fiona Graham (BBC, UK); Best Finance Feature by trio of Ola Omoyele, Tunde Akodu, and Olu Omoyele (ACM Insight, Nigeria); Best Infrastructure Feature won by Adam Green (This is Africa, UK); Best Agribusiness/Environment Feature by Thomas Naadi Bitegma (ETV Ghana, Ghana); Best Tourism Feature clinched by Anthony Akaeze (Broad Street Journal, Nigeria); Best Business News Story by Tom Burgis, Helen Thomas and Misha Glenny (The Financial Times, UK); Best Business Feature won by William Wallis (The Financial Times, UK); Best Newcomer Category won by Sherelle Jacobs (African Business, UK); Media Of The Year by African Business (UK), and Journalist Of The Year won by Matthew Davies (BBC, UK).

In 2003, Diageo instituted Africa Business Reporting Awards to recognise journalists and editors who provide high quality coverage of the business environment in Africa. The awards recognise the fact that better business journalism plays an important role in Africa’s investment flows and generates more business interest on the continent.

In some circles, it is believed that if the award is Africa centred, it should then follow the line of other awards such as CNN/MultiChoice award instituted to encourage, promote and recognise excellence in African journalism. It should revolve around journalists who live, write and practice journalism in Africa, instead of giving awards to possibly Chinese, Australian, British and other nationals who reside in their far away continents and imagine business stories on Africa.

The Diageo panellists said they look for overall excellence in business journalism within a framework of insight and integrity. Analysts say it is also significant to allow African journalists to tell their own stories instead of letting people who know little about them tell their stories. Through that, they will deepen themselves by going for the “groundbreaking journalism that provides excellent analysis and clarity of the business climate and content supported by investigative research that has ‘gone the extra mile’ that were hitherto not told.

Some analysts, especially brand experts, may say that personal branding stories are better from a third party, but it is important that Africa in this regard leads in shaping and branding of themselves as it would amount to mortification to give awards to non-natives adjudged to have told African stories better than Africans would have told it.

Analysts wonder how Europe and the West would successfully tell “our stories when they had earlier confused some potential investors looking towards Africa for investment, with their arm-chair analysis.”

Vodacom management perhaps relied on such half-baked reports and missed juicy investment in the Nigerian telecoms industry. Some other foreign investors who visit Africa have confessed that the negative stories in Western media about the continent were exaggerated.

Africa as a continent would continue to accept a situation where others would continue to define its objectives and realities, unless it achieves total decolonisation. According to analysts, Diageo journalists’ awards should be for Africans in Africa, writing about Africa.

Paul Walsh, adviser to the chairman/chief executive, Diageo plc, and chair of the judging panel, said: “In the first year of the awards, I recall we had just 35 entries, predominantly from UK-based media organisations. Ten years later, we regularly receive over 1000 entries from right across the world, including a significant proportion from within Africa. This, I believe, clearly demonstrates that the interest in Africa and its opportunities are becoming more and more mainstream. In the last decade, we have seen great improvements in reporting on Africa and this has delivered clear benefits to business and the region, and I hope to see this continue well into the future.”