The Future of news in the world order: A critical analysis of the role of citizen journalism in selected Sub Saharan African Country Countries
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Date
2015-11
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University if Fort Hare
Abstract
On the 14th of October 2015, a temporary pedestrian bridge collapsed near Sandton in Johannesburg. Two people were killed while the twenty one injured people were trapped in the crashed cars. The professional journalists were nowhere close to the scene when it happened, but eye witnesses took photos and videos of the unfolding event, thanks to the mobile technologies. Back in April 2015, a series of xenophobic attacks left many foreign migrants leaving in fear in South Africa. Disturbing images of foreigners suffering at the hands of South Africans were all over the media. As usual, journalists from around the world reported on the above mentioned incidences and many more of that nature. At the same time, citizen journalists also uploaded images and footages of the same events as they were happening in their respective locations. That practice of citizen journalism has been the focus of this study. This study examined the growth of this phenomenon, looking at how it has impacted on the journalistic discourse. Essentially, the study investigated how citizen journalism has acted as a corrective to Africa's stalling media liberalisation process. This has been achieved by interrogating the space that this kind of journalism is negotiating within Africa's media landscape, with particular references of course, as well as the new practices that the phenomenon is developing as a critical tool capable of engaging with and facilitating the continent's democratisation process.
Description
PhD Thesis
Keywords
SOCIAL SCIENCES::Other social sciences::Media and communication studies, TECHNOLOGY
Citation
Mapudzi,M.The Future of news in the world order: A critical analysis of the role of citizen journalism in selected Sub Saharan African Country Countries.Alice.University of Fort Hare.