With the launch in March of two new Africa-centric programmes, global news channel CNN will have more airtime covering African stories than ever before. The new weekly programming is dedicated to showcasing the continent’s cultural, sporting, and business highlights.
Joining CNN’s popular Inside Africa strand are African Voices and Africa Inc, which will respectively focus on engaging African personalities and vibrant business stories.
The new programming complements the existing news, economic, political and social output which itself has increased notably since the network expanded its newsgathering presence in Johannesburg, Kenya and Lagos a year ago. Further expansion and investment is planned to support existing Johannesburg bureau staff in the coming months.
“The stories coming out of Africa across the political, economic, sporting and cultural spectrum are of increasing interest to an international audience as the world becomes ever more inter-connected,” said Katherine Green, CNN International SVP Programming. “We are truly excited to be able to dedicate extra resources, enabling us to go beyond the headlines and explore this diverse continent in all its facets.”
In addition to new programming and additional staffing, CNN is investing in local partnerships with key industry events as a signal of its commitment to local integration, such as IMF Tanzania, and Indaba South Africa. It also continues its longstanding commitment to African journalism in the form of the CNN MultiChoice African Journalist of the Year awards.
CNN has been particularly dedicated to reporting important stories as diverse as the continuing struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe; preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2010; Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations (Robyn Curnow’s ‘Mandela at 90’ report won first place for international reporting at the New York Association of Black Journalists in February 2009); Brent Sadler reporting from Victoria Island, Lagos where a sea defence system is battling against coastal erosion, and David McKenzie travelling on a homecoming with Kenya’s Olympic gold medal winner, Nancy Lagat. CNN also continues to cover the ongoing developments in Sudan and Chad.
CNN’s programming on Africa is presented by a diverse line-up of expert Africa commentators, including Nkepile Mabuse, Isha Sesay, Robyn Curnow, David McKenzie and Christian Purefoy.
