African Journalism Studies Research Articles

Approaching Transcultural Communication and the Global South: A Conversation With Prof. Herman Wasserman

Abstract Herman Wasserman is a Professor of Journalism at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. He has published widely on media, ethics and democracy in Africa and has consulted for organizations such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the Centre for International Media Assistance and given keynote addresses and invited lectures at universities worldwide. He has been a visiting scholar at Indiana University, Tsinghua University, the University of Houston and the Ludwig–Maximilian University. His awards include the Georg Foster Prize from the German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, a Fulbright Fellowship, amongst others. He is often quoted in international media and serves on the editorial boards of more than fifteen international scholarly journals. He is Editor-in-Chief of the African Journalism Studies and the Annals of the International Communication Association. He is a Fellow of the International Communication Association and an elected member of the Academy of Science of South Africa. In this interview, Wasserman talks about international inequality in communication and media studies, the importance of decolonizing communication studies, and the need to include more vantage points from the Global South in communication scholarship and knowledge production in general. Wasserman also discusses about the importance of revisiting indigenous philosophy while alerting us against romanticizing or essentializing these philosophies. He further talks about his recent works on media ethics, disinformation, and how they connect to the wider debate on topics such as information disorder in the Global South.

Influence of Online Apps in Fostering Agri-Enterprise Development along the Agricultural Value Chain in Kenya

Influence of Online Apps in Fostering Agri-Enterprise Development along the Agricultural Value Chain in Kenya

Paradigm Shift in the Work of Arnold de Beer and Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies (1980–2020)

ABSTRACT This article examines the early work of Arnold S. de Beer, a founding scholar of journalism studies in South Africa. Drawing on culturalism and autoethnography, a revisionist analysis examines the maturing perspectives of the author over 45 years of interaction with de Beer. The conceptual opposites negotiated include communication science versus media studies, positivism versus cultural studies, and objectivity versus subjectivity. The narrative focuses on how de Beer with Ecquid Novi (EN), and through his publications, shaped journalistic debates in South Africa from 1980 onwards. The junction where the paths of the two scholars converged is framed within a medieval jousting metaphor. This article continues and reassesses an overview written in similar vein in 2004 by the present author on the occasion of EN’s then 25th anniversary.

The (Other) Anglophone Problem: Charting the Development of a Journalism Subfield

ABSTRACT To mark the 40th Anniversary of African Journalism Studies, it is important to reflect on its contribution to a subfield the journal has built. This essay gives a broad overview of the African journalism subfield’s developments and addresses the journal’s most notable achievements and shortcomings.

Some Random Thoughts on the South African Communication Association

ABSTRACT This autoethnography concludes the author’s trilogy on the history of the South African Communication Association (SACOMM) in this 40th anniversary issue of African Journalism Studies, previously titled as Ecquid Novi, a key player since 1981 within the Association. The author discusses paradigmatic contestations and associated administrative arrangements within SACOMM as indicators of post 2000 university managerialism and performance management, in the context of wider political processes. A discussion of naming of the Association reconsiders SACOMM’s origins and history. The successes of the Association in terms of post-apartheid national policy are examined in terms of SACOMM’s achievements and organisational assumptions. Lessons learned are related briefly to other African associations.

Succession Politics and Factional Journalism in Zimbabwe: A Case of The Chronicle in Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT This paper is a critical exploration of the emergence and manifestations of a phenomenon we refer to as “factional” or “succession” journalism within the state media in the context of the tussle over the succession of the late former Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe. Using the state-controlled Chronicle daily newspaper as a case study, we seek to examine the role and influence of editors and journalists in the negotiation of power in the context of reporting a contested succession of Mugabe in 2016. We locate “factional journalism” in the context of the capture of the state media by the ruling party and the virtual erosion of journalistic agency in the state media institutions. We argue that whereas the onset of the “Zimbabwe crisis” spawned the creation of different and polarised forms of journalism in the country (i.e. oppositional and patriotic journalism; see Ranger, 2005. “The rise of patriotic journalism in Zimbabwe and its possible implications”. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture 2: 8–17; Chuma 2008. “Mediating the 2000 elections in Zimbabwe: competing journalisms in a society at the crossroads”. African Journalism Studies 29 (1): 22–41), within the “patriotic journalism” camp also emerged a new strand of “factional journalism” linked closely to the fierce contest for the succession of Robert Mugabe within Zanu PF. We also argue that the succession issue presented a poignant moment at which political journalism at the public media became subordinate to whichever faction held sway in the information/media portfolio in government, and which faction deployed its allocative powers to reward and punish specific forms of political reporting. We apply a limited qualitative content analysis of news stories on the succession issue and complement this with qualitative in-depth interviews with journalists reporting on the subject. This approach arguably provides a much more holistic picture of the factors at play in the production of political content on the subject.

Practices, Policies and Regulation in African Journalism: Mapping a Research Agenda

ABSTRACTThis special issue examines the intricacies of journalism practices, policies and media regulation in contemporary Africa. The studies carried in the issue collectively offer three broad contributions to (African) journalism studies. First, they demonstrate how law and regulation are used to control and, in some cases, stifle the practice of journalism. Second, studies examine the challenges presented by new digital technologies to both the practice of journalism as well as the law and regulation by which it is governed. In particular, the studies highlight how digital technologies blur the definition of journalism, how they provide an opportunity for journalists to overcome state censorship and surveillance, and also how online platforms can offer an arena for nationalistic discourses, divisions and hate. Finally, the special issue bolsters the relevance of investigating media practices and regulation policy for radio broadcasting in Africa, while also signalling the prospering significance of empirical research into new media and their relationship with law and policy.

Chapter 8 – Media reporting of migrants and migration

Chapter 8 – Media reporting of migrants and migration

New media scholarship in Africa: an evaluation of Africa-focused blog related research from 2006 to 2016

This study reviewed Africa-focused blog related research during the 10-year period of 2006–2016 through a content analysis of 32 Africa-focused blog related research articles accessed from six databases: EBSCO’s Academic Search Complete, Communication and Mass Media Complete, JSTOR, SAGE, Taylor and Francis, and Wiley Online Library. We evaluated Africa-focused blog related research areas, genres, trends, geospatial distribution, methods, and the journals that published these articles. Results show that majority of Africa-focused blog related research studied blogs, blog entries, and bloggers. Concerning blog genres, most of the articles focused on political blogs, activism, and news blogs. At least one article got published each year with a peak of seven in 2012. Most of the studies focused on South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya and, qualitative research methods were adopted more than quantitative research methods. The following journals; Communicatio, Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies, Journal of Communication Inquiry, and Journalism published more Africa-focused blog related research than others.

Why the ‘African’ still matters in African journalism studies

(2015). Why the ‘African’ still matters in African journalism studies. African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 57-64.

Journalism in Africa: Modernity, Africanity

(2015). Journalism in Africa: Modernity, Africanity. African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 37-43.

Reflections on elections in a dominant party state

(2015). Reflections on elections in a dominant party state. African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 149-155.

Media research: So what difference does it make?

(2015). Media research: So what difference does it make? African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 163-168.

Re-orienting the ‘charm offensive’ to the ‘charm defensive’: A critical review of Chinese media development in Africa

(2015). Re-orienting the ‘charm offensive’ to the ‘charm defensive’: A critical review of Chinese media development in Africa. African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 135-140.

Is cultural translation hidden in African journalism?

(2015). Is cultural translation hidden in African journalism? African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 65-72.

Should South African journalists be paying more attention to policy?

(2015). Should South African journalists be paying more attention to policy? African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 144-148.

Remaking ‘area studies’ in journalism studies

(2015). Remaking ‘area studies’ in journalism studies. African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 30-36.

Factors affecting the quality of Malawian journalism

(2015). Factors affecting the quality of Malawian journalism. African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 156-162.

African journalism studies: The first 60 years

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsJo Ellen Fair Jo Ellen Fair is Professor of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Gender divides and African journalism practice

(2015). Gender divides and African journalism practice. African Journalism Studies: Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 84-92.