Newsmaking Cultures in Africa

This book explores the intricacies of newsmaking cultures in Africa. It pulls together theoretically driven studies that dig beneath the standardised and universalised veneer of professionalism to unpack routine practices as well as normative trends shaped by local factors, including the structural conditions of deprivation, entrenched political instability (and interference), pervasive neo-patrimonial governance systems, and the influences of technological developments. These varied and complex circumstances are shown to profoundly shape the foundations of journalism in Africa, resulting in practices that are both normatively distinct and equally in tune with (imported) Western journalistic cultures.

Auteur

Hayes Mawindi Mabweazara is Senior Lecturer in Journalism Studies at Falmouth University, England, UK. He is Associate Editor of the journal African Journalism Studies and Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Résumé
This book contributes to a broadened theorisation of journalism by exploring the intricacies of African journalism and its connections with the material realities that underpin the profession on the continent. It pulls together theoretically driven studies that collectively deploy a wide range of evidence to shed some light on newsmaking cultures in Africa the everyday routines, defining epistemologies, as well as ethical dilemmas. The volume digs beneath the standardised and universalised veneer of professionalism to unpack routine practices and normative trends shaped by local factors, including the structural conditions of deprivation, entrenched political instability (and interference), pervasive neo-patrimonial governance systems, and the influences of technological developments. These varied and complex circumstances are shown to profoundly shape the foundations of journalism in Africa, resulting in routine practices that are both normatively distinct and equally in tune with (imported) Western journalistic cultures. The book thus broadly points to the dialectical nature of news production and the inconsistent and contradictory relationships that characterise news production cultures in Africa.

Contenu
1. Reinvigorating 'Age-Old Questions': African Journalism Cultures and the Fallacy of Global Normative Homogeneity.Part I: Issues and Conceptual Debates.2. Towards a Journalism Education Model Curricula in Africa: A Call for a Glocal Rather than Global (Universal) Journalism Model.3. African Journalism Cultures: The Struggle of Free Expression Against Neo-Patrimonial Governance.Part II: Professional Practices, Cultures and Identity.4. The Nairobian and the 'Politics' of Tabloidization in Kenya's Print Media.5. When Your 'Take-Home' Can Hardly Take You Home: Moonlighting and the Quest for Economic Survival in the Zimbabwean Press.6. Press Freedom in the African Great Lakes Region: A Comparative Study of Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.7. Newsmaking Practices in Uganda: A Comparative Framing Analysis of two Leading Newspapers.Part III: Ethical and Professional Dilemmas.8. Brown envelope journalism: The Contradiction Between Ethical Mindset and Unethical Practice.9. Poor Capitalization and Corruption within the Nigerian Press.10. 'Caught up in between a rock and a hard place'? A Comparative Study of how Business Journalists Negotiate Ethical Policies in Kenya and South Africa.11. Media Ethics and Journalism in Tanzania.Part IV: Politics, Political Parallelism and Partisanship.12. Journalism, Politics and Professionalism in Zimbabwe.13. Ideology as News: Political Parallelism in Botswana's Public Media.14. The Journalistic Field in Ethiopia: Where Partisanship and Credibility Cohabit.15. From Watchdogs to Hostages of Peace: The Kenyan Press and the 2013 General Election.Part V: New Media and Emerging Professional Cultures.16. 'We Cannot Bite the Finger that Feeds Us': Journalists' Dilemmas and the Appropriation of 'Alternative' Media in Nigerian Print Newsrooms.17. Reality check: The Nigerian Press and the Potentials of the Internet in the Domestication of International News.