Amos Robi

<ul><li>Africa No Filter and The Africa Center surveyed to evaluate foreign news coverage of Africa</li><li>The Guardian scored the highest in the Global Media Index for Africa, excelling in diversity of topics and a balanced approach</li><li>The top performers also included Al Jazeera, BBC, Le Monde, Deutsche Welle, CNN, Financial Times, and The Economist</li></ul>

Narratives of poverty, conflict, and political instability have long dominated the landscape of global media coverage of Africa.

However, a recent survey by Africa No Filter and The Africa Center aims to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of how foreign news publishers cover the continent.

The impact of these persistent stories about conflict, corruption, poverty, poor leadership, bad politics, and disease continues to have an outsized influence on investment, tourism, global policy on Africa and the cost of money for the continent.

The Global Media Index for Africa assessed 20 prominent global media outlets. Over 1,000 news articles were collected over a six- month period, and evaluated across four key indicators.

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<h3>Indicators used to evaluate coverage of Africa by foreign news outlets</h3>

<ol><li>The diversity of topics covered in the stories against a curated list of 28 possible topics that included issues such as corruption, poverty, disease, and politics as well as innovation, culture and business.</li><li>The range of sources interviewed and quoted in direct citations in each story.</li><li>The number of African countries covered over the period of analysis, calculating the percentage against the total number of 55 countries that make up the African continent.</li><li>The depth of coverage measured by the context and balance provided as well as the framing and stereotypes used.</li></ol>

Journalists covering President William Ruto's U.S. state visit at The White House

Here are the top ten foreign news publishers that excelled in their coverage of Africa. The study was based on the outlets' digital platforms.

Leading the index, The Guardian scored an impressive 63% overall. It was particularly noted for the diversity of topics it covered, scoring 57% in this category.

The Guardian's balanced approach and inclusion of a variety of voices set it apart from its peers.

AFP secured second place with a score of 61%. It was the top performer in terms of covering the most African countries, achieving a score of 56%.

The diversity of topics covered by AFP also saw it perform very well overall.

The Doha-based news outlet took third position in the survey, ranking highly in terms of topics covered and the diversity of sources.

Its ability to highlight diverse voices and provide balanced reporting helped it secure a place among the top performers.

Reuters followed closely in fourth place with a 60% score. Reuters scored well in terms of the number of countries it covered in Africa as well as the the diversity of sources it relied on for its stories.

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VOA came fifth, performing largely well in the number of countries it covered and the topics it covered as well.

American-owened Cable News Network (CNN) ranked highly in depth of coverage as well of the diversity of topics covered.

Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster, ranked seventh. Its exceptional balance in coverage and contextual reporting were highlighted as key strengths.

Chinese-owned CGTN ranked eight with its key strengths being the diversity of countries it covered and the sources it had for its stories.

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Associated Press AP took the ninth position due to its wide coverage of the continent and the array of topics.

Rounding out the top ten, BBC was recognised for its analytical approach and in-depth reports.

However, it was noted that there is still room for improvement in avoiding stereotypes.

While these ten news publishers lead in their coverage, the Global Media Index for Africa also highlighted areas needing improvement across the board.

Report reveals how The Guardian, AFP, Reuters, Al Jazeera, BBC, Le Monde, Reuters, Deutsche Welle, The Economist and the Financial Times ranked in coverage of Africa

Survey unveils 10 foreign news publishers with best coverage of Africa

Bayo Wahab

<h1>Cable News Network, Inc.(CNN) has protested against its invitation by the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry to appear before it on Saturday, December 12, 2020, (today), over the alleged killing of peaceful #EndSARS protesters by soldiers in October.&nbsp;</h1>

The news outfit said the panel does not have the jurisdiction to summon its staff to testify before it because they are not in Nigeria.&nbsp;

The panel had invited CNN following its two-part report on the <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/endsars-soldiers-crack-down-on-protesters-in-lagos/j3ernm5">Lekki shooting incident.</a>&nbsp;

The report had claimed that Nigerian soldiers shot at and killed peaceful #EndSARS protesters on the night of October 20 at the Lekki toll gate, Lagos.

According to TheNation, the objection file by CNN’s Lawyers, Messrs. Olumide Babalola LP and dated 4th December 2020 at the Tribunal on December 9, 2020, stated that the panel is bereft of territorial jurisdiction to compel CNN staff to give evidence before it.&nbsp;

The objection letter reads, “Since the Objectors are not “persons in Nigeria” as envisaged by the provision of section 5(c) (of Tribunals Of Inquiry Law Of Lagos State, Cap. T6), then this Honourable Tribunal is, with respect, bereft of territorial jurisdiction to compel their attendance to give evidence before it.”

The panel has therefore excused CNN from further proceedings or appearing before it after a discussion with Babalola in its Private Hearing Room on Saturday, December 12, 2020.&nbsp;

CNN objects to Lagos Panel’s invitation over Lekki shooting (Channels TV)

CNN says the panel lacks jurisdiction to summon its staff over Lekki shooting.

‘We’re not in Nigeria’, CNN objects to Lagos Panel’s invitation over Lekki shooting

Jude Egbas

<h1>President Muhammadu Buhari says he was left disgusted with the coverage of the #EndSARS protests by foreign media organisations, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and America’s Cable News Network (CNN).</h1>

The #EndSARS protesters called for a scrapping of the notorious police unit, SARS (Special Anti-Robbery Squad), widespread police reforms and for an end to decades of police brutality and human rights abuses by law enforcement.

The protests were staged nationwide and in the diaspora in the early days of October, and were suppressed in Nigeria by armed soldiers and police officers who <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/endsars-protests-were-peaceful-until-government-crushed-them/96xnrbk">shot into a crowd of peaceful protesters</a> at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020.

#EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos

Nigerian authorities claim there was no massacre on the night as was widely reported in the social media orbit.

Hoodlums took advantage of the break down in law and order in the wake of the protests and shootings to <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/photos-of-burnt-lagos-endsars/tctmh8k">burn public and private poverty</a> and loot warehouses.

On November 19, 2020, CNN published its special report on the Lekki shooting with the title: "How a bloody night of bullets and brutality quashed a young protest movement."

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">CNN&#39;s updated investigative report on the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSARS</a> protest<a href="https://t.co/KyyfBUSq7K">https://t.co/KyyfBUSq7K</a>&mdash; Pulse Nigeria (@PulseNigeria247) <a href="https://twitter.com/PulseNigeria247/status/1331141977094676480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Nigeria's Information Minister, Lai Mohammed, <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/lai-mohammed-really-embarrassed-nigeria-pulse-editors-opinion/ewgq882">immediately denounced CNN's report</a> as fake news and threatened that the media outfit would be sanctioned.

Mohammed also dismissed CNN's reporting as "blatantly irresponsible and a poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news organisation. This is very serious."

In his first public remarks on the coverage of the protests, the president told state governors during a meeting at the State House, Abuja on Tuesday, December 8, that the CNN report on the protest left him amply nauseous and disgusted.

President Buhari in a meting with state governors on December 8, 2020 (Tolani Alli)

“I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and prisons that were opened. They said we are all at fault. We don’t have the sympathy of anyone. We are on our own,” President Buhari was quoted as saying by his spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

The <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/buhari-hooligans-hiding-under-endsars-protests-will-be-dealt-with/wxyf4z1">president reiterated that </a>his administration will no longer tolerate violent demonstrations in Nigeria, adding that “democracy does not mean confusion or lack of accountability.”

On the destruction of private and public property, Buhari said no responsible government will allow a repeat of that level of carnage and arson.

President Buhari in a meeting with state governors on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 (Tolani Alli)

“We do not stop anyone from demonstrating, but you don’t set up roadblocks and smash windscreens. Which government will allow that?", Buhari fumed.

In a tweet, Buhari shared the following: "It must be said that foreign press coverage of the ENDSARS violence was not balanced, especially from CNN and BBC. I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and prisons that were opened."

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">It must be said that foreign press coverage of the ENDSARS violence was not balanced, especially from CNN and BBC. I was disgusted by the coverage, which did not give attention to the policemen that were killed, the stations that were burnt, and prisons that were opened.&mdash; Muhammadu Buhari (@MBuhari) <a href="https://twitter.com/MBuhari/status/1336742990379962372?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 9, 2020</a></blockquote>
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CNN has stated that it stands by its reporting. "Our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched, and we stand by it," the news network said in a statement.

President Muhammadu Buhari directs speedy, coordinated investigation of NDDC (TheCable)

The president reiterated that no responsible government would look the other way as properties are burnt and businesses looted.

President Buhari blasts CNN, says their coverage of #EndSARS protest was disgusting

<h1>Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, put up another sorry spectacle before television cameras and the international media on Thursday, November 19, 2020.&nbsp;</h1>

The Muhammadu Buhari presidency has been in damage control mode since CNN aired its investigation of the Lekki shooting.

On October 20, 2020, soldiers drove to the Lekki-Epe toll gate and<a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/endsars-protests-were-peaceful-until-government-crushed-them/96xnrbk"> shot into a crowd of peaceful protesters</a> who had been demanding an end to decades of police brutality, extra judicial killings and extortion.

The Lekki shooting has dominated the news cycle a month after, and a judicial panel of inquiry has been set up in Lagos to investigate what transpired on the night.

The government has been attempting a grand cover-up of the incident, amid reports that more than a dozen, unarmed protesters were <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/army-unhappy-that-sanwo-olu-denied-inviting-soldiers-during-endsars-protest/5lq65nm">killed by soldiers and police officers </a>on the night.

The CNN reporting added a couple more layers to the Lekki shooting incident and punctured holes in the government’s muddled up and ever changing version of events.

Several social media accounts who swear by the governing APC and the Buhari presidency have been all over the place since the CNN story was published, with the administration's vassals calling the network names, puncturing ridiculous holes in the network’s investigation and attacking anyone who holds a contrary opinion.

As the administration’s mouthpiece, the lot was always going to fall on Mohammed to quickly address CNN’s investigative reporting, turn the narrative of the Lekki shooting on its head, stem the tide of anger directed at the government and hang CNN out to dry for all it’s worth.

In typical fashion, Mohammed made a mess of his brief and <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/news/local/lai-mohammed-says-lekki-massacre-is-a-hoax/sbtgpfg">said all the wrong things</a> at such a sensitive time for his nation.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The minister called the Lekki shooting a “hoax...bodiless and bloodless massacre,” described the CNN reporting as irresponsible and warned that CNN could be sanctioned.&nbsp;

"Like everyone else, I watched the CNN report. I must tell you that it reinforces the disinformation that is going around, and it is blatantly irresponsible and a poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news organization. This is very serious and CNN should be sanctioned for that," Mohammed blared.&nbsp;

Of course CNN has restated that its “reporting was carefully and meticulously researched, and we stand by it.”

<div class="embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">On this episode of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PulseReports?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PulseReports</a>, we spoke to an eyewitness who gave account of seeing 5 people dead and over 20 injured at the Lekki Tollgate shooting.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndSARS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndSARS</a> <a href="https://t.co/lgYekAQ4O5">pic.twitter.com/lgYekAQ4O5</a>&mdash; Pulse Nigeria (@PulseNigeria247) <a href="https://twitter.com/PulseNigeria247/status/1326607305346068484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 11, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Mohammed added that; "the purveyors of fake news and disinformation succeeded in deceiving the entire world that there was mass killing in Lekki, even when till date, not a single body has been produced and not a single family or relative has come out to say their child or ward was killed at Lekki toll gate," the minister said.

It is worth restating here that the governor of Lagos, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has admitted that two persons died at the toll on the night.

Mohammed also exonerated security operatives of wrongdoing on the night, even though he would go on to stress that we should all wait for the judicial panel’s findings and recommendations before jumping into conclusions.

How did Mohammed not know that by absolving soldiers of any blame on the night, he is pre-empting the outcome of the panel’s investigation and giving everyone the impression that the government would meddle in the panel’s work and recommendations?

Watching and listening to Mohammed, it wasn’t lost on anyone that the Buhari administration is sick and tired of the free press and the thriving social media space and that it will do anything within and outside of its powers to gag the media. We are well on the road to censorship and dictatorship. This is Buhari of the ‘80s all over again.

President Muhammadu Buhari. [Twitter/@BashirAhamaad]

The vacillation and inconsistency from the government in the wake of the shooting and Mohammed’s ridiculous presser and meltdown, means that the rest of the world is right now having a laugh at Nigeria’s expense.

Mohammed often comes across as a misfit for his portfolio. All he’s brought to the table is how to regulate social media and free speech. He’s also successfully stifled a section of the traditional, mainstream media.&nbsp;

The minister has been the butt of jokes on social media since the CNN media briefing, not least for an unrestrained, childish, desperate and comedic attack of a foreign media platform.

This week, you've got to admit that Mohammed looked as ridiculous as always. He did an unpopular government more harm and heaped more scorn on his principal and his nation.&nbsp;

*Pulse Editor's Opinion is the viewpoint of an Editor at Pulse. It does not represent the opinion of the Organisation Pulse.

A senior minister's attack of CNN and his threat of sanctions on the network was disgusting to watch.

Lai Mohammed really embarrassed Nigeria all over again this week [Pulse Editor's Opinion]

Damilare Famuyiwa

<h1>Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, is seeking for the approval of N181.5 billion ($500 million) credit facility from President Muhammadu Buhari.</h1>

The loan, according to Mohammed, will enable the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) compete with the likes of Cable News Network (CNN).

While defending the loan request before the senate committee on Local and Foreign Loans, the minister explained that there is no better time for NTA to digitize its operations.

“The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in 2006 gave June 17, 2015 as deadline for all members of the organisation to migrate from analogue to digital. Regrettably, we were unable to meet the deadline alongside most countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the deadline was moved to 2017, which was not reliable and today the target is June 17, 2020,” he stated.

On how the loan will be deployed, the minister explained that the loan is aimed at establishing the media and culture industry centre, digitize all NTA stations, and at the same time construct integrated television services to infuse on network, which is the signal distributor and essential component of the digitization project.

Mohammed restated the need for the country to meet the new deadline, saying if the world migrates from analogue to digital and Nigeria remains analogue, it means the country would be unable to enlighten, entertain and educate Nigerians.

The minister further stressed that Nigeria has the manpower and technology to operate on a global scale, as he said the creative industry was not just about television alone, but film, music, fashion and photography.

According to him, the creative industry employs no fewer than one million young persons directly and indirectly.

Mohammed said, "If this project is approved, there will be more visibility for our people in the music, fashion and film industries.

“In 2014, we made $23 million from music alone and about $53 million in 2019 and we are looking forward to making $83 million in 2025. You can imagine the kind of growth we will have if only we digitize all the NTA stations in the country.”

The minister maintained that the project for which the Ministry of Information and Culture planned to borrow the loan, is about employment and revenue generation, as he said the industry contributes 1.492 to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed [Twitter]

Lai Mohammed says the loan will create more jobs for Nigerians, and at the same time, increase the country's revenue.

Lai Mohammed says NTA can compete with CNN

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