intellectual poverty and theory building in african mass communication research abStRactAfter years of heated controversy over philosophical orientations among communication researchers, a consensus seems to have emerged that recognizes the value of both the American and Europeans traditions. It was in the wake of the 'ferment' debates among communication scholars in the late 1970s and early 1980s that African communication scholars also started to take stock of their field and take a closer look at their historical and cultural experiences. In trying to situate their own unique perspectives within the study of communication, these scholars lamented the paucity of authentic African theoretical perspectives.All human communication behaviour is grounded in culture. Hence, authentic African communication theories attempt to explain such behaviour from the African cultural context. Over the years, however, African communication researchers engaged more in 'reactive scholarship' than in original theory building and relied