As I noted last week, it’s been about nine months since Ethiopia became the first country to ban the importation of fossil-fuel-powered vehicles, decisively shifting gears towards a low-carbon future. Yet, for many South Africans – and I suspect for much of the continent – this monumental shift seems to have slipped under the radar, like a secret whispered only among the environmentally conscious.

This struck me about a week ago while reading a research report from an outfit called Africa No Filter, which examined African media coverage of developments across the continent. The study, involving a survey of 38 editors and analysis of content from 60 news outlets in 15 countries, revealed that a staggering 81% of stories fell into the category of hard news, largely focused on conflicts and crises. Of these, 13% centred specifically on political violence, civil unrest and armed conflict.

Moreover, the findings highlighted a troubling pattern: coverage of African countries in African media is not only sparse – with many countries not featuring at all in the media of other African countries – but often limited to a select few events, neglecting a deeper exploration of critical issues.

Given this context, it’s hardly surprising that Ethiopia’s pioneering efforts to combat climate change have largely gone unnoticed throughout much of the continent.

This is a cause for concern, as accurate and comprehensive news coverage of Africa plays a crucial role in informing readers about the continent’s diverse realities. It also shapes perceptions and perspectives, influencing how countries are viewed, both on the continent and globally.

A richer media landscape could empower Africans to recognise and celebrate their own stories of innovation and resilience, fostering a collective narrative that truly reflects the continent’s potential.

But the scant coverage of Africa is to some extent beyond the control of African editors – to use that hackneyed phrase. An overwhelming 92% cited a lack of funding as the primary reason, with a lack of interest by advertisers the second most mentioned constraint, cited by 37% of the editors. A lack of space was also identified as a significant issue.

The editors overwhelmingly felt that covering international news is important, with an emphasis on pan-African coverage. Many acknowledged that they sometimes printed stereotypes about Africa, despite a desire for more accurate coverage, with the gap between what they want to publish and what is actually reported stemming from limited resources.

Much of the international news published in African media, including news about other African countries, is sourced from global media agencies. This reliance is problematic, if another recent study, conducted by academics at the University of Cape Town and the University of Birmingham, in the UK, with the collaboration of Africa No Filter and New York City-based The Africa Center, is anything to go by.

Involving analysis of more than 1 000 news articles from 20 global media outlets – including CNN, Deutche Welle, Bloomberg, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal and Al Jazeera – the study confirmed that coverage often reflects longstanding stereotypes about Africa, focusing primarily on war, disease, corruption and insecurity.

Just like what was revealed by Africa No Filter’s study on African media coverage of African news, only limited voices were cited in the global media, despite the availability of databases in countries such as South Africa providing information on a diverse range of topics and issues.

But to their credit, some of the global media outlets’ reportage is characterised by depth of coverage across the four sub-indicators of balance, context, framing and avoidance of stereotypes.

However, it cannot be denied that the foreign media outlets’ portrayal of the African story often aligns with the foreign policies of their countries, which have viewed African countries through the prism of aid, and not as equal partners.

Moreover, the representation of Africa is meant for the global media news organisations’ domestic audiences, who in many cases are already prejudiced by decades of misrepresentation on TV screens and in radio broadcasts and print media reports.

Given these challenges, African media must do more to cover the continent comprehensively and rigorously, placing greater emphasis on the vital issues shaping its future and influencing the lives of its citizens.