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Investigating Usage of Social Media Platforms in South Africa

Adheesh Budree, Katja Fietkiewicz, Elmar Lins

African Journal of Information Systems, volume 11, issue 4 (2019), pp. 314-336

"This study investigated the differences in usage of different social media platforms within the South African context, broken down by user characteristics, specifically gender and age, in addition to investigating the correlation between usage of differing social media platforms. This was carried o ... more

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Token Transformation? A Critical Political Economy of the Media Analysis of Ownership and Content Diversity in South Africa's Print Media

Prinola Govenden

Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand (2019), 304 pp.

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The Impact of Social Media in Conserving African Languages Amongst Youth in Limpopo Province

Edgar Julius Malatji

University of Limpopo, Doctoral Thesis (2019), xviii, 286 pp.

"This study focuses on the impact of social media towards conserving African languages, particularly Sepedi, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Social media are given attention to explore their impact in conserving African languages amongst youth. Youth is a suitable group to focus on as they are the future an ... d are thus expected to carry their African languages and pass them on to succeeding generations. This exercise should be done to ensure that African languages should not face extinction in the future. Generally, youth are constant users of social media platforms, hence it is cardinal to investigate their language-usage patterns on social media platforms. The majority of the African youth in South Africa use either one or more of the nine (9) indigenous African languages that are official, namely, isiNdebele, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga. Therefore, one would expect speakers of these indigenous African languages to effectively use them on social media, particularly, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. African language heritage is undoubtedly a valuable resource, however, it needs state resources to develop it further and establish it as a core economic driver on various media platforms. The study employs exploratory and descriptive designs. These designs are appropriate for this study because it permits data to be collected through observations, focus group interviews and questionnaires. Focus group interviews, observations, and questionnaires were used to collect data. Focus group is a data-collection tool for understanding people’s behaviour and attitudes. The researcher moderated three focus groups. One hundred (100) questionnaires were distributed to the participants in this study. These tools are apt for the data-collection process in this study because they assist to discover factors that influence opinions, attitudes, and behaviours. Social media have great potential to conserve the African languages but the speakers of these languages should play a cardinal role in this process. Majority of the youth do not prefer to use the African languages on social media. Conversations on both Facebook and Twitter are dominated by English as youth prefer it ahead of Sepedi, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga. In contrast, youth prefer to use the African languages on WhatsApp because they know their contacts. However, code-switching is used a lot by youth on social media. Despite the fact that Sepedi, Tshivenda, and Xitsonga are not mostly used on Facebook and Twitter they remain relevant and useful amongst their speakers on a daily basis. Nevertheless, there is a need to develop the African languages based social media sites to stimulate their usage on these platforms. Additionally, these languages should be developed to fit the needs of social media." (Abstract) more

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Video Games and the Global South

Phillip Penix-Tadsen (ed.)

Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University;ETC Press (2019), viii, 290 pp.

"The innovative research in Video Games and the Global South focuses on a range of topics including art games and serious games from the global south, postcolonialism and cultural representation, player communities, software modification (modding), intercultural communication online, racism and sexi ... more

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The Role of Community Radios in Information Dissemination to Rural Women in South Africa

Madeleine C. Fombad, Glenrose Veli Jiyane

Journal of Librarianship and Information Science, volume 51, issue 1 (2019), pp. 47-58

"This article adopts the case study research approach through the use of document analysis and interviews to investigate the role of two community radio stations in selected areas of the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa with regard to rural development and the dissemination of information to w ... more

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Transnational Media: Concepts and Cases

Suman Mishra, Rebecca Kern-Stone (eds.)

Newark: Wiley (2019), ix, 246 pp.

"Transnational Media: Concepts and Cases provides a clear and engaging overview of media communication from a global and a region-based perspective. Rather than focusing on just complex theories and industry-specific analyses, this unique book offers an inclusive, comparative approach to both journa ... more

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Annual Report 2018/2019

Johannesburg: Media Development & Diversity Agency (MDDA) (2019), 136 pp.

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Community Newspaper as a Tool for Community Development: A Readers’ Perception Study of Idikelethu Newspaper in Alice, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Nolukhanyo T. Metula, Oluyinka O. Osunkunle

Journal of Asian and African Studies, volume 54, issue 6 (2019), pp. 930-944

"This paper evaluates readers’ perceptions of Idikelethu newspaper as a tool for community development, particularly in Alice, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. Data was collected from two focus group discussions that were held in the areas where Idikelethu newspaper has high readershi ... more

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Mapping the Digital Divide in Africa: A Mediated Analysis

Bruce Mutsvairo, Massimo Ragnedda (eds.)

Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press (2019), 278 pp.

"This is a timely and much-needed collection that fills an important gap in the literature. It offers excellent conceptual tools and a selection of case studies that provide a useful map of the digital divide across the African continent and between Africa and the rest of the world. I especially app ... more

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Future Proofing Community Radio

Jayshree Pather

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB);Media Development & Diversity Agency (MDDA) (2019), 64 pp.

"This NAB guide is [...] aimed at assisting community radio as well as industry stakeholders to unpack current and future challenges facing the sector. These include issues such as digital disruption, technology convergence and the impact of new content platforms. The guide also provides an overview ... more

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Fighting for Survival: Media Startups in the Global South
Inspiring Practice

Anya Schiffrin

New York: Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) (2019), 180 pp.

"Three years after writing the report Publishing for Peanuts, in which we surveyed 35 media startups mostly from the Global South, we decided to go back and see how the outlets had fared. Our area of interest in 2015 was small-to-medium size independent media outlets with a track record of consisten ... more

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Media and the Global South: Narrative Territorialities, Cross-Cultural Currents

Mehita Iqani, Fernando Resende

London et al.: Routledge (2019), xvi, 207 pp.

"This book interrogates the possibilities of global thinking from the south in the field of media, communication, and cultural studies. Through lenses of millennial media cultures, it refocuses the praxis of the global south in relation to the established ideas of globalization, development, and con ... more

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Data Journalism in the Global South
Top Insights

Bruce Mutsvairo, Saba Bebawi, Eddy Borges-Rey (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2019), xxxv, 334 pp.

"This volume seeks to analyse the emerging wave of data journalism in the Global South. It does so by examining trends, developments and opportunities for data journalism in the aforementioned contexts. Whilst studies in this specific form of journalism are increasing in numbers and significance, th ... more

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Insights from the Entertainment & Media Outlook: 2019-2023. An African Perspective. Getting Personal: Putting the me in Entertainment & Media

Vicki Myburgh, Charles Stuart

PWC, 10th annual ed. (2019), 189 pp.

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Digital News Report 2019
Top Insights

Nic Newman, Richard Fletcher, Antonis Kalogeropoulos, Rasmus Kleis Nielsen (eds.)

Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism (2019), 153 pp.

"Despite the efforts of the news industry, we find only a small increase in the numbers paying for any online news – whether by subscription, membership, or donation. Growth is limited to a handful of countries mainly in the Nordic region (Norway 34%, Sweden 27%) while the number paying in the US ... (16%) remains stable after a big jump in 2017. • Even in countries with higher levels of payment, the vast majority only have ONE online subscription – suggesting that ‘winner takes all’ dynamics are likely to be important. One encouraging development though is that most payments are now ‘ongoing’, rather than one-offs. In some countries, subscription fatigue may also be setting in, with the majority preferring to spend their limited budget on entertainment (Netflix/Spotify) rather than news. With many seeing news as a ‘chore’, publishers may struggle to substantially increase the market for high-priced ‘single title’ subscriptions. As more publishers launch pay models, over two-thirds (70%) of our sample in Norway and half (50%) in the United States now come across one or more barriers each week when trying to read online news. In many countries, people are spending less time with Facebook and more time with WhatsApp and Instagram than this time last year. Few users are abandoning Facebook entirely, though, and it remains by far the most important social network for news. Social communication around news is becoming more private as messaging apps continue to grow everywhere. WhatsApp has become a primary network for discussing and sharing news in non-Western countries like Brazil (53%) Malaysia (50%), and South Africa (49%). People in these countries are also far more likely than in the West to be part of large WhatsApp groups with people they don’t know – a trend that reflects how messaging applications can be used to easily share information at scale, potentially encouraging the spread of misinformation. Public and private Facebook Groups discussing news and politics have become popular in Turkey (29%) and Brazil (22%) but are much less used in Western countries such as Canada (7%) or Australia (7%). Concern about misinformation and disinformation remains high despite efforts by platforms and publishers to build public confidence. In Brazil 85% agree with a statement that they are worried about what is real and fake on the internet." (Summary, page 9) more

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Recognition and Transformation: Beyond Media Discourses on the BRICS

Tom Dwyer, Olivier Arifon

Global Media and Communication, volume 15, issue 1 (2019), pp. 27-47

"Based on literature review and interviews with journalists, we argue that the BRICS countries are constructing a collective vision, guided by logics of recognition and of transformation. The production of discourse reaches its high point during the BRICS leaders’ summits. To go beyond analysis of ... more

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Global Information Society Watch 2019. Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights, Social Justice and Development
Top Insights

Association for Progressive Communications (APC);Article 19;Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) (2019), 87 pp.

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is now receiving unprecedented global attention as it finds widespread practical application in multiple spheres of activity. But what are the human rights, social justice and development implications of AI when used in areas such as health, education and social service ... more

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Trust in the Media

Ipsos (2019), 48 pp.

"People across 27 countries are divided on whether they trust traditional media (magazines and newspapers, TV and radio). These sources are equally trusted as they are distrusted. However, levels of trust in media sources vary greatly at the country level. Trust in traditional media is perceived to ... more

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Perspectives on Political Communication in Africa

Bruce Mutsvairo, Beschara Karam (eds.)

Cham: Palgrave Macmillan (2018), xxiii, 272 pp.

"Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally drawing comparisons with other regions of the world, this book critically addresses the development of the field focusing on the current opportunities and challenges within the African context. By using a wide variety of case studies that include Moza ... more

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Religion, Media, and Marginality in Modern Africa

Felicitas Becker, Joel Cabrita, Marie Rodet (eds.)

Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Press (2018), ix, 320 pp.

"Religion, Media, and Marginality in Modern Africa is one of the first volumes to put new media and old media into significant conversation with one another, and also offers a rare comparison between Christianity and Islam in Africa. The contributors find many previously unacknowledged correspondenc ... more

Fighting for Survival: Media Startups in the Global South Inspiring Practice

Data Journalism in the Global South Top Insights

Digital News Report 2019 Top Insights

Global Information Society Watch 2019. Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights, Social Justice and Development Top Insights

Fighting for Survival: Media Startups in the Global South
Inspiring Practice

Data Journalism in the Global South
Top Insights

Digital News Report 2019
Top Insights

Global Information Society Watch 2019. Artificial Intelligence: Human Rights, Social Justice and Development
Top Insights