Gibson Mhaka in MOSCOW, Russia
AFRICAN journalists must move beyond relying on international news shaped by powerful foreign media organisations and strengthen their capacity to tell their own stories, delegates heard here at the Russia–Africa Media Forum in Moscow this week.
The call was made during a plenary session titled Changing the Angle: How Media of the Global Majority Countries Influence the World, where media executives and government representatives from Russia and Africa discussed information sovereignty, journalistic training and greater cooperation among news organisations.
For Zimbabwe, where media diversity, public trust, access to information and the representation of African affairs remain important issues in national discourse, the discussions highlighted the need for African stories to be told with context, accuracy and input from the communities concerned.
TASS Director General Andrey Kondrashov said genuine national independence extended beyond political and economic control to include the ability of countries to shape their own information environments.
“We must remember today that state sovereignty can never and under no circumstances be considered complete if there is no spiritual sovereignty,” he said, arguing that such sovereignty was rooted in informational independence.
Kondrashov said TASS planned to expand its network of correspondent bureaus across Africa, citing growing international demand for reliable reporting on developments across the continent. He also called for greater mutual assistance between Russian and African journalists, particularly in securing access to local experts and political leaders.
Such cooperation could have practical benefits for Zimbabwean newsrooms, offering opportunities to strengthen regional reporting networks, facilitate journalist exchanges and improve coverage of African trade, diplomacy, technology and development.
However, partnerships alone cannot guarantee credible journalism. Accuracy, editorial independence, transparent sourcing and a willingness to scrutinise those in positions of power remain essential to maintaining public trust.
Dmitry Kiselev, director general of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, said Sputnik employed 132 African citizens in its local editorial centres, enabling the organisation to produce content in local languages and draw on journalists’ knowledge of their communities.
“We are also a fairly large employer,” Kiselev said, explaining that African staff formed the backbone of the agency’s local operations.
He added that Sputnik worked with universities across the continent and organised month-long internships in Moscow for journalists from leading African media organisations.
For Zimbabwe, such exchanges could help young reporters develop investigative, multimedia and international reporting skills. However, the value of these opportunities would depend on whether training also reinforced independent judgement, ethical reporting and balanced coverage.
Central African Republic State Minister for Communications and Mass Media Evariste Ngamana urged African governments and journalists to avoid simplistic responses to misinformation, including blanket bans on foreign media and self-censorship driven by fear of possible sanctions.
“We need to act, work on the education of our journalists, strengthen the capacity of the media and communications as such,” he said.
Ngamana stressed the importance of correspondents working directly among communities, observing events first-hand and reporting what they witnessed.
His remarks underscored a challenge facing newsrooms across Africa: misinformation cannot be defeated through restrictions alone. It also requires accessible and verifiable information, professional reporting, media literacy and accountability.
Elizaveta Brodskaya, a senior RT editor, criticised the dependence of international news coverage on Western news feeds, arguing that alternative perspectives were needed to provide a broader picture of global events.
Session moderator Rick Sanchez, an American journalist, similarly emphasised the importance of journalists being physically present where events unfold.
“Journalism is not when you broadcast from somewhere far away. Journalism is when you are in the very place you are talking about,” he said.
The Russia–Africa summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum, held in Moscow on October 28 and 29, seeks to expand trade, scientific, technical and humanitarian cooperation while advancing technological sovereignty and food and energy security.
For Zimbabwe, the media discussions highlighted an opportunity to build stronger African reporting networks while safeguarding the editorial independence, scrutiny and credibility on which journalism depends. Africa’s voice will carry greater weight globally when its newsrooms have the resources, expertise and freedom to report the continent’s realities fully and accurately.
