Allen Munoriyarwa
Biographic Data
| ID | 86027 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Allen Munoriyarwa |
| GIVEN NAMES | Allen |
| FAMILY NAME | Munoriyarwa |
| SIGNATURE | MUNORIYARWA A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Johannesburg |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5064-3192 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 33 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 71 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 33 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Surveillance oversight paradoxes of post-colonial transitions to democracy in Namibia and Zimbabwe
Although Namibia and Zimbabwe share much in common historically, they also exhibit the typical complexities of post-colonial efforts to transform former colonies into bona fide democracies. Both countries experienced the brutal dehumanisation, exploitation, and dispossession of indigenous citizens under colonial rule. Nonetheless, the post-independence transitions of these two countries are arguably starkly in counterpoint to each other. While Na…
Failed or stalled? A critical account of public oversight of surveillance in southern Africa
This article compares public oversight mechanisms of surveillance in Mozambique, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Drawing on in-depth interviews from Zimbabwe and document analysis from Mozambique and Namibia, it examines why public oversight has failed and stalled in holding governments accountable for abusive surveillance practices in three political contexts. The article argues that three interrelated factors explain these outcomes: the absence of an ‘a…
Understanding the impact of colonial legacy on public oversight of digital surveillance in post-colonial Sadc countries
The article discusses the impact of various colonial regimes on the failure of public oversight systems for digital surveillance in Zimbabwe, Angola, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The article responds to the question: How have colonial legacies in different southern African countries shaped their experiences and practices of public surveillance oversight? Drawing on in-depth interviews and textual analysis of histori…
Rethinking news media logic in the coverage of the Cabo Delgado conflict in Mozambique in the digital era
This article uses the case of the Cabo Delgado conflict in northern Mozambique to answer the question: What factors determine news media logic in conflict news coverage? Drawing on interviews with journalists from the Mozambican media and conceptualised on news media logic, the article makes three interrelated arguments. Firstly, it argues that when journalists are unaware of the complex and deeply-rooted causes of the conflict, the military logi…
The ‘Sinofication’ of Surveillance in Africa
This chapter provides a refreshing and productive exploration of the ‘Sinofication’ of Africa-Chinese relations through the global trade of surveillance technologies. The chapter answers the question: In what ways are Chinese surveillance technology companies influencing African surveillance practices and cultures? Through interviews with a myriad of actors ranging from policymakers, former parliamentarians, digital technology experts, lawyers an…
Generative AI and the Future of News
Data Journalism Appropriation in African Newsrooms
Shifting the Gaze? Photojournalism Practices in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Mind the gap
Empowerment Through Sustainable Journalism Practices in Africa
The philanthrocapitalism of Google News Initiative in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East – Empirical reflections
In recent years, media organizations globally have increasingly benefited from financial support from digital platforms. In 2018, Google launched the Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge aimed at bolstering journalism by encouraging innovation in media organizations. This study, conducted through 36 in-depth interviews with GNI beneficiaries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, reveals that despite its narrative of enhancin…
‘Repetition without change?’
Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), and anchored on CDA theory, we argue that as the ruling party’s governance record increasingly came under scrutiny in two election cycles researched, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), largely maintained its old strategies of power legitimation. However, it altered the message in order to reflect the changing intensity of political contestation, an increasingly bellicose …
Diving into Data
This paper calls for greater scrutiny of data journalism as a practice in the semi-authoritarian context of Zimbabwe. Based on in-depth interviews with practising journalists in Zimbabwe, this paper answers two main questions: In what ways is data journalism practised in the Zimbabwean context? To what extent are newsrooms in Zimbabwe “tooled” and capacitated for data journalism practices? We note that data journalism is widely understood by indi…
Google News Initiative’s Influence on Technological Media Innovation in Africa and the Middle East
The Google News Initiative (GNI) aims to collaborate closely with the news industry and financially support the creation of quality journalism in the digital age. It also aims to bring technological advancements and innovation into newsrooms’ operations. Drawing on journalism innovation and responsible innovation theories, this study examines GNI beneficiaries in Africa and the Middle East. To address this, we analysed GNI projects’ descriptions …
Emerging Methods and Challenges Associated With Teaching and Learning Media Studies During the Covid-19 Pandemic Induced Lockdowns in Zimbabwe and South Africa
COVID-19’s arrival in Zimbabwe and South Africa in early 2020 caused disruptions to all facets of life including education. It disrupted traditional notions of media studies’ teaching and learning. In the contexts of these disruptions, the present study interrogates how selected universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa adjusted to the new normal in so far as teaching and learning of media studies is concerned. It is a comparative analysis of sel…
Exploring data journalism practices in Africa
Extant research on data journalism in Africa has focused on newsroom factors and the predilections of individual journalists as determinants of the uptake of data journalism on the continent. This article diverts from this literature by examining the slow uptake of data journalism in sub- Saharan Africa through the prisms of non-newsroom factors. Drawing on in-depth interviews with prominent investigative journalists sampled from several African …
Digital Surveillance in Southern Africa
Digital Surveillance in Southern Africa
This monograph examines in depth the emerging digital surveillance practices and policies governing surveillance in the southern African region.
Guardians of truth? Fact-checking the ‘disinfodemic’ in Southern Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic
Based on virtual ethnography and online interviews, we provide new evidence of how fact-checking organizations based in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia responded to the influx of conspiracy theories, mis- and disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study seeks to answer the following questions: What kind of responses did ZimFact, Africa Check and Namibia Fact Check put in place to combat the spread of the ‘disinfodemic’ during the ou…
The militarization of digital surveillance in post-coup Zimbabwe
While a large body of research has documented and theorized digital surveillance practices in various political contexts, little has been done to investigate the growing trend of military-driven digital surveillance practices in semi-authoritarian regimes. In this article, I use the case of the surveillance practices of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to argue that scholarship needs to (re)evaluate this emerging trend. The article has three aims: fir…
Newsroom Disruptions and Opportunities in Times of Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world has brought massive disruptions to every facet of life. However, a crisis can present revolutionary change and growth opportunities for both individuals and institutions. This study is a cross-country study that examines the disruptions and opportunities that the pandemic has wrought to mainstream news reporting practices. Utilising data from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, we seek to answer…
Laughing through the Virus the Zimbabwean Way
In many African countries, jokes represent one of the many means used by citizens to cope with a crisis. Chibuwe and Munoriyarwa explore how Zimbabweans utilize WhatsApp jokes, which are anchored in the concept of the "everyday," to cope with pandemic-induced lockdowns. COVID-19 jokes provide citizens momentary relief from fear and function as a defense mechanism against COVID-19 and its effects, enabling citizens to confront and rationalize fear…
‘Data must fall’
South Africa’s mobile telecommunications industry boasts four major players, namely Vodacom, MTN, CELL C and Telkom. On the face of it, this suggests a diverse market with healthy competition. However, the costs of mobile services, including data and voice calls remains among the highest in the world, suggesting a distorted and uncompetitive market. Despite increasing awareness of this reality, and growing public outcry, change has been slow and …
Artificial Intelligence Practices in Everyday News Production
This article explores artificial intelligence (AI) uptake in selected South African mainstream newsrooms. It seeks to determine the extent to which AI has been adopted and how journalists and editors perceive its appropriation in newsmaking practices. To address these two broad aims, the study used in-depth interviews with journalists and editors. Our findings suggest a slow, varied but methodical uptake of AI practices in South Africa’s mainstre…
Journalism beyond the Coup
Utilizing a constellation of conceptual tenets drawn from critical digital technology theory, field theory and concepts of digital democracy, this article argues that the post-coup period in Zimbabwe has solidified digital journalism practices in three main ways. These are: (i) the consolidation of a digital leak journalism culture, (ii) an increasingly ferocious form of digital guerrilla journalism, and (iii) the rise in popularity, of small dig…
Artificial Intelligence Practices in Everyday News Production
This article explores artificial intelligence (AI) uptake in selected South African mainstream newsrooms. It seeks to determine the extent to which AI has been adopted and how journalists and editors perceive its appropriation in newsmaking practices. To address these two broad aims, the study used in-depth interviews with journalists and editors. Our findings suggest a slow, varied but methodical uptake of AI practices in South Africa’s mainstre…
Big Brother is Watching
In many African countries, including Zimbabwe, journalists have been subjected to various policy regulations that have widely been criticised for making the practice of journalism difficult. Part of the reason has been the advent of competitive politics that have left the ruling regimes scrambling to limit freedoms and stop opposition onslaught on their power. One way the Zimbabwean government has limited freedom of expression has been through th…
Data journalism uptake in South Africa’s mainstream quotidian business news reporting practices
Drawing from the sociology of news production theory, this study examines the uptake of data-driven practices in business news reporting. It examines the extent to which journalists have adopted data journalism in business news and how this has altered their news reporting practices. It is based on a textual analysis of business news stories from two selected prominent business newspapers – Business Day and The Financial Mail and qualitative inte…
The militarization of digital surveillance in post-coup Zimbabwe
While a large body of research has documented and theorized digital surveillance practices in various political contexts, little has been done to investigate the growing trend of military-driven digital surveillance practices in semi-authoritarian regimes. In this article, I use the case of the surveillance practices of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to argue that scholarship needs to (re)evaluate this emerging trend. The article has three aims: fir…
Laughing through the Virus the Zimbabwean Way
In many African countries, jokes represent one of the many means used by citizens to cope with a crisis. Chibuwe and Munoriyarwa explore how Zimbabweans utilize WhatsApp jokes, which are anchored in the concept of the "everyday," to cope with pandemic-induced lockdowns. COVID-19 jokes provide citizens momentary relief from fear and function as a defense mechanism against COVID-19 and its effects, enabling citizens to confront and rationalize fear…
When watchdogs fight back
The recognition that digital surveillance is becoming ubiquitous has prompted varied responses from targeted groups. This article explores the ways through which journalists resist state-driven digital surveillance in Zimbabwe. It is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with practising journalists, sampled from the print media. The article utilises panopticon theory, which holds that victims of surveillance alter their behaviour upon the real…
Exploring data journalism practices in Africa
Extant research on data journalism in Africa has focused on newsroom factors and the predilections of individual journalists as determinants of the uptake of data journalism on the continent. This article diverts from this literature by examining the slow uptake of data journalism in sub- Saharan Africa through the prisms of non-newsroom factors. Drawing on in-depth interviews with prominent investigative journalists sampled from several African …
Newsroom Disruptions and Opportunities in Times of Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world has brought massive disruptions to every facet of life. However, a crisis can present revolutionary change and growth opportunities for both individuals and institutions. This study is a cross-country study that examines the disruptions and opportunities that the pandemic has wrought to mainstream news reporting practices. Utilising data from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, we seek to answer…
Journalism beyond the Coup
Utilizing a constellation of conceptual tenets drawn from critical digital technology theory, field theory and concepts of digital democracy, this article argues that the post-coup period in Zimbabwe has solidified digital journalism practices in three main ways. These are: (i) the consolidation of a digital leak journalism culture, (ii) an increasingly ferocious form of digital guerrilla journalism, and (iii) the rise in popularity, of small dig…
The philanthrocapitalism of Google News Initiative in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East – Empirical reflections
In recent years, media organizations globally have increasingly benefited from financial support from digital platforms. In 2018, Google launched the Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge aimed at bolstering journalism by encouraging innovation in media organizations. This study, conducted through 36 in-depth interviews with GNI beneficiaries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, reveals that despite its narrative of enhancin…
Who Are the Arbiters of Truth? Mainstream Journalists’ Responses to Fake News during the 2017 Zimbabwe Coup
This article reports on a study that was situated at the intersection of fake news and the daily news production practices of mainstream journalists during the November 2017 “soft coup” in Zimbabwe. There is a paucity of research on journalists’ responses to fake news, during military coups, despite increasing research on the influence of fake news on traditional news production practices. Conceptualised on social organisation of news work, the s…
Shifting the Gaze? Photojournalism Practices in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Mind the gap
Empowerment Through Sustainable Journalism Practices in Africa
Data Journalism in the Age of Big Data
Big Brother is Watching
In many African countries, including Zimbabwe, journalists have been subjected to various policy regulations that have widely been criticised for making the practice of journalism difficult. Part of the reason has been the advent of competitive politics that have left the ruling regimes scrambling to limit freedoms and stop opposition onslaught on their power. One way the Zimbabwean government has limited freedom of expression has been through th…
A Critical Discourse Analysis of The Sunday Mail ’s and The Telegraph ’s Representation of Zimbabwe’s 2008 Electoral Violence
Using the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework of Van Dijk T. A. (2000. Ideology and discourse: A multidisciplinary Introduction. Barcelona: Pompeu Fabra University Press), this article investigates the manifestation of linguistic differences in the discursive strategies of Zimbabwe’s The Sunday Mail’s and the UK’s The Telegraph’s coverage of 2008 electoral violence. A CDA analysis of a sample of 16 news stories based on van Dijk’s framewo…
Tweeting the July 2018 Elections in Zimbabwe
So, who is responsible? A framing analysis of newspaper coverage of electoral violence in Zimbabwe
This study examines how the 2008 election violence was framed in three mainstream Zimbabwean weekly newspapers – The Sunday Mail, The Independent and The Zimbabwean . It was noted that four frames – the victim, justice and human rights, trivialization and attribution of responsibility frames dominated the coverage of electoral violence in these three newspapers. The dominance of the trivializing frame in The Sunday Mail privileged the ruling part…
Who Are the Arbiters of Truth? Mainstream Journalists’ Responses to Fake News during the 2017 Zimbabwe Coup
This article reports on a study that was situated at the intersection of fake news and the daily news production practices of mainstream journalists during the November 2017 “soft coup” in Zimbabwe. There is a paucity of research on journalists’ responses to fake news, during military coups, despite increasing research on the influence of fake news on traditional news production practices. Conceptualised on social organisation of news work, the s…
Data journalism uptake in South Africa’s mainstream quotidian business news reporting practices
Drawing from the sociology of news production theory, this study examines the uptake of data-driven practices in business news reporting. It examines the extent to which journalists have adopted data journalism in business news and how this has altered their news reporting practices. It is based on a textual analysis of business news stories from two selected prominent business newspapers – Business Day and The Financial Mail and qualitative inte…
‘Data must fall’
South Africa’s mobile telecommunications industry boasts four major players, namely Vodacom, MTN, CELL C and Telkom. On the face of it, this suggests a diverse market with healthy competition. However, the costs of mobile services, including data and voice calls remains among the highest in the world, suggesting a distorted and uncompetitive market. Despite increasing awareness of this reality, and growing public outcry, change has been slow and …
Artificial Intelligence Practices in Everyday News Production
This article explores artificial intelligence (AI) uptake in selected South African mainstream newsrooms. It seeks to determine the extent to which AI has been adopted and how journalists and editors perceive its appropriation in newsmaking practices. To address these two broad aims, the study used in-depth interviews with journalists and editors. Our findings suggest a slow, varied but methodical uptake of AI practices in South Africa’s mainstre…
Journalism beyond the Coup
Utilizing a constellation of conceptual tenets drawn from critical digital technology theory, field theory and concepts of digital democracy, this article argues that the post-coup period in Zimbabwe has solidified digital journalism practices in three main ways. These are: (i) the consolidation of a digital leak journalism culture, (ii) an increasingly ferocious form of digital guerrilla journalism, and (iii) the rise in popularity, of small dig…
When watchdogs fight back
The recognition that digital surveillance is becoming ubiquitous has prompted varied responses from targeted groups. This article explores the ways through which journalists resist state-driven digital surveillance in Zimbabwe. It is based on in-depth qualitative interviews with practising journalists, sampled from the print media. The article utilises panopticon theory, which holds that victims of surveillance alter their behaviour upon the real…
Digital Surveillance in Southern Africa
This monograph examines in depth the emerging digital surveillance practices and policies governing surveillance in the southern African region.
Guardians of truth? Fact-checking the ‘disinfodemic’ in Southern Africa during the Covid-19 pandemic
Based on virtual ethnography and online interviews, we provide new evidence of how fact-checking organizations based in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Namibia responded to the influx of conspiracy theories, mis- and disinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study seeks to answer the following questions: What kind of responses did ZimFact, Africa Check and Namibia Fact Check put in place to combat the spread of the ‘disinfodemic’ during the ou…
The militarization of digital surveillance in post-coup Zimbabwe
While a large body of research has documented and theorized digital surveillance practices in various political contexts, little has been done to investigate the growing trend of military-driven digital surveillance practices in semi-authoritarian regimes. In this article, I use the case of the surveillance practices of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to argue that scholarship needs to (re)evaluate this emerging trend. The article has three aims: fir…
Newsroom Disruptions and Opportunities in Times of Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world has brought massive disruptions to every facet of life. However, a crisis can present revolutionary change and growth opportunities for both individuals and institutions. This study is a cross-country study that examines the disruptions and opportunities that the pandemic has wrought to mainstream news reporting practices. Utilising data from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, we seek to answer…
Laughing through the Virus the Zimbabwean Way
In many African countries, jokes represent one of the many means used by citizens to cope with a crisis. Chibuwe and Munoriyarwa explore how Zimbabweans utilize WhatsApp jokes, which are anchored in the concept of the "everyday," to cope with pandemic-induced lockdowns. COVID-19 jokes provide citizens momentary relief from fear and function as a defense mechanism against COVID-19 and its effects, enabling citizens to confront and rationalize fear…
‘Repetition without change?’
Drawing on Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), and anchored on CDA theory, we argue that as the ruling party’s governance record increasingly came under scrutiny in two election cycles researched, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), largely maintained its old strategies of power legitimation. However, it altered the message in order to reflect the changing intensity of political contestation, an increasingly bellicose …
Diving into Data
This paper calls for greater scrutiny of data journalism as a practice in the semi-authoritarian context of Zimbabwe. Based on in-depth interviews with practising journalists in Zimbabwe, this paper answers two main questions: In what ways is data journalism practised in the Zimbabwean context? To what extent are newsrooms in Zimbabwe “tooled” and capacitated for data journalism practices? We note that data journalism is widely understood by indi…
Google News Initiative’s Influence on Technological Media Innovation in Africa and the Middle East
The Google News Initiative (GNI) aims to collaborate closely with the news industry and financially support the creation of quality journalism in the digital age. It also aims to bring technological advancements and innovation into newsrooms’ operations. Drawing on journalism innovation and responsible innovation theories, this study examines GNI beneficiaries in Africa and the Middle East. To address this, we analysed GNI projects’ descriptions …
Emerging Methods and Challenges Associated With Teaching and Learning Media Studies During the Covid-19 Pandemic Induced Lockdowns in Zimbabwe and South Africa
COVID-19’s arrival in Zimbabwe and South Africa in early 2020 caused disruptions to all facets of life including education. It disrupted traditional notions of media studies’ teaching and learning. In the contexts of these disruptions, the present study interrogates how selected universities in Zimbabwe and South Africa adjusted to the new normal in so far as teaching and learning of media studies is concerned. It is a comparative analysis of sel…
Exploring data journalism practices in Africa
Extant research on data journalism in Africa has focused on newsroom factors and the predilections of individual journalists as determinants of the uptake of data journalism on the continent. This article diverts from this literature by examining the slow uptake of data journalism in sub- Saharan Africa through the prisms of non-newsroom factors. Drawing on in-depth interviews with prominent investigative journalists sampled from several African …
Digital Surveillance in Southern Africa
Empowerment Through Sustainable Journalism Practices in Africa
The philanthrocapitalism of Google News Initiative in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East – Empirical reflections
In recent years, media organizations globally have increasingly benefited from financial support from digital platforms. In 2018, Google launched the Google News Initiative (GNI) Innovation Challenge aimed at bolstering journalism by encouraging innovation in media organizations. This study, conducted through 36 in-depth interviews with GNI beneficiaries in Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, reveals that despite its narrative of enhancin…
The ‘Sinofication’ of Surveillance in Africa
This chapter provides a refreshing and productive exploration of the ‘Sinofication’ of Africa-Chinese relations through the global trade of surveillance technologies. The chapter answers the question: In what ways are Chinese surveillance technology companies influencing African surveillance practices and cultures? Through interviews with a myriad of actors ranging from policymakers, former parliamentarians, digital technology experts, lawyers an…
Political science (26 works) · Sociology (24 works) · Media Studies and Communication (19 works) · Media studies (16 works) · Public relations (16 works) · Politics (13 works) · Journalism (12 works) · Media Influence and Politics (10 works) · African studies and sociopolitical issues (9 works) · Law (9 works)