Africa S Media Image In The 21st Century

Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century is the first book in over twenty years to examine the international media’s coverage of sub-Saharan Africa. It brings together leading researchers and prominent journalists to explore representation of the continent, and the production of that image, especially by international news media. The book highlights factors that have transformed the global media system, changing whose perspectives are told and the forms of media that empower new voices. Case studies consider questions such as: how has new media changed whose views are represented? Does Chinese or diaspora media offer alternative perspectives for viewing the continent? How do foreign correspondents interact with their audiences in a social media age? What is the contemporary role of charity groups and PR firms in shaping news content? They also examine how recent high profile events and issues been covered by the international media, from the Ebola crisis, and Boko Haram to debates surrounding the "Africa Rising" narrative and neo-imperialism. The book makes a substantial contribution by moving the academic discussion beyond the traditional critiques of journalistic stereotyping, Afro-pessimism, and ‘darkest Africa’ news coverage. It explores the news outlets, international power dynamics, and technologies that shape and reshape the contemporary image of Africa and Africans in journalism and global culture.

Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century is the first book in over twenty years to examine the international media's coverage of sub-Saharan Africa. It brings together leading researchers and prominent journalists to explore representation of the continent, and the production of that image, especially by international news media. The book highlights factors that have transformed the global media system, changing whose perspectives are told and the forms of media that empower new voices. Case studies consider questions such as: how has new media changed whose views are represented? Does Chinese or diaspora media offer alternative perspectives for viewing the continent? How do foreign correspondents interact with their audiences in a social media age? What is the contemporary role of charity groups and PR firms in shaping news content? They also examine how recent high profile events and issues been covered by the international media, from the Ebola crisis, and Boko Haram to debates surrounding the "Africa Rising" narrative and neo-imperialism. The book makes a substantial contribution by moving the academic discussion beyond the traditional critiques of journalistic stereotyping, Afro-pessimism, and 'darkest Africa' news coverage. It explores the news outlets, international power dynamics, and technologies that shape and reshape the contemporary image of Africa and Africans in journalism and global culture.

Analyses stories about Africa in the American media. This book looks at bias and content in coverage of subjects such as the Algerian war of independence and US food aid in Africa and also looks at the portrayal of race, tribalism and nationalism.

The Image of Africa in Ghana’s Press is of high conceptual, theoretical and methodological quality. It gives a good overview of the literature and the state of the art in the fields tackled by the author. The originality of the book lies especially in its methodological approach. Prof Guido Keel, Director of the Institute of Applied Media Studies, Zurich University of Applied Sciences The Image of Africa in Ghana’s Press is a comprehensive and highly analytical study of the impact of foreign news organisations on the creation of an image of Africa in its own press. Identifying a problematic focus on the Western media in previous studies of the African media image, Serwornoo uses the Ghanaian press as a case study to explore the effects of centuries of Afro-pessimistic discourse in the foreign press on the continent’s self-description. This study brings together a number of theoretical approaches, including newsworthiness, intermedia agenda setting, postcolonial theory and the hierarchy of influences, to question the processes underpinning the creation of media content. It is particularly innovative in its application of the methodological frameworks of ethnographic content analysis and ethnographic interview techniques to unveil the perspectives of journalists and editors. The Image of Africa in Ghana’s Press presents a vital contribution of the highest academic standard to the growing literature surrounding Afro-pessimism and postcolonial studies. It will be of great value to scientists in the field of journalism studies, as well as researchers interested in the merging of journalism research, postcolonial studies, and ethnography.

News media plays an integral role in the formation of public opinion regarding any country on the global scale. Global credentials, such as influence and power also determine the media coverage. This becomes especially important in the case of African countries, most of which are not very influential compared to the Western developed countries. Most Western media outlets rely heavily on western sources while portraying Africa. Such sources influence the manner in which issues and events are presented, as well as the public perception of a country or community in the world. This book provides comprehensive insights on Africa's media image and the role of international news organizations. The readers would gain knowledge that would broaden their perspective about this area of study. Those in search of information to further their knowledge will be greatly assisted by this book.

What is the role of the media in Africa? How do they work? How do they interact with global media? How do they reflect and express local culture? Incorporating both African and international perspectives, Media and Identity in Africa demonstrates how media outlets are used to perpetuate, question, or modify the unequal power relations between Africa and the rest of the world. Discussions about the construction of old and new social entities which are defined by class, gender, ethnicity, political and economic differences, wealth, poverty, cultural behavior, language, and religion dominate these new assessments of communications media in Africa. This volume addresses the tensions between the global and the local that have inspired creative control and use of traditional and modern forms of media.

This edited collection is a cutting-edge volume that reframes political communication from an African perspective. 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 Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ivory Coast and Nigeria, the collection gives space to previously understudied regions of sub-Saharan Africa and challenges the over-reliance of western scholarship on political communication on the continent.

The Image of Africa in Ghana's Press is a comprehensive and highly analytical study of the impact of foreign news organisations on the creation of an image of Africa in its own press. Identifying a problematic focus on the Western media in previous studies of the African media image, Serwornoo uses the Ghanaian press as a case study to explore the effects of centuries of Afro-pessimistic discourse in the foreign press on the continent's self-description. This study brings together a number of theoretical approaches, including newsworthiness, intermedia agenda setting, postcolonial theory and the hierarchy of influences, to question the processes underpinning the creation of media content. It is particularly innovative in its application of the methodological frameworks of ethnographic content analysis and ethnographic interview techniques to unveil the perspectives of journalists and editors. The Image of Africa in Ghana's Press presents a vital contribution of the highest academic standard to the growing literature surrounding Afro-pessimism and postcolonial studies. It will be of great value to scientists in the field of journalism studies, as well as researchers interested in the merging of journalism research, postcolonial studies, and ethnography.