The International Media Forum South Africa 2008 was once again a great success with a host of important people from the region attending to discuss the coverage of South Africa in the media and its impact on the social and economic development of the country.

More than 200 of the country’s most important people from government, media, business, public relations and marketing packed into The Forum Conference Centre in Johannesburg to listen to an impressive line up of speakers discuss the coverage of South Africa and what it means for the future of the country and Africa as a continent.

Barry Moody from Reuters told the event that there was an “unprecedented interest in news from Africa”.  “Africa is no longer a distant curiosity, now it's a place of expanding potential,” he said.

Chip Cummins, Africa Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal said it was his responsibility to find out what news from Africa his two million print and one million online subscribers were interested in. “There is an insatiable appetite for African stories. Africa is fascinating with many political moving parts. A lot of our readers are looking for what stocks they can invest in,” he added.

Editor for Reuters Africa website, John Chiahemen said he had tried to break new ground when the website was launched because of the growing demand for news from Africa. He said visitors to the site numbered at over two million per day. Reuters readers, who are mostly the top 10% of influential people in the world, had been particularly interested in the sites investing pages. At the click of a button, visitors to the site can find information on mining, oil, agriculture as well as get updates on key African markets and stock listings.

The 2008 International Media Forum South Africa also provided a platform for representatives of foreign media to ‘clear their names' about allegations that they only focus on Africa's negative image. CNN Africa bureau chief Kim Norgaard lashed out at critics, saying there is nothing better than reporting on the full picture of Africa to help change people's lives. “We have been accused of covering Africa as if it were a monolithic block without making a point on the ethnic and geographic differences,” Norgaard said.“We have also been accused of focusing on negative reporting. But let me say that as foreign media we all have a moral responsibility to provide a coverage on the full picture of Africa to help change perceptions and lives,” Norgaard added. “Do we have to ignore stories that blight the continent, like the latest xenophobic attacks in South Africa? No. We can't just ignore them because if we do, we will be creating a skewed view of the continent, which is not right. “Africa's stories often define our network's headlines and the appetite for this region is so great that sometimes it is exhausting to keep up with demands.

The forum also heard from the ANC’s Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe as well as the Parliamentary Leader of the Democratic Alliance Sandra Botha and Themba Maseko the Government’s Chief Spokseperson.

The International Media Forum brings together Government, Business and the international media with a mission to improve international media relations on all sides for the benefit of the future economic development of South Africa and Africa as a continent.

Organisations in South Africa take part to learn from editors and media experts how media is changing, how it might work in future and how to ensure positive relations and good media coverage.

Delegates had their say and learnt how to create the kind of success stories that they need to in order to ensure future prosperity for themselves, their nation and the continent as a whole.

Government participation was significant and delegates learnt alongside companies and also demonstrated its commitment to the development of a positive media relations strategy for the future.

Public Relations firms also took part and heard how media is changing and will continue to change in future.

Lots of good contacts, both client and media side were made to begin the process of partnership with business and government to help improve South Africa’s position on the world’s media landscape.