Broadcasters called to embrace digital
Minister of Information and Digitisation Moses Kunkuyu has challenged broadcast content developers to adopt emerging digital technologies to achieve a robust information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure with cross-country coverage of reliable and affordable services.
The minister made the call in Lilongwe yesterday when he opened a two-day Annual Broadcasters Conference organised by Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra).
He further called on broadcasters to adapt their content to the changing media landscape by informing, educating, warning and also entertaining their audiences.
Said Kunkuyu: “Everything is changing. We are going digital, and we have to ensure that in everything we are doing, including digital broadcasting itself, we are at par with what is trending out there. We have to ensure that the content we are producing meets the standards that can compete globally.
“We have seen other industries that are doing very well on African soil, and we believe that Malawi can also do better in a conducive environment created by the government.”
He commended the broadcasters for collaborating with the government to inform and warn people during natural disasters such as Tropical Cyclone Freddy, and for their involvement in implementing government projects like the Affordable Inputs Programme (AIP).
Macra director-general Daud Suleman said news and information consumption patterns have gradually changed, hence the need for broadcasters to adopt the emerging digital technologies to remain relevant and meet the needs of the new market.
He said: “The landscape is changing and listeners are no longer consuming news as they used to in the past five and 10 years ago. The arrival of new media, development of technology as well as the penetration of the Internet are the things we need to pay attention to and we must be able to adjust so that we are not left behind.”
Suleman also encouraged the broadcasters not to fight the digital technologies but that they should be put at the centre in their operations.
Some of the key issues discussed during the conference include the refarming exercise carried out by Macra in response to the saturation of the FM band, the status of the moratorium and issuance of frequencies, digital radio and the future of broadcasting, and the review of the Communications Act, Electronic Transactions, and Cyber Security Act.
This year’s annual broadcasters conference has been held under the theme ‘Shaping the future of broadcasting in Malawi.’ and it is the second annual broadcasters conference, following the first one held last year.
