BBC
ANNOUNCES MAJOR NEW FOCUS ON AFRICA
The BBC has today
announced its first-ever dedicated daily TV news
programme in English for African audiences. The
new programme,
BBC Focus on Africa,
brings together the expertise of the BBC World
Service’s African Service and BBC World News on
television. It is the first in a range of new
programming for Africa to be launched by the BBC
this summer including a major expansion of its
TV offer.
BBC Focus on
Africa will
be aired by the BBC’s broadcast partners in
Africa and will be shown globally on BBC World
News. It forms just one part of an expansion of
the BBC’ s offer on TV, radio and online.
The BBC today unveiled
Komla Dumor and
Sophie Ikenye
as the main presenters of the daily 30 minute
news programme.
BBC Focus on
Africa
will be launched on prime-time TV across the
continent from 18th
June 2012 at 1730GMT. The programme will draw on
the pool of BBC African talent on the continent
and in London to report on Africa's rising
economies, entrepreneurs, innovators, culture,
entertainment and sport.
Focus on Africa
will be covering the major news from the
continent and asking: Is there a way out of the
Sudan crisis? What impact will Europe’s economic
problems have on Africa’s booming economies? How
does Africa deal with its growth in natural
resources? The programme will also challenge
African leaders and politicians on tough issues.
Focus on
Africa
will report on the latest developments in
business, technology and science and speak to
those driving change. It will also look at how
Africa is becoming an information technology
hotspot. The programme will report, for example,
on Kenyan scientists who are at the forefront in
discovering cheaper, locally produced medicines
to combat malaria.
Focus on Africa
reporters across Africa will be giving us a
snapshot of the innovation, lifestyle and
culture of the country they live in. The
programme will feature
Africa Beats
– looking at the people behind Africa’s varied
music scenes. Every step of the way our viewers
will have their say through social media.
Focus on Africa
presenter Komla Dumor said: "After decades of
turmoil and uncertainty, a new Africa is
emerging. The old stereotypes are being
challenged and a new, compelling narrative is
being written. I am incredibly excited to be
part of a new BBC programme that will provide
solid coverage and analysis of Africa's
challenges and prospects."
Solomon Mugera,
the BBC’s Africa Editor, said: “Africa is now
one of the fastest developing news markets in
the world - this new investment will expand our
services for African audiences.
“While radio remains popular in Africa, TV is
growing, and our partnerships with leading
African broadcasters play a key part in these
future plans. Mobile phone ownership is racing
towards a billion, internet connectivity is
rising and social media is empowering audiences.
It's essential that the kind of independent
journalism the BBC does that isn't slanted to
one political or commercial viewpoint remains
central to the new media landscape.
"With
correspondents in 48 African countries,
production centres in Nairobi, Abuja,
Johannesburg and Dakar and a weekly audience of
77 million, the BBC already has deep roots in
the continent. Our journalists are from the
African countries they report on - in English,
Swahili, Hausa, Somali, Kinyarwanda/Kirundi and
French - living and breathing the big stories
and issues facing Africa.”
The BBC also
announced that six special episodes from Africa
of current affairs interview programme
Rendezvous,
hosted by
Zeinab Badawi, will be broadcast on BBC World
News from mid-June with guests including
President Kikwete of Tanzania.
The BBC
newsgathering resources in Africa are part of a
global network of 70 bureaux. The BBC made its
first broadcast to Africa more than 80 years
ago. The combined audience on radio and
television makes the BBC the largest
international broadcaster in Africa.
