Technology Innovation and Digital Journalism Practice by Indigenous African-language Newspapers: The Case of uMthunywa in Zimbabwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper analyses institutional, contextual and human agency factors that affect technology innovation and adoption of digital journalism practices by indigenous African-language newspapers focusing on uMthunywa, Zimbabwe. uMthunywa, a legacy newspaper, positions itself as a digital-only news outlet after it was forced to stop printing in May 2020 due to a hotchpotch of political economy challenges exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. The conceptual framework of digital journalism is used to provide a benchmark against which to measure uMthunywa's adoption of new digital journalism practices. The critical theory of technology counters attempts of universalising technological innovation and digital journalism practice in newsrooms by viewing technologies as biased and contextual. Based on interviews and virtual ethnography, the paper finds that technological innovation at uMthunywa is very limited and there is a selective adoption of new digital journalism practices that contribute to the newspaper's survival. It is argued that a conservative organisational culture punctuated by technophobia and poor capitalisation are some of the barriers to technological innovation while lack of requisite digital skills by staff limits the adoption of new practices. The article contributes to debates about journalism innovation and the practice of digital journalism in Africa by indigenous-language newspapers.