According to the fifth edition of the Africa MEDIAta report, Italian media continue to portray Africa as a place "lacking in hope and filled with problems" despite there being "profound, unstoppable, and revolutionary" change underway.

The Italian branch of AMREF Health Africa, in presenting the report in Rome on 23 May, claimed that "African youth and especially young African women, are working for a sustainable future".

The report was issued ahead of Africa Day on 25 May and was curated by the Pavia Observatory with the aim of analysing how and how much Italian media discuss Africa.

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Mainstream media neglect Africa, report claims

All the editions of the report have cited a lack of information in mainstream media on Africa, Africans, and the descendants of Africans; this edition did the same.

For example, in television news, out of every 4,200 interviewees, there was only one African activist interviewed in the period studied, according to the report.

The year 2023 showed the largest number of news on Africa in the past five years in Italian media with a presence on the six largest dailies of 16 news stories on average per month, three more than in 2022.

However, two out of every three were set in Italy or the West and focused on crime news and migration: 80.2%, marking a rise on the previous year.

The Italian government's efforts concerning African issues also increased coverage of the continent, both with the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding and the Italy-Albania pact and accords with Libya making headlines.

Migration was the main theme of news set in Africa, 42%, a shift from previous years in which news on wars and terrorism were dominant.

The main issues looked at were the conditions of migrants in refugee camps, migrant boat incidents, and visits by Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni to African countries.

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Continent portrayed 'only through its problems'

The report found 3,457 news on Africa over the course of the year broadcast on television news programs, marking the highest number since 2019.

Attention on news directly linked to people, issues, and events in the African continent remained very low with an average of 1.9% of news on Africa with a prevalence of information concerning wars, terrorism, and crime.

Considerable coverage was given to an earthquake in Morocco and flooding in Libya.

"There is an Africa beyond crimes, migrants arriving on boats, and emergencies," stated Guglielmo Micucci, director general of the Italian branch of AMREF Health Africa, at the presentation.

He added that this is an "Africa of youths who see the most important challenges being unemployment, the economy, and health, but who also have more tools than the previous generations did. We are asking the next G7, to those behind the Mattei Plan, to listen to Africa."

The continent, he continued, "is committed to change, most of the time starting from the grassroots level, thanks to the new generation." The latter, he stressed, "represent most of the continent's population."