JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- South Africa's public broadcaster is launching an international news channel to compete with CNN and the BBC, joining the growing ranks of news outlets seeking to challenge media stereotypes about Africa.
SABC International, which has seven bureaus in Africa, Europe and the United States, wants to provide more positive coverage from Africa to counter the tales of poverty and woe that dominate Western news about the continent.
"We are establishing bureaus with our own correspondents, reporting on the spot, on the scene in a more balanced way," SABC's head of news Snuki Zikalala told SABC radio on Friday as the international channel was officially launched.
The channel will compete with established Western broadcasters such as CNN and BBC, as well as newly launched CNBC Africa and Al Jazeera's English channel, which has also pledged to provide broader, more positive coverage of Africa.
But the launch comes as SABC, once the mouthpiece of the apartheid government, faces criticism about its editorial independence after it allegedly banned programs and commentators critical of the ANC government.
The SABC has denied such a blacklist exists, saying its sole goal is to highlight stories of growth and progress in Africa and to promote the continent's home-grown economic recovery programme, NEPAD.