An agenda for researching African media and communication contexts

Introduction

“…Most African journalists, as Paterson (2014, 259-260, emphasis added) observes, operate in multifaceted conditions "where news production is sometimes strikingly similar to what might be seen in any global news hub … and, conversely, sometimes distant from Northern norms in terms of its goals and methods". In the same way, as Kupe (2004) further notes, most African journalists work with significantly fewer resources. They have a lower status, are poorly paid and operate in multicultural countries that are at various stages of constituting themselves as nations in a globalising world.…”

Bridging Research and Expertise: Dominant West African Trends in Communication Studies

“…berger (2002) makes a similar diagnosis regarding the extroversion of theory, noting that the concepts of media, democracy, and civil society are used without first questioning whether they apply to the specific forms of social communication in Africa. thus, it is worth considering a more adequate research agenda such as that proposed by Kupe (2004). Kupe proposes five trajectories: audience and media content studies; relationships between different media; development and democracy; media and communication as institutions; and media organizations.…”

Vol 39, No 1 (French Edition)

“…Il s'agit par conséquent de proposer un programme de recherche adéquat et à cet égard Kupe (2004) suggère cinq pistes : l'économie politique de la communication; l'étude des publics et des contenus médiatiques; les relations entre les médias, le développement et la démocratie; les médias et la communication en tant qu'institutions; et les organisations médiatiques. Ce programme est destiné à tenir compte de la « complexité communicationnelle » (Lugalambi, 2009, p. 214) spécifique au contexte étudié.…”