Thanks to the iPhone and other smart phones, in the Western world mobile phones are getting more and more important for journalism. But in Africa, the phone has been used as a broadcast device for quite a while.
In fact, the African usage of the phone is in many ways visionary for the Western world.
No need for an app, though, as bandwidth is still rather small anyway. Headlines are simply sent out as text messages, and texting is used to report the news in as well. Although the mobile phone penetration is far behind Europe or Asia, it is rapidly growing. In Africa, four in 10 people now have a mobile phone.
The mobile phone is the PC of Africa, and the creative ways of using it has in its special way leapfrogged the Western world.
"Apart from radio, mobile phones are a relevant distribution tool for news. Newspapers only matter in urban areas and with policy makers," says James Mbugua, Business Writer at Radio Africa operating in Nairobi while visiting London with a fellowship of the Investment Climate Facility for Africa.
"TV has maybe gained, but newspapers provide the content that they actually talk about. The majority of people is getting their news with radio as it has a lot of reach in rural areas, or with mobile phones. So quite a few of the media houses send out text messages with breaking news, final scores of sport games and stocks."
Access to the internet is still not common in Africa as high speed capacity is a problem to be resolved with the East African Submarine System, a fiber-optic cable linking 20 African countries, going live on June 30 next year. However, as Africa is still a troubled continent, it is important in the African diaspora of the US and the UK: "A couple of newspapers are making money online because they target especially the diaspora." says James Mbugua.
News Source:- http://www.guardian.co.uk
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