Trust Matsilele
Biographic Data
| ID | 4098732 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Trust Matsilele |
| GIVEN NAMES | Trust |
| FAMILY NAME | Matsilele |
| SIGNATURE | MATSILELE T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-7668-7641 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 24 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2016 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
AI Hype Through an African Lens
News media play a crucial role in shaping a public understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and influencing how society interacts with this technology, often contributing to AI hype. This is particularly significant in Africa, where unique socioeconomic dynamics and historical relationships with technology shape news discourse on AI. However, there is limited understanding of how African news media contribute to AI hype. To address this, thi…
Platform Activism and the Mediation of Electoral Process in Semi-Authoritarian Regimes
This study examines Zimbabwe’s 2023 harmonized elections within the context of digital platforms mediation. In authoritarian regimes with tightly controlled information flow, social media becomes a crucial space for political discourse and challenging hegemonic narratives. Using data mined from X, formerly Twitter, during August 2023, this paper analyses how digital activists framed and discussed the electoral process, focusing on key discourses,…
Factional Journalism in South Africa's Privately Owned Print Media
This paper theorized the concept of “factional journalism” and media capture within South Africa's privately owned print media landscape. This theorization attemps to understand media capture along partisan and factional cleavages in the post democractic dispensation. To understand the factional journalism phenomena in South Africa, we employ a case study design that relies on interviews with Media24 and Independent News and Media (also known as …
Reporting on Science in the Southern African Context
This exploratory study investigates the journalistic influences on science reporting in Southern Africa, filling the gap that is under explored. South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe are the selected cases. Methodologically, this qualitative study relied on in-depth face-to-face interviews and purposive sampling as designs. The study employed Reese's and Shoemaker's hierarchy of influences model as the preferred theoretical framework because it …
Through the Lenses of the Sociology of News Production
Using Lesotho as our case study and a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews with journalists from three of the country's leading newspapers - The Post, News Day and Lesotho Times - the study examined how social media applications are being embraced and changing news production and newsroom cultures in the country. The findings of the study show the pervasiveness of social media applications and their integration into ne…
Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism
Towards a Converged Post-Covid Journalism Training in Africa
Our study on the experiences of selected African journalism educators during the Covid-19 pandemic period offer valuable insights into the future of journalism education in Africa, where convergent learning holds prospects in an increasingly digitised world. A convergent teaching and learning approach, combining face-to-face and online teaching, is crucial for the delivery of quality journalism training during periods of macro shocks in Africa. T…
Comedy as journalism in Zimbabwe
Post-2000, Zimbabwe has witnessed a gradual shrinking of communicative space. In its efforts to control the narrative about the causes of the country’s multi-dimensional crisis, the ruling ZANU-PF government has used a gamut of legal and extra-judicial strategies to stifle press and other related freedoms. In this highly restrictive context, comedy has emerged as a viable source of information about events unfolding in the country as well as an a…
New Journalism Ecologies in East and Southern Africa
The influence of the digital divide on emergency remote student-centred learning during the Covid-19 pandemic
This paper explores the emergency remote learning experiences of journalism students. It discusses how disparities in access to digital tools and participation in online learning, caused by the digital divide, influenced how some benefitted from the student-centred learning approaches adopted while others could not. The study seeks to answer this question: To what extent did the digital divide influence the experiences of journalism students with…
Metavoicing, trust-building mechanisms and partisan messaging
This study investigates social media usage patterns, Twitter’ frequency use and message typologies of selected South African female politicians’. Using the digital public sphere theory as a lens, the study considers six hundred Twitter posts from six female politicians from the African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, and Economic Freedom Fighters political parties to examine the potential of social media for visibility and participation, …
Youth Audiences and Social Media Integration in Community Radio Stations in South Africa
Between Utopia and Dystopia
The appropriation of artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday workplace practices is becoming pervasive. Some of the industries that have seen the improved appropriation of AI include the automotive industry, food chains and other retail businesses. The media industry in developed countries has also been appropriating AI into newsrooms ecologies. This development has left news media workers, especially in developing countries, questioning the v…
Popular music and political contestations in Zimbabwe
This article explores the use of popular music in political contestations and specifically how it has been appropriated in Zimbabwe to advance hegemonic and counter hegemonic narratives. The article draws from two popular musicians in Zimbabwe, Winky D and Jah Prayzah and their use of music as an unconventional journalism format to comment on political trajectories in Zimbabwe. We argue that the two musicians have polarizing or competing discours…
Contending with Sexual Harassment
This paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on sexual harassment of female journalists from the Global South more broadly and Southern Africa in particular. We selected three Southern African countries for this investigation: Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia. Much of sub-Saharan Africa still experiences patriarchy that has proven to be resilient with misogynistic residue. Theoretically, the study utilizes the new institutionalism …
Through the Media Looking Glass
Environmental journalism has passed through a plethora of iterations—from a reporting that was science-oriented to a reporting for popular publications focusing on the green. This qualitative study looks at the political economy of environmental journalism in South Africa. The study seeks to understand the rationale of environmental journalism funded by corporate organizations in South Africa The study solicited for opinions from journalists who …
Social Media and Digital Dissidence in Zimbabwe
The why of humour during a crisis
This article inquires why humour flourishes in face of tragedy. Memes, as we argue, give people a sense of power as they offer commentary that critiques and mocks the government policies and ineptness, simultaneously offering a sense of hope and relief in face of the pandemic. With a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, this study probed the nature, character and the why of humour in two southern African countries: South Africa and Zimbabwe. Findings …
Reconstruction and Adaptation in Times of a Contagious Crisis
This is a cross-national comparative study of how media in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa reconstructed their operations in response to Covid-19 global pandemic. The study is grounded in a qualitative research design that uses semi-structured interviews with journalists from Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. The study investigated how news operations, newsroom cultures, news gathering, and news dissemination practices were impacted by th…
Social Media and Digital Dissidence in Zimbabwe
Social media dissidence and activist resistance in Zimbabwe
Dissidents exist in every nation, always have, and perhaps always will – existing in that risky space between being patriots and being enemies of the state. Social media, on the other hand, is a fairly recent tool of communication defined by its heightened ductility in the hands of users. The admixture of social media and political dissidence has thrown many governments in a ceaseless panic, reflected in the raft of legislation enacted to control…
Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy
Citizen witnessing
Additional informationNotes on contributorsTrust MatsileleTrust Matsilele is a PhD fellow at the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Communication. He is studying social media dissidents in Zimbabwe’s post-2013 electoral landscape. Matsilele is also a journalist who has published extensively in Forbes Africa magazine and on CNBC Africa. He has featured as a guest on BBC Radio, the SABC, Kaya FM and Al-Jazeera
Social media dissidence and activist resistance in Zimbabwe
Dissidents exist in every nation, always have, and perhaps always will – existing in that risky space between being patriots and being enemies of the state. Social media, on the other hand, is a fairly recent tool of communication defined by its heightened ductility in the hands of users. The admixture of social media and political dissidence has thrown many governments in a ceaseless panic, reflected in the raft of legislation enacted to control…
Reconstruction and Adaptation in Times of a Contagious Crisis
This is a cross-national comparative study of how media in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa reconstructed their operations in response to Covid-19 global pandemic. The study is grounded in a qualitative research design that uses semi-structured interviews with journalists from Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. The study investigated how news operations, newsroom cultures, news gathering, and news dissemination practices were impacted by th…
Through the Lenses of the Sociology of News Production
Using Lesotho as our case study and a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews with journalists from three of the country's leading newspapers - The Post, News Day and Lesotho Times - the study examined how social media applications are being embraced and changing news production and newsroom cultures in the country. The findings of the study show the pervasiveness of social media applications and their integration into ne…
Through the Media Looking Glass
Environmental journalism has passed through a plethora of iterations—from a reporting that was science-oriented to a reporting for popular publications focusing on the green. This qualitative study looks at the political economy of environmental journalism in South Africa. The study seeks to understand the rationale of environmental journalism funded by corporate organizations in South Africa The study solicited for opinions from journalists who …
Contending with Sexual Harassment
This paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on sexual harassment of female journalists from the Global South more broadly and Southern Africa in particular. We selected three Southern African countries for this investigation: Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia. Much of sub-Saharan Africa still experiences patriarchy that has proven to be resilient with misogynistic residue. Theoretically, the study utilizes the new institutionalism …
Comedy as journalism in Zimbabwe
Post-2000, Zimbabwe has witnessed a gradual shrinking of communicative space. In its efforts to control the narrative about the causes of the country’s multi-dimensional crisis, the ruling ZANU-PF government has used a gamut of legal and extra-judicial strategies to stifle press and other related freedoms. In this highly restrictive context, comedy has emerged as a viable source of information about events unfolding in the country as well as an a…
Citizen witnessing
Additional informationNotes on contributorsTrust MatsileleTrust Matsilele is a PhD fellow at the University of Johannesburg’s Department of Communication. He is studying social media dissidents in Zimbabwe’s post-2013 electoral landscape. Matsilele is also a journalist who has published extensively in Forbes Africa magazine and on CNBC Africa. He has featured as a guest on BBC Radio, the SABC, Kaya FM and Al-Jazeera
Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy
Social media dissidence and activist resistance in Zimbabwe
Dissidents exist in every nation, always have, and perhaps always will – existing in that risky space between being patriots and being enemies of the state. Social media, on the other hand, is a fairly recent tool of communication defined by its heightened ductility in the hands of users. The admixture of social media and political dissidence has thrown many governments in a ceaseless panic, reflected in the raft of legislation enacted to control…
Social Media and Digital Dissidence in Zimbabwe
The why of humour during a crisis
This article inquires why humour flourishes in face of tragedy. Memes, as we argue, give people a sense of power as they offer commentary that critiques and mocks the government policies and ineptness, simultaneously offering a sense of hope and relief in face of the pandemic. With a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, this study probed the nature, character and the why of humour in two southern African countries: South Africa and Zimbabwe. Findings …
Reconstruction and Adaptation in Times of a Contagious Crisis
This is a cross-national comparative study of how media in Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa reconstructed their operations in response to Covid-19 global pandemic. The study is grounded in a qualitative research design that uses semi-structured interviews with journalists from Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa. The study investigated how news operations, newsroom cultures, news gathering, and news dissemination practices were impacted by th…
Social Media and Digital Dissidence in Zimbabwe
New Journalism Ecologies in East and Southern Africa
The influence of the digital divide on emergency remote student-centred learning during the Covid-19 pandemic
This paper explores the emergency remote learning experiences of journalism students. It discusses how disparities in access to digital tools and participation in online learning, caused by the digital divide, influenced how some benefitted from the student-centred learning approaches adopted while others could not. The study seeks to answer this question: To what extent did the digital divide influence the experiences of journalism students with…
Metavoicing, trust-building mechanisms and partisan messaging
This study investigates social media usage patterns, Twitter’ frequency use and message typologies of selected South African female politicians’. Using the digital public sphere theory as a lens, the study considers six hundred Twitter posts from six female politicians from the African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, and Economic Freedom Fighters political parties to examine the potential of social media for visibility and participation, …
Youth Audiences and Social Media Integration in Community Radio Stations in South Africa
Between Utopia and Dystopia
The appropriation of artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday workplace practices is becoming pervasive. Some of the industries that have seen the improved appropriation of AI include the automotive industry, food chains and other retail businesses. The media industry in developed countries has also been appropriating AI into newsrooms ecologies. This development has left news media workers, especially in developing countries, questioning the v…
Popular music and political contestations in Zimbabwe
This article explores the use of popular music in political contestations and specifically how it has been appropriated in Zimbabwe to advance hegemonic and counter hegemonic narratives. The article draws from two popular musicians in Zimbabwe, Winky D and Jah Prayzah and their use of music as an unconventional journalism format to comment on political trajectories in Zimbabwe. We argue that the two musicians have polarizing or competing discours…
Contending with Sexual Harassment
This paper seeks to contribute to the growing literature on sexual harassment of female journalists from the Global South more broadly and Southern Africa in particular. We selected three Southern African countries for this investigation: Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Namibia. Much of sub-Saharan Africa still experiences patriarchy that has proven to be resilient with misogynistic residue. Theoretically, the study utilizes the new institutionalism …
Through the Media Looking Glass
Environmental journalism has passed through a plethora of iterations—from a reporting that was science-oriented to a reporting for popular publications focusing on the green. This qualitative study looks at the political economy of environmental journalism in South Africa. The study seeks to understand the rationale of environmental journalism funded by corporate organizations in South Africa The study solicited for opinions from journalists who …
Patterns of Harassment in African Journalism
Towards a Converged Post-Covid Journalism Training in Africa
Our study on the experiences of selected African journalism educators during the Covid-19 pandemic period offer valuable insights into the future of journalism education in Africa, where convergent learning holds prospects in an increasingly digitised world. A convergent teaching and learning approach, combining face-to-face and online teaching, is crucial for the delivery of quality journalism training during periods of macro shocks in Africa. T…
Comedy as journalism in Zimbabwe
Post-2000, Zimbabwe has witnessed a gradual shrinking of communicative space. In its efforts to control the narrative about the causes of the country’s multi-dimensional crisis, the ruling ZANU-PF government has used a gamut of legal and extra-judicial strategies to stifle press and other related freedoms. In this highly restrictive context, comedy has emerged as a viable source of information about events unfolding in the country as well as an a…
Reporting on Science in the Southern African Context
This exploratory study investigates the journalistic influences on science reporting in Southern Africa, filling the gap that is under explored. South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe are the selected cases. Methodologically, this qualitative study relied on in-depth face-to-face interviews and purposive sampling as designs. The study employed Reese's and Shoemaker's hierarchy of influences model as the preferred theoretical framework because it …
Through the Lenses of the Sociology of News Production
Using Lesotho as our case study and a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews with journalists from three of the country's leading newspapers - The Post, News Day and Lesotho Times - the study examined how social media applications are being embraced and changing news production and newsroom cultures in the country. The findings of the study show the pervasiveness of social media applications and their integration into ne…
AI Hype Through an African Lens
News media play a crucial role in shaping a public understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and influencing how society interacts with this technology, often contributing to AI hype. This is particularly significant in Africa, where unique socioeconomic dynamics and historical relationships with technology shape news discourse on AI. However, there is limited understanding of how African news media contribute to AI hype. To address this, thi…
Platform Activism and the Mediation of Electoral Process in Semi-Authoritarian Regimes
This study examines Zimbabwe’s 2023 harmonized elections within the context of digital platforms mediation. In authoritarian regimes with tightly controlled information flow, social media becomes a crucial space for political discourse and challenging hegemonic narratives. Using data mined from X, formerly Twitter, during August 2023, this paper analyses how digital activists framed and discussed the electoral process, focusing on key discourses,…
Factional Journalism in South Africa's Privately Owned Print Media
This paper theorized the concept of “factional journalism” and media capture within South Africa's privately owned print media landscape. This theorization attemps to understand media capture along partisan and factional cleavages in the post democractic dispensation. To understand the factional journalism phenomena in South Africa, we employ a case study design that relies on interviews with Media24 and Independent News and Media (also known as …
Political science (22 works) · Sociology (22 works) · Media studies (18 works) · Journalism (13 works) · Media Studies and Communication (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Politics (8 works) · Social media (7 works) · African studies and sociopolitical issues (5 works) · Geography (5 works)