Compiled by Elva Nziza, for AJENda and Afromedia.network
We present a short selection of publications of interest to the African communications and media studies research community.
Editors: Anne W. Njathi, Brandi Watkins
This book explores digital and influencer marketing trends across Africa, making it one of the first edited collections focusing on this rapidly evolving field. It examines the current digital marketing landscape, and its growth across African countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Uganda, and Kenya. Employing varied theoretical and methodological approaches, the contributors delve into the factors driving digital media adoption on the continent and analyze the broader implications of this growth. Digital Public Relations and Marketing Communication Trends in Africa offers valuable insights for scholars and professionals eager to understand Africa’s digital marketing landscape and its future potential.
Author: Chikezie, E. Uzuegbunam
This book examines how adolescents in Nigeria engage with technology and the influential role of digital gatekeepers – parents, guardians, and teachers – in shaping their digital experiences. Using a child-centered approach, the book provides a nuanced view of how technology integrates into key aspects of teens’ lives, viewing them as active ‘actors’ rather than passive ‘users’. While the digital lives of youth in advanced Minority World countries are well-researched, studies on the digital practices of pre-teens and teenagers in the Majority World, including Africa, remain limited. This book is valuable for those in sociology, media studies, youth studies, mobile media studies, African studies, and global media studies.
Authors: Anani-Bossman, A., Nutsugah, N. and Abudulai, JI
While Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping industries worldwide, including public relations and communication, African scholarship on AI remains limited. This paper fills that gap by examining AI in Ghana’s public relations and communication management sector, focusing on professionals’s knowledge, adoption, and perceptions of AI’s impact, along with the associated risks and challenges. Using quantitative data from 275 professionals, the study found that while professionals recognize AI’s potential to transform their field, they have limited understanding of it and see few challenges, such as skills competency, motivation, and potential job displacement. These findings highlight the need for professionals and PR scholars in Ghana and Africa as a whole, to deepen their AI knowledge in order to critically engage with AI’s role in the field.
Authors: Obert Hodzi & Özge Zihnioğlu
This article offers an insight into the transformative power of social media and messaging platforms, particularly WhatsApp, in reshaping civic engagement across sub-Saharan Africa. Over the past decade, these platforms have fostered “networked communities” that transcend traditional geographic boundaries, allowing citizens to bypass state-controlled information channels and create alternative narratives that influence public discourse. The article highlights the potential for social media to amplify local grievances, turning them into global causes and fostering evidence-based advocacy. Further, it critically examines the challenges faced by these “loosely connected individuals,” who often struggle to leverage their digital networks into meaningful action or societal reform. Drawing on case studies from Zimbabwe and Ethiopia, the article explores how social media activism can be institutionalized to strengthen citizen-led accountability and transform online communities into organized forces capable of holding governments accountable.
Editor: Unwana Samuel Akpan
This book offers a comprehensive exploration of sport communication within Africa and its diaspora, revealing the deep cultural, social, and economic impact of sports in African societies and the global influence of African athletes and professionals. Through multidisciplinary perspectives, the book examines diverse topics, from Nigeria’s radio role in popularizing the Olympics to the impact of Colin Kaepernick’s protest on journalism in Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the U.S. Rich case studies cover topics such as football historiography in Cameroon, racism in European football, and sport’s role in policy-making, as well as sustainable development in Africa. An essential read for anyone interested in the intersection of sport, media, and African studies, this book provides fresh insights into the powerful connection between sports and societal change.