Benchmarking African media survey

The African Media Development Initiative (AMDI) - the biggest-ever independent survey of the media across 17 sub-Saharan African countries - will publish its findings in Kenya on January 15, 2007. The AMDI research assesses the key developments in the media sector during the last five years and identifies future actions that will have the greatest potential impact on the development of the media industry in sub-Saharan Africa. It is compelling and compulsive reading for any journalist reporting on the media sector in Africa.

The AMDI research has been carried out by the Ahmadu Bello University (Nigeria), Rhodes University (South Africa) and the BBC World Service Trust, and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the UK Government's Department for International Development (DfID), the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) and Irish Aid.

The countries included in the research survey are: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The South Africa country report, the remaining 16 country reports and a Summary Report will be available on the BBC World Service Trust's website from 15 January 2007 on: www.bbcworldservicetrust.org.

Members of the press wishing to attend the launch of the report at the Grand Regency hotel in Nairobi on 15 January should please contact Derek Bbanga, Telephone +254 (0) 724 416 442; email: or Thandi Dyani on +27 (0)78 1970 424 or .