"The uniqueness of journalism cultures across African nations often highlights the inapplicability of normative, Western-centric theories. The newly proposed African media typology suggests that media systems in Africa would be best understood by thinking about them within the context of the type of
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individual in a leadership position in that country at a specific moment in time. This study aims to begin operationalizing the African media typology by investigating journalist perspectives about political leadership, changes in press freedom, and the role of news media in promoting or inhibiting various forms of development and democratization. Cross-national surveys of journalists in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda, conducted in 2019 (N = 424 journalists: 174 in Rwanda, 148 in Uganda, and 102 in Kenya), reveal ways in which journalists’ perceptions about the role of news media as contributing to various forms of development are similar and different across varying media environments within the typology." (Abstract)
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"The freedom of the press is a cornerstone of democracy and a critical component of a functioning society. In Kenya, like many other countries, journalists face a myriad of challenges when reporting on sensitive issues, including corruption and government wrongdoing. These challenges include physica
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l, verbal, and legal harassment, threats, pressure, and censorship due to media ownership and government control. This study employed semi-structured qualitative interviews to explore the perspectives of journalists in Kenya regarding the country’s current state of press freedom. The study defined a journalist as a professional who collects, writes, reports, or disseminates news or other information to the public via different mediums, including print, broadcast, internet, or social media, with or without an affiliation to a media organization. Findings suggest that journalists in Kenya face various forms of harassment and threats, including physical, verbal, and legal, mainly when reporting on sensitive issues such as corruption and government wrongdoing. The study also found that media ownership and government control significantly impact press freedom and independent reporting. Journalists often face pressure from media owners and government officials to avoid specific topics or to report in a certain way. The chapter concludes with recommendations for addressing these challenges, including improving legal protections for journalists, promoting media ownership transparency, and supporting independent media." (Abstract)
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"Drawing from case studies from selected African countries, an international team of authors offer a broad insight into the state of harassment across the continent, while building new theoretical perspectives that are also context-specific. The chapters bring previous theories and research up to da
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te by addressing the continual change and development of new discourses, including the use of big data and artificial intelligence in harassing and intimidating journalists and mental health issues affecting journalists in their line of duty. More so, the authors argue that the state and form of harassment is not universal, as location and context are some of the key factors that influence the form and character of harassment." (Publisher description)
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"Press Freedom and the (Crooked) Path Toward Democracy uses the perceptions of journalists in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya to examine mediascapes at varying stages of development and democracy-building—Rwanda, which experienced a genocide in 1994, is in relatively early (though fast-paced) stages of
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reconstruction; Uganda, which experienced a civil war in the 1980s and unrest in the 1990s, though arguably not to the extent of Rwanda’s genocide, can be considered in a middle stage of development; and Kenya, which has remained largely peaceful, can be understood as being in a more advanced stage of development. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork and a cross-national survey, this book provides an updated state of press freedom in these three countries and shows how a nation’s political and cultural intricacies complicate traditional media development frameworks and notions of press freedom. Much of the scholarship classifying global media systems has overlooked the world’s most developing nations, and among those that have included developing nations there exists a misguided premise that nations develop in a linear fashion—from non-democracy to democracy, and from a restricted press to a free press. In reality, the ebb and flow of political change, democratization, and backsliding calls for more historically informed views of media systems that do not fit into the confines of existing theories. A detailed set of considerations is put forth for understanding media systems outside the Western world; specifically, that each country’s distance from conflict, political benchmarks, international linkages, and civil society strength are central to understanding its degree of press freedom, development, and democratization." (Publisher description)
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"Amid a rise of misinformation worldwide, this paper examines digital misinformation literacy as it relates to COVID-19 news in East Africa. The study is grounded in inoculation theory and contributes to the body of scholarship examining misinformation literacy beyond the Western world. Data came fr
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om a comparative, cross-national survey in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda (N = 3,203), making this the largest known empirical investigation into digital misinformation literacy in the region within the context of a pandemic. Paper surveys were distributed throughout all three countries in 2021. The data revealed differences in actual and perceived misinformation literacy levels. Kenyans and Rwandans were better at detecting false COVID-19 statements in the media, whereas Ugandans were better at detecting true messages. Similarly, Kenyans’ and Rwandans’ perceived levels of digital misinformation literacy were higher than Ugandans’. Regarding perceived exposure to COVID-19 information, Kenyans felt they were exposed to fake COVID-19 news online more often than Ugandans, who felt more exposed than Rwandans. This research contributes to the growing literature on digital misinformation literacy, an area which isn’t significantly studied in many world regions, especially in Africa." (Abstract)
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"Press freedom is said to be a necessary pillar of democracy. As many sub-Saharan African nations move towards creating or strengthening democracies, examining their levels of press freedom may be an important element. This study utilizes public opinion data from 10 nations in the sub-Saharan Africa
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n region and international press freedom rankings from Reporters Without Borders to better understand both how important (or not) citizens view press freedom to be in their country and how those beliefs compare to global metrices between 2011 and 2018. Results show clear differences in citizen beliefs about press freedom across countries, but no clear relationship between citizen beliefs and global rankings. A connection between individual perceptions and global rankings may take more time to manifest, and/or a nation’s cultural values and political landscape likely have the strongest impact on citizen beliefs." (Abstract)
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