Artificial intelligence and automation are increasingly part of everyday media production and distribution workflows across Africa, but industry leaders say human judgement, creativity, and accountability remain essential to ensuring quality, relevance, and responsible use of the technology.
This was a key conclusion from a Broadcast Media Africa (BMA) webinar, “Smarter Workflows: How AI and Automation Are Transforming Content Production and Distribution,” which brought together senior media and creative industry professionals from South Africa and Uganda to examine how AI is being applied in real-world production environments.
Moderated by Moses Kemibaro, the discussion featured Natano Brache, Head of Programming and Innovation at SABC Radio; Kevin Kaija, General Manager for Streaming at Next Media; Siyabonga Motha Ntuli, Head of News and Content at VOW FM; and Stuart Forrest, CEO of Triggerfish Animation Studios.
Opening the discussion, Kemibaro highlighted the growing gap between AI adoption and strategic readiness across the African media industry. He noted that while AI is increasingly embedded in editing, research, quality control and other media workflows, many organisations are still developing the governance, skills and policies needed to manage its use effectively.
The panel demonstrated that AI is already delivering practical benefits across different parts of the media value chain. At SABC Radio, AI is being used behind the scenes to support show preparation, research and the identification of relevant topics for audiences. Brache explained that the technology can help radio teams quickly identify fresh and relevant subjects while streamlining content development.
At Next Media, automation is helping manage large volumes of content across television, radio and streaming. Kaija highlighted the value of automated archiving and search, which enables teams to find historical material faster and repurpose it for digital platforms and social media. Content from deep archives can, for example, be retrieved and adapted into shorter digital formats to drive audiences towards streaming services.
The discussion also highlighted the commercial potential of better-managed archives. With decades of broadcast material increasingly digitised and searchable, broadcasters are finding new opportunities to repurpose, distribute, and potentially monetise content that previously remained difficult and costly to access.
For SABC Radio, Brache pointed to the broadcaster’s extensive archive as an important future opportunity, particularly as digitisation and AI-enabled tools make historical content easier to discover and reuse.
However, the speakers stressed that automation must not come at the expense of quality.
The animation industry faces a different set of opportunities and challenges. Forrest explained that AI has the potential to improve productivity and reduce costs, but Triggerfish remains cautious about using AI-generated content. He stressed the importance of preserving artists’ creative contribution while recognising that emerging professionals will need to understand and work with new AI-enabled tools.
The panel also called for closer collaboration between media organisations, technology providers and regulators as AI adoption accelerates. Kaija argued that regulation should be developed collaboratively with industry practitioners who understand the technologies and workflows being regulated, while Ntuli stressed the need for responsible AI use in journalism and stronger engagement between the media sector and policymakers.
Ultimately, the discussion returned to a common principle: AI should augment human capability rather than remove human responsibility.
As Kemibaro concluded, AI-enabled workflows can help media organisations do more and achieve better outcomes, but humans remain responsible for the creativity, judgement and accountability that determine the quality of the final product.
The webinar reinforced the importance of African media organisations moving beyond experimentation and building practical AI capabilities through skills development, responsible governance, appropriate workflows, and continuous learning.
For an industry facing growing demands for more content, faster turnaround times, and greater efficiency, the discussion’s message was clear: the future of smarter media workflows will not be AI alone, but people working more effectively with AI.
To view highlights from the webinar, click HERE.
To access the brief report, click HERE; for the Full report, click HERE.
