Author: DIgital Media

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Latest News Headlines

DIgital Media

Curated news stories from various sources covering the Global South (updated daily)

Shoe wars and public fury as public take aim at power. Read more The Standard

Tinubu approves funds for UNESCO Media, Information Literacy Institute in Nigeria. Read more The Nation

Biden’s trip to Angola throws spotlight on Luanda’s multipolar foreign policy. Read more Chatham House

DA writes to Ramaphosa about its G20 presidency expectations. Read more news24

Fossil footprints in Kenya show two ancient human species coexisted. Read more Reuters

Tanzania: Opposition cries foul over thousands of disqualified candidates. Read more on theafricareport

Kenyan workers with AI jobs thought they had tickets to the future until the grim reality set in. Read more CBS NEWS

Nigeria: Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar consider political merger. Read more theafricareport

Kenya cancels more than $2.5bn in deals with Adani after US indictment. Read more Aljazeera

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani charged in US for alleged bribery, fraud. Read more Aljazeera

Reimagining productivity with AI-powered innovation. Read more news24

‘We are hurt, but we are not crybabies,’ says Malema about EFF’s tough year. Read more news24

Theater festival offers solace in Burkina Faso. Read more africanews

Why many journalists stay in the newsroom. Read more Monitor

Sport Weekly: ‘A litmus test’ as the African Football League kicks off. Read more Aljazeera

Oladapo Sofowora bags UNESCO award. Read more The Nation

Tanzanian-made aircraft begin operations. Read more Monitor

Luganda text-to-speech: breaking barriers and promoting accessibility for visualliy impaired. Read more africanews

Uganda police arrest more anti-graft protesters. Read more Nation

Farmers in Africa say their soil is dying and chemical fertilizers are in part to blame. Read more AP

Love at first tear gas. Listen Nation Podcasts

Kenya’s opposition joins crisis-hit government. Read more BBC

How unrelenting youth protesters forced once in two-decades move. Read more The Standard

Another victory for Gen Z as Ruto bows to pressure, dissolves Cabinet. Read more The Standard

Gold for Kenya As Africa’s Fastest Man Ferdinand Omanyala Bags Victory in Men’s 100 Metres Final in Birmingham Read more Sports Brief

Don Mattera | Reflecting on the life of renowned poet Don Mattera: Prof Jonathan Jansen. Watch SABC News

Award-winning poet and anti-apartheid activist Don Mattera passes away. Read more The Citizen

Africa’s fastest man gets US visa less than 24 hours to world race. Read more Aljazeera

Google to host cultural exchange programme for content creators in Nairobi. Read more Nation Africa

Berlin museum returns artifacts to Namibia. Read more DW.COM

Tanzania signs natural gas deal with Equinor and Shell. Read more Al Jazeera

Mulindwa’s ‘Foot Wine’ scoops Film of the Year award at Uganda festival. Read more The East African

Saudi Arabia emerges as key mediator in Sudan crisis. Read more The East African

Political misinformation on Kenyan TikTok ahead of the national election. Read more Gizmodo

Big tech is winning the battle for Kenya’s talent, June 2022. Read more Quartz

AfDb Gender Equality Trust Fund to promote women entrepreneurship in Africa. Read more Nation Africa

A traditional court in Zimbabwe summons former first lady Grace Mugabe. Read more Nation Africa

Landless People Movement (LPM) leaders are barred from the Namibian National Assembly. Read more namibian

Kenya as the Cradle of Mankind. The Discovery of the complete skeleton of Homo Erectus. Watch more of ‘Turkana Boy’ Citizen TV

Watch: Live streaming as Tanzanian’s pay last respects to President John Pombe Magufuli. #LIVE​: Mwili wa hayati John Magufuli ukiagwa katika uwanja wa Uhuru, Dar es Salaam

Tanzania Mourns President John Pombe Magufuli. Read more TheCitizen

Ugandan Singer-Songwriter Awori releases debut album. Read more theafricanreport

Tanzania’s Vice President, Samia Suluhu Hassan in a Televised address announces the passing on of President John Magufuli. Read more The EastAfrican

Benin’s Digital Revolution. Read more theafricanreport

Changing Negative Narratives for Gender Equality in Tanzania. Read more Daily News.

Kenya Extends Covid-19 Curfew and bans political gatherings. Read more The Standard

Speculation on the Whereabouts of Tanzania’s President John Magufuli. Read more Daily News

Kenyans push back against CNN Travel story about British woman who discovered whales in Kenya. Read more CitizenDigital

Delegates from 30 African countries attend Nigeria AI conference. Read more africanews

Paying Tribute to Hamed Bakayoko, Côte d’Ivoire’s prime minister. Read more theafricanreport

Siphokazi Jonas to deliver bespoke poem ahead of the annual State of the Nation address. Read more The South African

Animal Defenders International (ADI) releases the incredible love story of Tarzan and Tanya. Read more The South African

Check out Kenya’s popular podcasts. Read more Nation

Africa No Filter presents: A conversation about who is telling the African story? Wednesday, 17 February 2021. Sign up for the Webinar

MTV Music Awards cancelled after a campaign urging artists to boycott the event following the election results. Read more qz.com

Africa No Filter is launching the continent’s first and only news agency. Read more

Media Personalities Show Support for Kanze Dena after she is Body Shamed by KOT. Read more Pulse

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli says God has eliminated Covid-19 in Tanzania. Read more . AP

The COVID Performance Index by the Lowy Institute ranks Rwanda among the top ten countries in Covid-19 management. Read more The New Times

The Gold Rush amidst the Corona Virus Pandemic. Read the 5-Part Series theafricanreport

Despite Election Loss, Bobi Wine’s Popularity Soars in Uganda. Read more AP

President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga launched the BBI constitutional amendment bill on Wednesday 25 November. Read more theafricareport

MTV Music Awards Nominees list is out. Watch

Uncategorized

What does it mean to shift the narrative?

DIgital Media

Presented to Africa No Filter Fellows on 02.26.2021

Our member was invited to present along with other research mentors at the Africa No Filter Research Fellows workshop held in February 2021.

This presentation drew from ongoing work at the Africa Media Collaborative on rewriting African narratives. The Africa Media Collaborative seeks to challenge the prevailing dominant stories about Africa that are often framed by the global news media, films, TV shows, International humanitarian agencies, International charities and foundations, tourists, social media influencers, music and fashion magazines.

While acknowledging that the last few decades have witnessed a rise in counter-narratives or competing narratives about Africa, the presentation was driven by the following question: Does the existence of counter-narratives about Africa indicate a shift in the narrative?

There is need to deliberately and consistently work towards eliminating biased, stereotypical, negative, dehumanizing stories about Africa and its peoples. The adoption of counter narratives and competing narratives does not indicate a shift in the narrative. It is not enough to counter, we need a shift in the narrative!

The presentation also discussed the model developed by Africa Media Collaborative in shifting the narrative through the following three steps:

a) Reframing

b) Disrupting

c) Occupying

For more information, check out Africa Media Collaborative

Hashtags

#SomeoneTellCNN

DIgital Media

The #SomeoneTellCNN was one powerful case of African audiences contesting the stereotypical portrayals of Africa in global news coverage. The hashtag tells the story of Kenyans challenging media hegemony and the accompanying dominant stereotypes that are fostered by global news media coverage. Kenyans used the #SomeoneTellCNN to point out errors in news reporting of local events by international media, while at the same time re-writing stories about international news coverage of East Africa.

Kenyans on Twitter quickly invoked the hashtag #SomeoneTellCNN to critique the way in which CNN had covered events about Kenya.

Below are sampled Twitter conversations.

Uncategorized

Citizen Journalism and democracy in Africa: New Questions in a New Era

DIgital Media

The workshop was jointly organized by the University of Westminster and Moi University in collaboration with UK-Africa Media and Democracy Research Network.

The workshop was part of an on-going project on Media and Democracy in Africa, which was funded by the British Academy. It was held at the Sarova Stanley, Nairobi on 9th May 2014.

See workshop program below:

workshop-programDownload
UK Africa Media and Democracy Research Network

UK-Africa Media and Democracy Research Network

DIgital Media

The project focused on engaging in international collaborative research on Media and Democracy. Dr. Winston Mano (University of Westminster, UK), along with Lynete Lusike Mukhongo (Moi University), received a grant from the British Academy, under the International Partnership and Mobility Scheme, to carry out research on media and democracy and launch a collaborative network: UK-Africa Media and Democracy Research Network. http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/awards/intl/international_partnership_and_mobility.cfm

As part of the project, they hosted an international conference at Westminster University on 29th March 2014, which drew participants from different countries in Africa and Europe. The theme of the conference was Media and Elections in Africa. Thereafter, they held a workshop for faculty, journalists, bloggers, and graduate students in Nairobi, Kenya, themed: Citizen Journalism and democracy in Africa: New Questions in a New Era

The specific activities carried out by the project included:

  • Selected staff from the University of Westminster, UK and Moi University, Kenya to participate in mutual collaborations on media’s role in elections and democracy
  • Developed and managed budgets for various research initiatives within the project.
  • Organized visiting speakers and events to promote understanding of media and democracy
  • Attended faculty-student seminars, public events and colloquia.
  • Participated in networking activities among academics and journalists
  • Jointly organized short intensive workshops, a conference and and delivered guest lectures
Africa Media Collaborative, UK Africa Media and Democracy Research Network, Uncategorized

Call for Papers: Media and Elections in Africa

DIgital Media

Conference organised by the  Africa Media Centre, University of Westminster and Moi University, Kenya in association with the UK-Africa Media and Democracy Research Network 

Date: Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March 2014 

Venue: University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, London

Keynote Speaker 

Professor Kwame Karikari, Executive Director of the Media Foundation  for West Africa (MFWA), a Ghana-based media advocacy organisation  whose vision is for a sub-region in which the fundamental human rights  of freedom of thought and expression are guaranteed; and in which free mass media serve to bring to fulfilment all the other universally subscribed rights and freedoms for all persons. The Foundation pursues  its objectives through activities that encourage collaboration with organisations and  individuals working for the promotion of Media Rights and Freedom of Expression. (http://www.mediafound.org/). 

This is the second call for a conference on media and elections in Africa. Elections  are essential for democracy and yet in much of Africa they have become mere rituals  whose conduct and result are most predictable. Voter apathy is a concern due to  persistent problems such as electoral fraud, voter suppression and the resultant poll  violence and loss of lives. New measures and strategies have done little to change 

the course of the crisis. African elites, election observers, scholars and journalists  have raised questions about whether elections are really important for African democracy. Why do Africa’s friends in the West insist on elections while China  continues to place less emphasis on them? Are elections a precondition for  protecting civil liberties? From Egypt to South Africa, citizens have been treated as  subjects and bystanders of the electoral processes, resulting in the coming to power  of illegitimate regimes characterised by tyranny, corruption, nepotism, ethnic  persecution and gross human rights violations. The media are meant to be the eyes  and ears of the emerging democracies in Africa but evidence shows that they are  biased, inefficient and under resourced to the extent of neglecting their educational  and informative roles before, during and after elections. Far from being watchdogs,  the media have become lap dogs that are routinely manipulated by greedy and  corrupt politicians and businessman seeking public office. 

There are serious questions about how elections have become hijacked by local and  global forces that are inimical to African emancipation. Who benefits from the  elections? Whose voice is represented? Who speaks on behalf of whom? What role  have the media played in elections? Can the media rescue the electoral politics in  Africa? What sort of media are needed? What kind of journalists are needed? 

This conference seeks to debate issues of media and elections within the broader  context of democratization in local and global contexts. Issues of, ideology, power  and future of media and democracy in Africa are part of the focus. The conference  welcomes contributions that will debate these issues from different theoretical and  methodological orientations.  

Approximately 40 papers will be presented on topics including: 

• Media and Elections in Africa 

• NGOs and Activist Media in Africa 

• Protest Music, Theatre, Drama  

• Political Party Media in Africa 

• New Media and Elections in Africa 

• Foreign Media and African Democracy  

• Rural and Urban Citizenship in Africa 

• Elections, Elites and the Media in Africa 

• Human Rights and the Media 

• Media Ownership and Access in Africa 

• Media Freedom in Africa 

• The ‘African’ Public Sphere 

• Media Controls and Constraints in Africa 

• Media, Civic Education and Constitution Making in Africa 

Abstract Submission 

The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday 31 January 2014. Abstracts  should not be more than 300 words long. They must include the title of the  conference, presenter’s name, affiliation, email and postal address, together with the  title of the paper. Please ensure when saving your abstract that your name is part of  the file name. Please email your abstract to Helen Cohen, Events Administrator at:  (journalism@westminster.ac.uk). 

Program and Registration  

This two day conference will take place on Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 March, 2014.  The fee for registration (which applies to all participants, including presenters) will be  £175, with a concessionary rate of £95 for students, to cover all conference documentation, refreshments lunches and administration costs. Registration will  open in February 2014