Popular Media, Democracy and Development in Africa

Herman Wasserman

Oct 2010 · Routledge

About this ebook

Popular Media, Democracy and Development in Africa examines the role that popular media could play to encourage political debate, provide information for development, or critique the very definitions of ‘democracy’ and ‘development’. Drawing on diverse case studies from various regions of the African continent, essays employ a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to ask critical questions about the potential of popular media to contribute to democratic culture, provide sites of resistance, or, conversely, act as agents for the spread of Americanized entertainment culture to the detriment of local traditions. A wide variety of media formats and platforms are discussed, ranging from radio and television to the Internet, mobile phones, street posters, film and music.

As part of the Routledge series Internationalizing Media Studies, the book responds to the important challenge of broadening perspectives on media studies by bringing together a range of expert analyses of media in the African continent that will be of interest to students and scholars of media in Africa and further afield.

About the author

Herman Wasserman is Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University, South Africa and Honorary Senior Lecturer in Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield, UK. He is editor of the journal Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies and has published widely on media in Southern Africa. Recent publications include Tabloid Journalism in South Africa: True Story! (2010) and Media Ethics Beyond Borders (co-edited, 2010).