EMBASSY NEWS
Journalists meet prior to Obama visit in Ghana
President Obama’s first visit to sub-Saharan Africa was of great interest across the continent. To emphasize the importance of the visit and to focus the Congolese media’s attention, the US Embassy Brazzaville gathered 13 media professionals on July 9, 2009 to discuss the significance of the visit to Africa.
Journalists from leading local radio, TV stations, and newspapers attended the two-hour encounter and discussed the details of the US presidential visit and its potential impact on African governance. As a result of its proximity to the July 12 presidential elections in the Republic of Congo, the journalists asked whether Obama’s message would have an effect on the outcome of elections. After a long and lively scrutiny of the current social and political situation in Congo, attendees listed questions to Obama, such as : “What are accompanying measures that you, President Obama, advocate to implement your policy in African countries?” And “Mr. President, do you think that the assistance provided to African countries by the IMF and the World Bank entangles their development?”
As a result, the Congolese media broadly reported on the president’s visit and publicized the text message process. We believe the speech itself had a large audience following, and several newspapers published the French version of portions of President Obama’s speech.