Cape Town — Khadija Patel, elected chairperson of the International Press Institute (IPI)’s global Executive Board, former editor-in-chief of South Africa’s Mail & Guardian newspaper, co-founder of online publication The Daily Vox, and head of programmes for the International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) told AllAfrica’s Andre van Wyk why the fund is a crucial step in finding solutions for the funding crunch experienced by independent, public interest media.
Please give a brief description of who you are and how you came to be associated with the IFPIM.
I am a South African journalist who came up through digital start ups and co-founded the Daily Vox. I later led the Mail & Guardian in South Africa for four years. My experience working as a journalist exposed me to the immense challenges facing journalists in South Africa and around the world. I was inspired by the International Fund’s mission to find viable solutions to the funding challenges plaguing the sector. The International Fund is, above all, a culmination of hope for a better news media.
What is your greatest hope for the change that the IFPIM may bring?
IFPIM was created to address the economic struggles that vital public interest news organisations are grappling with. We launched our first open call last year and received hundreds of applications from media houses that are doing incredible work in the space but are in need of funding, largely due to the broken business model facing the sector.
The response we received highlights just how important IFPIM’s work is, through both providing financial support directly to media organisations as well as working to identify lasting solutions to the economic challenges facing the sector. Through the work that we are doing at IFPIM, we hope to see a more robust media ecosystem, strengthened by viable and reliable business models and sources of funding.
What are some of the greatest challenges facing independent media organisations in low-to-middle-income countries?
Many media outlets in low and middle income countries are struggling to survive. The business models that long supported media ecosystems no longer exist or have been shifted away to large technology companies, causing many media houses to either fold or downsize. This problem became even more acute during the pandemic. While shrinking income streams are a problem for most independent media organizations, it is especially troubling for those in low- and middle-income countries around the world, which often have less access to non-commercial sources of funding.
Financial insecurity in these regions also brings along several risks, including media capture. Many media houses have to contend with repression and hostility from governments that seek to intimidate and control the media, typically through legislation that creates a difficult environment for media houses to operate in. Without consistent, reliable sources of funding, media organizations are vulnerable to interests that take them further away from serving the information needs of the public.
In honour of World Press Freedom Day, what more do you think should be done to protect journalists from predatory governmental and corporate interests?
The press plays a vital role in holding power to account and ultimately fostering functional and thriving democracy. Without the press and free access to information, citizens are ultimately unable to make informed decisions. Ensuring that the press can carry out their work free from violence, intimidation, and obstruction is paramount.
Hundreds of journalists were detained last year alone for simply providing a service to the public. We must ensure that members of the press are protected and that those protections are enshrined in international law to deter bad actors from using threats or coercive measures to silence journalists. It is also essential to ensure that journalists have access to the financial resources they need, through initiatives like IFPIM, to continue funding the vital work they do.
