"[The editors] have expertly put together a tour de force collection of African perspectives on the varied ways in which journalists, communicators, citizens, government communicators and other stakeholders mediated the recent global pandemics. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a critical juncture, the ... book underscores the political nature of (mis)representing, (mis)framing and illuminating stories in a pandemic context. Drawing mostly on case studies from Southern, East, and West Africa, the volume foregrounds the various ways in which the media covered the recent global pandemics. It also looks at how public officials were instrumental in communicating about the causes, nature, prevention, and vaccination-related interventions. It also focuses on citizen-initiated communications on social media and how these were implicated in the viral production and circulation of mis/disinformation." (Publisher description) more

"This book explores how unresolved questions of social justice shape the character of the political terrain and political actors, through the lens of social media. It treats communication as the medium through which social issues and processes are made visible. Given the rise and spread of populist ... politics, the views of ordinary people on social issues have never mattered more. One platform through which these voices can be studied extensively is social media. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter now X, YouTube, and Instagram, among others, afford ordinary citizens-often marginalized by traditional mainstream media-space to vent their opinions, engage in discussions of whatever topic, share information and ideas, and explore various kinds of information as well as data, links to which are often provided through various macro and micro discursive spaces therein. Arguably, therefore, social media have become a quintessential platform for studying contemporary sociality. Social media must be studied not just as a communication platform, but one through which the social world, social processes and social issues are made visible and, in some cases, enacted. With rich case studies from the Global South, and a particular focus on Africa, this collection does just that." (Publisher description) more

"All the AMBs consistently demonstrate that African countries provide for at least freedom of expression, although a number also specify freedom of the press in their national constitutions. Most have ratified international instruments which provide for and seek to enhance fundamental freedoms. Howe ... ver, the AMBs also show that this promising picture is tainted by the inclusion of significant pullback conditions in the same national constitutions, and the enactment and retention of restrictive laws on the statute books. Furthermore, the AMBs indicate that several African countries, such as Namibia, have been slow to enact laws promoting access to information, especially information held by state functionaries. The AMBs show that African media are generally plural but less diverse in content, and primarily patriarchal in their coverage of women. Although print media is expansive in most African countries, circulation figures are dropping, and the cost of newspapers and magazines limits accessibility. Most countries have a significant number of broadcasting services (in particular radio, which remains the cheapest and most accessible medium on the continent) across the three tiers of state/public media, commercial media and community media. However, it is also noted that both print and broadcast media face sustainability challenges due to falling advertising revenues and limited state support for the media, which threatens to constrict the communicative space and the range of issues and social groups covered. In addition, the AMBs show limited desire by most African governments to provide guarantees, in law, for editorial independence in the state/public media." (Conclusion, page 49) more