Document details

In-Between Journalism and Media Development: Negotiating Journalist Safety within Decolonising African Contexts

In: Decolonising Journalism Education in South Africa: Critical Perspectives
Ylva Rodny-Gumede; Colin Chasi; Zubeida Jaffer; Mvuso Ponono (eds.)
London; New York: Routledge (2023), pp. 163-186

Institution of author: University of South Africa; University of Westminster

"Media development has long been a staple in Africa and literature about its conceptualisations, practices and impact abound. One defining characteristic of this literature is that it focuses primarily on media development’s impact on the media’s ability to resist penetration by the state. This chapter outlines a re-theorisation of ‘journalist’ and ‘media development’ within the African context. While the combination of new communication technologies and citizen journalism is bringing new voices, new experiences and novel information into the information ecosystem, more work is needed on the political economy of citizen journalism, particularly in light of the increasing corporatisation and centralisation of the internet. Africa and the rest of the Global South have seen an upsurge in funding from international donors and aid agencies directed at supporting free and independent media in developing and transitional countries." (Abstract)