Africa's Media Image in the 21st Century: From the 'Heart of Darkness' to 'Africa Rising.'

摘要

Journalism in Africa as well as about Africa helps to define the continent for the rest of the world. It is an old story that colonial views of Africa told of disease, disaster, and chaos, but how much has really changed in the past 25 years? This new book by three British journalist-researchers builds on the legacy of a volume in 1992 by Beverly Hawks, Africa's Media Image, that first challenged the stereotypical news images of Africa common in previous decades. The editors in the introductory chapter argue that the image of Africa has begun to change from the Dark Continent to Africa Rising, the latter image of a growing population and economy that bodes well for business and a growing middle class. But the news world has also undergone changes that suggest a new challenge and a new possibility: the challenge of dramatic reductions of some news organizations, including news agencies, in the West; the possibility of expansion of both national news outlets and the addition of Al-Jazeera of Dubai and Xinhua of China; and the rise in cell phone use and smart phones that promote the response of African audiences in the form of Twitter and other forms of social media.