Highway Africa 2009: Dispatch from Grahamstown (Day Three Review)

By Justin Submitted on 8 September, 2009 - 06:13

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Day three finds us at the start of Highway Africa 2009. The DCI has ended and we have officially kicked things off for Highway with last night’s tour and “media mixer” (as it was being called) of Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth sponsored by MTN. It’s a massive stadium, state of the art, clean design and as World Cup Organizing Committee CEO Dr. Danny Jordaan would say a true testament to the power of Africa.

Dr. Jordaan stressed in his speech last night that African journalists have a unique story to tell the world, we need to set ourselves apart from other continents and most importantly we need to make South Africa look good. Though he didn’t specifically say that last bit, he certainly implied it… STRONGLY. I understand his point but only to a certain extent.

Yes, I’ve read the articles in the Western press that say South Africa doesn’t have the infrastructure to hold this event. Yes, I’ve read the articles that have said South Africa isn’t doing enough to beef up security and cut down on violent crime before this event. Yes, I’ve read them all, I’m a football fanatic and I have a lot of time on my hands. But to be fair there are elements of truth to each of these statements, South Africa has struggled with crime for years.

The race relations/socio-economic issues in the country are a problem and you can still feel the divide in the air when you tour the country. These issues need to be addressed (not ignored or downplayed) and then fixed and then they will stop. Pleading with the media to report “your way” is not the answer.

I recognize that football is the language of the continent. Nowhere in the world is football more revered and passionate loved than in Africa. People live and breathe it. The people of Africa deserve a World Cup, there is no denying that and when the event rolls around in 10 months time I’m confident everything will be in place. It will be that’s just the way it works in Africa… things may look bleak but everything comes together at the last minute.

I also enjoyed the very brief presentation on the launch of “Africa The Good News” website. I hope to review it further in the next couple of days but I really like the idea and think it is a good public relations move to position the continent in a more favourable light as we move toward the World Cup. The old media adage, “if it bleeds it leads” much too often accompanies African reporting; however, I think this website is a good way to move away from this stereotype.

As the morning progressed I decided to arrive late for the opening round of Highway speeches in protest to the fact that they kept us so late at the MTN opening gala last night. I’m tired of speeches; let’s get into the workshops and writing. It was no use, because everything started late anyway.

Of the three panel discussion that took place during the day, I took away the following things:

1. In order to have a successful World Cup, South Africa will need to improve on its customer service. Customer service is something of a lost art in Africa. Western countries thrive on it and they expect it wherever they go, especially if they are spending big money to attend a global sporting event. The warning is stark: Improve customer service or risk not holding another event of this magnitude again.

2. News organizations must understand that they are running business and therefore they must be profitable. This profit often comes with a cost associated with it (head count reduction, increase pressure from advertisers, etc).

3. There is need to re-invigorate the “development story” as the breaking news model is not feasible in the long-term.

All interesting insights, all very true.