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Public journalism in Africa

Trends, opportunities and rationale

Bibliographic Data

ID15554286
AuthorsDenis Ocwich (Rhodes University, corresponding author)
Year2010
Volume2
Issue2
Pages241-254
Publication date2010-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of African Media Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-7974 • E-ISSN: 2040-199X
PublisherIntellect (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1386/jams.2.2.241_1
OpenAlexW1985802032
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited13

This article is an assessment of the trends, opportunities and rationale of public journalism practices in Africa. It is based on an extensive review of pioneering and current literature on public journalism practices on the continent and in other parts of the world. The cases from outside Africa the United States, Latin America, Europe and Asia/Pacific are presented with the objective of juxtaposing some good practices that could be emulated by African journalists as ways of reaching out to, and engaging with, the masses of poor Africans in the rural areas. Three key questions motivate this article: What is the trend of public journalism in Africa? What opportunities and rationale exist for public journalism on the continent? And how can the mass media promote democratic development in Africa? The article argues that although public journalism is often linked to the United States, community radio stations in Africa undertook public journalism long before the current public journalism ideology emerged in the United States in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It concludes that there are great opportunities and needs for public journalism in Africa if the mass media are to help the poor Africans attain and sustain self-development, including meeting the Millennium Development Goals

Citizen journalism · Democracy · Economic growth · Ideology · Journalism · Mass media · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Sociology · Technical Journalism · Law · Literacy, Media, and Education · Media Studies and Communication

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    Open Access•Terje Steinulfsson Skjerdal•International Communication Gazette•2012

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    Denis Mcquail, Peter Golding et al.•Communication Theory and Research•2005

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    Chris Sparks, Colin Sparks•Globalization, Development and…•2007

  • Top-Down or Bottom-Up

    Open Access•Ullamaija Kivikuru•International Communication Gazette•2006

  • Research note

    Tanni Haas•Journalism Studies•2004

  • Media Use, Democratic Citizenship, and Communication Gaps in a Developing Democracy

    Erik C Nisbet•International Journal of Public…•2008

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    John Keane, John F Keane•The Communication Review•1995

  • Questions and Answers About Public Journalism

    Jay Rosen•Journalism Studies•2000

  • Alternative Media

    Chris Atton•Alternative Media•2002

Unique citing works1
Citations per year0,07
Citation span2012 - 2012 (1)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 1

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