This study interrogates the extent to which journalism education in Nigerian higher institutions converges with or meets the demands for journalism practice in the contemporary age. Using a sample of 147 respondents, consisting of 77 media practitioners, 49 media lecturers, and 21 final-year journalism students in Nigeria, and based on the space interaction theory, this study found that media practitioners and media lecturers find the present education curriculum and training of journalists inadequate. It also found that discrimination based on religion, disability, ethnicity, and income exists in the media workplace and, on average, male journalists earn a 7% higher salary than their female counterparts under the same conditions. Also, nine in ten journalism students are not enthusiastic about their future in the media industry because they believe that their education/training is not meeting their initial expectations. The study recommends that the curriculum of journalism studies in Nigerian higher institutions be reviewed and overhauled to reflect the current reality and demands to serve society better.

Communitas is a nationally-accredited academic journal publishing scientific articles in the context of Community Communication, Information Impact and related disciplines, including Corporate and Marketing Communication, Media Studies and Journalism. The journal aims to promote of a better understanding of communication-related issues which affect developing societies, including Southern African communities. Communitas is published annually by the Unit for Community Communication of the Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State.

This study explores how South African enterprises utilise WhatsApp Business for stakeholder engagement and identifies the key factors that influence the success of these digital communication strategies, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, which accelerated digital transformation. A qualitative phenomenological research design was employed, using semi-structured interviews with 12 retail enterprises (six micro and six small businesses) across various retail categories in South Africa’s Gauteng province. The participants were selected using heterogeneous sampling to capture diverse perspectives. The thematic analysis identified eight key factors influencing successful stakeholder engagement through WhatsApp Business: clear communication objectives; integration with complementary social media platforms; professional yet conversational messaging; consistent communication frequency; personalised interactions; strategic use of WhatsApp Business features; regular measurement of effectiveness; and leveraging the platform’s accessibility and affordability. The findings extend stakeholder theory to digital communication as a sub-discipline, demonstrating how WhatsApp Business enables small and micro-retailers to build and maintain stakeholder relationships through strategic communication. The study contributes to understanding how resource-constrained businesses can implement digital engagement strategies effectively.

Reputation management was synonymous with the private sector until recently when public sector organisations, particularly in Europe and America, adopted the concept. This study’s aim is to contribute to the scant body of knowledge on public sector reputation management, specifically in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. The study adopted a qualitative approach to gain an understanding of the public perceptions of the Eastern Cape Provincial Government’s reputation. The findings were based on two participant observations and a purposively selected sample of 15 participants who were recruited from non-governmental organisations (NGOs), media institutions, government departments, youth structures, and business organisations. The study utilised semi-structured interviews and participant observations as data collection techniques. The collected data was analysed thematically through categorisation and Leximancer software analysis. The results of the study show that the Eastern Cape Provincial Government lacks the capacity to manage its reputation strategically, resulting in increasingly discontented communities. Furthermore, the findings reveal that the public held negative views of the Eastern Cape Provincial Government’s reputation. The Public Sector Reputation Management Framework, which was developed in this study, provides an understanding of how the Eastern Cape Provincial Government’s reputation could be strategically and sustainably managed.

Community-based organisations (CBOs) often rely on supporting stakeholders (providing financial support, resources, and collaboration) for survival. Therefore, CBOs must build and maintain mutually beneficial, positive, long-term relationships with these stakeholders to ensure organisational sustainability. However, CBOs often experience challenges in this regard, leading us to ask the question: How can a small CBO with limited time and resources communicate with its supporting stakeholders to facilitate mutually beneficial, long-term, positive relationships towards organisational sustainability? The two-way symmetrical model, stakeholder relationship management theory, and stewardship theory provide relevant constructs to inform communication between CBOs and their supporting stakeholders to facilitate such relationships. However, the unique context of CBOs often puts them in a position where extensive relationship-building following the normative theory is impossible, necessitating adaptation of the theory. To adapt the normative theory, we conducted semi-structured interviews with two management members and seven supporting stakeholders of one South African CBO to determine their perceptions, needs, expectations, and realities in terms of communication. We integrated the empirical findings with the theoretical constructs to conceptualise a communication framework for CBOs to facilitate long-term relationships with supporting stakeholders. This framework should enable CBOs to tailor their communication with stakeholders to build sound relationships based on their unique contexts.

In March 2022, the South African Human Rights Commission opened an inquiry following official complaints sparked by the publication of racially insensitive advertisements. Despite this, advertising agencies appear to publish material that does not represent an all-inclusive approach, which considers consumers’ perspectives and perceptions of multiracial advertisements. This study suggests guidelines for formulating multiracial advertisements to enable advertising agencies to elicit the desired responses from consumers. A qualitative methodology with a cross-sectional descriptive design was adopted. Data was collected through a social media search for related posts. The study purposively sampled cases of brand advertisements (n=3) that South African consumers perceived as racially offensive, namely Dove, Clicks/TRESemmé, and BMW. A convenience sample was also employed to collect comments per advertisement (n=20). An inductive approach to thematic content analysis was utilised to code consumers’ responses on social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, and YouTube). The findings indicate that race remains a sensitive topic among South African consumers. Thus, marketing communication practitioners need to be mindful of the racial connotations that the content in their advertising material might carry.

Scholars from across the Global South recognise the enduring significance of radio as a site for the preservation, revitalisation, and promotion of Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and culture. In recent years, there has been a growing corpus of knowledge that documents efforts by the media to promote IKS and indigenous languages. In South Africa, however, this effort is limited given that some indigenous language outlets dovetail towards advancing the colonial language hegemony by adopting, or code-switching with, English in their programming. This article explores how the Ka Setswana (i.e., in Setswana) segments on Kgolo (i.e., to grow), a programme on South Africa’s indigenous language radio station Motsweding FM, contribute to the preservation of Setswana cultural knowledge and practices. Anchored in Govenden’s (2023) media decolonial theory, this qualitative study analyses 50 purposively selected episodes archived on Motsweding FM’s podcasts. The findings demonstrate that Ka Setswana operates not only as a cultural archive but as an epistemic intervention that challenges the coloniality of language, power, and knowledge. The programme revives Setswana values and highlights indigenous media’s role in African cultural resurgence. The article argues that language-based broadcasting, when grounded in community memory and critical reflexivity, can advance epistemic justice and model decolonial futures.

With the rise of influencer marketing, brands are searching for new ways to connect with their audiences in an increasingly crowded digital landscape. In response, this study investigates how Kenyan marketing agencies strategically integrate content and influencer marketing to increase brand engagement on social media platforms. A web-based survey and purposive sampling were used to collect data from Kenyan marketing agencies in 2023, while descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses were used for data analysis. Validity and reliability were established through a pilot test and internal consistency measures. The results, based on a realised sample of 87 responses, highlight the benefits of integrating content and influencer marketing. In particular, content marketing attributes such as relevance, authenticity, and consistency were found to be closely associated with higher levels of brand engagement in influencer marketing campaigns. Strategic partnerships and collaborations between brands and influencers further enhanced brand engagement. Interestingly, influencer marketing on its own was not a strong predictor of brand engagement. Therefore, this was a synergistic relationship that, when used together, achieved a level of effectiveness that neither could attain alone. This study addresses the paucity of research in the East African marketing context by providing culturally and geographically specific insights into how these strategies are integrated to drive brand engagement, overcome consumer scepticism, and build long-term trust. These insights have significance for marketers looking to tailor content marketing strategies to local contexts while taking advantage of the global rise of influencer marketing.

This article reimagines the uses and gratifications theory (U&G) by integrating it with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the diffusion of innovations theory (DOI) to better understand media adoption in the digital age. While U&G has been a foundational framework for explaining audience motivations for media consumption, its individualistic focus and lack of predictive power limit its applicability in today’s rapidly evolving media landscape. The Media Acceptance Model (MAM) offers a comprehensive framework that combines the strengths of U&G, TAM, and DOI to address these limitations. MAM incorporates individual needs (from U&G), technological perceptions (from TAM), and social diffusion processes (from DOI) to provide a more holistic understanding of media adoption. The model emphasizes external variables such as socioeconomic status, cultural context and demographic differences, making it particularly relevant for diverse societies like South Africa. By integrating concepts such as perceived usefulness, ease of use, relative advantage and compatibility, MAM enhances predictive capabilities and offers a dynamic tool for analysing contemporary media consumption patterns. This article explores the theoretical foundations, limitations, and synergies of U&G, TAM and DOI, ultimately presenting MAM as a robust framework for understanding and predicting audience behaviour in the digital era.

The fall of Isolezwe newspaper from being South Africa’s second best-selling daily newspaper signals a challenging period for indigenous language newspapers in the country. Both Isolezwe and its sister newspaper I’solezwe lesiXhosa are significant as they represent a return of indigenous language newspapers in the country. These newspapers reversed a trend of inconsistency that has dogged indigenous language newspapers in South Africa, which have been characterised by opening and closing at a rapid rate. Historically, funding was identified as the biggest factor leading to the demise of indigenous language newspapers, but Isolezwe and I’solezwe lesiXhosa were founded by a media conglomerate that initially protected the newspapers from a lack of funding. Utilising qualitative research methods and a case study approach, this article examined the challenges and successes of indigenous language newspapers in South Africa, focusing on Isolezwe and I’solezwe lesiXhosa. The study investigated various aspects of the newspapers’ operation that may have had an impact on their sustainability and success. These aspects include the impact of capital funding, the style of management, revenue generation, and the impact of cultural identity on the circulation and sales of the newspapers. The findings indicate that capital funding is key, as it provides the newspapers with an appropriate foundation for success and cushions them against external financial instability such as recessions, high inflation and economic downturn or slow economic growth. It was also found that the management style of the newspaper and their cultural identity have an impact on their operations.