THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
The BBC has launched its new Igbo and Yoruba services, as part of an expansion in local languages aimed at more in-depth reporting of countries around the world.
The digital-only services went live online and on social media on Monday (19 February), joining a platform for Pidgin speakers that was launched last year and has attracted widespread interest.
The Igbo service is mainly for audiences in eastern and south eastern Nigeria as well as the large Igbo speaking Diaspora. The Yoruba service targets southwest Nigeria, Benin and Togo as well as other parts of the Diaspora.
“These fully digital services will include exciting short format audio, video, graphics and illustrations,” BBC said in a press statement.
“Twice daily, the teams will produce an episode of BBC Minute – keeping people in touch with the world in 60 seconds.”
According to the BBC, the editorial agenda will reflect not only balanced impartial news, but also a rich mix of trending topics, sports, entertainment, business, health, education and women.
“There will be original content through our network of reporters on variety of stories and issues that matter to local people and resonate across the region;” the news organisation said.
Digital content created daily for the website and social media platforms will cover a broad agenda with a strong focus on audience interactivity.
As Editorial Lead on the project, Peter Okwoche said: “Both services will concentrate on original journalism from their target regions but will also feature stories from Africa and the main global stories. BBC Igbo & Yoruba will provide a platform for debate on the main issues of interest to audiences and give voices to a wide spectrum of people. There will also be a strong focus on women.”
Head of West Africa, Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye said: “Delivering content and engaging with the Igbo and Yoruba audiences in their mother tongues is authentic, exciting and refreshing. The BBC is passionate about original journalism that adds value and this is what we want to achieve with these services. These platforms will deliver independent, objective and original news to meet the needs of our audiences in Nigeria and West Africa.”
Websites
http://www.bbc.com/yoruba
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnewsyoruba
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnewsigbo
https://www.instagram.com/bbcnewsyoruba
https://www.instagram.com/bbcnewsigbo
