mediadev library

Download (60)

Conflict narratives in the news and digital spaces: The dangerous placebo of geopolitical power and their digital news versus technology effects on stories of water and border disuptes in Africa

Loubna Mckouar

Africa No Filter (2022), iii, 31 pp.

Download (0)

Same old story? African disease stereotypes persist in Covid-19 media coverage

Maame Nikabs, Mphathisi Ndlovu

Africa No Filter (2022), iii, 23 pp.

"1. Western media speculated about negative Covid-19 African outcomes: The media analysed in this study used words like “could”, “will almost certainly”, “will turn into” to prophesy doom for the continent, especially expressing doubt that the hospital infrastructure on the continent co ... uld cope. 2. The portrayal of Africa as diseased persisted: Global media had reported that Africa would be worst hit and expressed surprise that Africa did not reach the record high death rates that occurred in Western countries. Journalists were at pains to make sense of this “mystery”, for example, suggesting the low numbers were due to Africans being afraid to go to hospital. 3. Many development agencies also used negative stereotypes: Many publications from development agencies focused on barriers to the response to the epidemic in Africa, such as widespread poverty, lack of education, poor infrastructure, and irregular power supply. They further lamented a low test per case ratio and portrayed the continent as a charity case. Fears were also expressed about socio-economic impacts of Covid-19, such as job losses, economic contraction, and recession. 4. African media focused on government handling of the pandemic: African media mainly highlighted the African governments' agency in dealing with Covid-19. Some articles also reported on the mishandling of Covid-19 funds. However, within countries, different news sources sometimes reported differently, for example, in Zimbabwe, NewsDay typically reported on poor governance and corruption, while The Herald reported positively on actions being taken in the country. 5. African media chastised Africans about their behaviour: Many of the African media houses portrayed Africans as quarantine violators and fugitives who were breaching Covid-19 regulations and infecting family members, thereby spreading the virus. 6. Western media continued to represent Africa as a single entity: Just as with global coverage of Ebola and HIV/AIDS, the Western media outlets we studied continued to report on Africa as a homogenous entity and did not give attention to how Covid-19 was impacting differently in different countries – albeit that it gave some attention to South Africa, where death rates were high." (Key insights, page iii) more

Download (0)

Global broadcast media still relying on stereotypical narratives about Africa

Gideon H. Chitanga

Africa No Filter (2022), iii, 20 pp.

"1. International broadcast media CNNI (CNN International) , CGTN (China Global Television Network) and AJE (Al-Jazeera English) – reinforced Afro-pessimism in their coverage of Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe: Politics, corruption, conflict, business and economic news dominated their b ... roadcasts, and apart from a few isolated positive business stories, the chosen themes reflected the bad and the ugly, feeding into a negative narrative. Political news was dominated by gloom and doom, supported with images suggesting hopelessness. 2. Coverage of economic news and current affairs mostly presented economic progress as externally driven, with few economic success stories: Most economic news and current affairs stories highlighted growing unemployment, economic frustrations, business challenges and mismanagement associated with poor governance and suggestions of growing economic crisis. For example, despite economic growth in Ethiopia, CGTN news focused on Chinese investment that was fuelling infrastructure development in the four countries. 3. CGTN told more positive stories than CNNI or AJE: This more positive narrative of development journalism centred on successful projects between China and each of the four countries and highlighted economic gains for them. As such, coverage shone a light on economic progress based in cooperation. However, the narrative emphasised Chinese investment more than cooperative efforts in the four African countries. 4. CGTN and AJE had more diverse content than CNNI, covering sports, environment and conservation, art, fashion and music: Although minimal, the coverage shone a light on African sporting excellence and endogenous innovations to preserve the environment, and showcased talent in art forms and fashion. 5. CGTN and AJE also had more African anchors, journalists, correspondents and analysts than CNNI: The face of journalism – key sources, journalists and presenters – improved the public's perception of CGTN and AJE coverage. In addition, AJE gave voice to ordinary people, capturing and telling their experiences in its news and current affairs stories, through real time interactive social media participation during its broadcasts. 6. CNNI told fewer stories about the four countries, compared to CGTN and AJE: African countries remained marginal in CNNI, and when coverage was provided, it mainly focused on adverse political events." (Key insights, page iii) more

Download (0)

Redefining Global Citizenship Through Young African Digital Narratives: African Digital Cosmopolitanism on Instagram and TikTok

Fungai Machirori

Africa No Filter (2022), iii, 14 pp.

"The trending hashtags analysed in this study all appeared at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, when a range of Western media suggested that the African continent would be hit worst. However, as Western nations (such as the US and the UK) struggled under increased disease burden, content s ... more