Journal of African Media Studies - Volume 16, Issue 2, 2024

Morning talk radio in Mauritius has established itself as a popular platform where participants phone in to raise problems they encounter in their everyday lives. The first wave of liberalization of the airwaves in Mauritius has allowed private radio stations to schedule talk programmes, especially in their morning editions, that create spaces for the voices of ordinary people to be heard as they speak, contest decisions of powerholders and look for alternatives through the mediation of talk radio. Through discourse theoretical analysis, this article looks into a set of five cases and argues that morning talk radio has mediated a process of democratization conflicts and engaged popular cultural dynamics in the unequal context of Mauritius. It argues that through the prism of ‘proper distance’, the mediation of everyday life can be deciphered highlighting the moral and political dimensions of these morning programmes.

The article aims to explain denunciation as a form of communication with regards to contestation. It examines this object within the limits posed by the conceptual triangle that associates religion, authority and media. The empirical field investigated considers the case of two virtual communities of the Congolese diaspora of the Salvation Army. Denunciatory occurrences were identified using the thematic analysis of occurrences with the aim of understanding the function and communicational substance of the public denunciation of the respective religious leadership, as well as the major issues that focus the questioning of the authority of this leadership on social media. Findings indicate that the influence of mediatization on religious diasporas have produced a challenge to religious authority that is forged through practices of public denunciation in digital media. Religious leadership, religiosity, doctrines and dogmas are subject to a communicative intention which makes them vulnerable.

Social media activism among the youth has been on the increase in Ghana and Africa. In the context of Ghana, the article interrogates the level of involvement of social media and its use by the youth as they relate to freedom of expression; participation in elections; socialization and job opportunities; and the devices used to connect to the internet. This study applied the survey method that randomly sampled 9024 youth across ten geopolitical regions of Ghana. It analysed data using both positivist and contextual analytic lenses after critiquing the relevant literature. The critiques teased out the key questions investigated with findings and discussions providing nuanced outcomes. It emerged that social media promotes freedom of expression and participation in elections; social relations and job opportunities among the youth in Ghana. The findings also reveal a certain paradox of social media and youth involvement in sociopolitical affairs.

Historical and contemporary scholarship paint a picture of women in media as under-represented, misrepresented and lacking the opportunity to influence what happens in media and their own status in media. This is despite years of interventions – including pushing for affirmative action – targeted at improving their status and working conditions. In this study, we argue that part of the solution lies in conscientizing women in media to become more aware of the inequalities they face. Through a nationwide survey of women in the Ghanaian media and premised on feminist media theory, we show that though progress is visible in the status of women, inequalities persist. Respondents were ambivalent about status parity with males, pointing to the possibility that they acquiesce to unfair practices because they are unaware of the embedded inequality. We discuss these findings and their implications for scholarship and practice.

The watchdog role of journalists represents an oversight function that can curb corruption. Unfortunately, in many countries, the watchdog role is not accepted by some journalists. Existing literature has highlighted the role perception of the journalist and the structure of media work as determinants of the journalist’s acceptance of the watchdog role. This article investigates Nigerian journalists’ perception and performance of the watchdog functions. Based on a national survey of journalists in Nigeria, the article finds that there is a negative perception of the watchdog doctrine among Nigerian journalists, as the majority of them do not believe in the primacy of the watchdog role. The article concludes that, the extent of performing watchdog function is significantly dependent on the journalists’ perception of the watchdog role as an investigative tool in news reporting, and recommends that the journalists be trained on investigative reporting skills to play the watchdog role in Nigeria.