Media in Africa: Issues and Critiques

A comprehensive and accessible introduction, this book examines a range of issues pertaining to theory, history and critiques of media in Africa.

Featuring contributions from global scholars, that represent both new and established voices on the African continent and the diaspora, this volume explores themes of decolonization, media freedom, media censorship, identity, representation, pluralism, media framing, political economy of the media with emphasis on ownership, market trends and transnational media operations in Africa. Contributors explore these and other topics across a variety of media tiers, types, genres and platforms. The book also features contributions from practicing journalists and media practitioners working in Africa, providing students with hands-on knowledge from the field. Chapters in this volume take an instructional approach with contributors engaging key concepts and related theories to explore the praxis of media in Africa through specific case studies.

An essential text for students of media, communication, journalism, and cultural studies who are studying media in Africa, as well as those studying global media.

Toks Dele Oyedemi is a communication and media scholar, who has taught at universities in South Africa and the United States of America. He engages critical studies of technology and digital culture, and media, culture, and identity. He is the co-editor of Social Inequalities, Media and Communication: Theory and Roots (2016) and The Praxis of Social Inequalities in Media: A Global Perspective (2016).

René A. Smith is an academic, facilitator and arts administrator. She has worked for a variety of media bodies in South Africa and as a gender and media trainer in other African countries. She has extensive academic and arts management experience, teaches and advises on media studies curricula, and is the co-editor of Sociology: A South African Perspective, 2nd Edition (2020).