ACME in the news – Ncube tips media on technologies

From New Vision

Media entrepreneur, Trevor Ncube and owner of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper has tipped Ugandan media to come up with models that use technology to improve delivery of news and information.

Ncube was in the country to speak at the inaugural media and politics in Africa lecture organised by the African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME).

Ncube on Wednesday visited New Vision and addressed company staff on the changing global media landscape in the advent of new media, and how media can take advantage of such technologies to grow audiences and revenue.

He said that mobile phones present opportunities for African media to deliver content to especially young people who comprise of a big percentage of the African population, rather than rely on legacy mediums like newspapers.

“We need to come up with business models that enable us to harness the opportunities that technology presents us. Our audiences have moved online from print and we need to move with them for us to survive,” he said during a meeting with Vision Group staff.

He said the challenge is how traditional media can use mobile technology to generate revenues. He suggested working with tech-savvy professionals to work alongside journalists in newsrooms to learn how new ways of content delivery.

According to Ncube, in the era of declining print circulation, dwindling advertising revenues and needs to cover media operation costs, there is need for media to consider charging for access to online content.

Also, he suggested traditional print media to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to engage audiences and grow revenue through advertising. He also suggested improvement in editorial analysis, commentary and specialization.