Ibrahim Seaga Shaw

Towards an African Journalism Model A Critical Historical Perspective

Much of the scholarly literature regarding theories of journalism practice is premised on the tenets of the western model of liberal democracy. To the extent that this model is held to be universal, it hinders the analytical theorization of journalistic precepts that have evolved locally in most countries of the developing world. This article seeks to address this problem by exploring the evolution of what may be aptly characterized as the African journalism model. This model is grounded in oral discourse, creativity, humanity and agency. By comparing and contrasting these two models, this article seeks to challenge the assumption that African journalism is one of mere ‘bandwagonism’ informed by western ‘modernity’ and ‘civilization’. In particular, by exploring the origin and transformation of journalism in sub-Saharan Africa before, during and after colonialism, this article contributes to the conceptual elaboration of alternative conceptions of the African model of journalism.

Historical frames and the politics of humanitarian intervention: from Ethiopia, Somalia to Rwanda

This article argues that historical frames we often find in news media discourse can skew the way we perceive distant wars, and that this can have a knock‐on effect on international humanitarian response within a cosmopolitan framework of global justice. Drawing on an empirical exploration of recent ‘humanitarian interventions’ in Ethiopia, Somalia and Rwanda, the article shows how historical frames largely reinforced the elite‐dominated news frames of ‘their crisis’, and ‘not ours’, which explains the delayed international intervention to end it. I conclude that the non‐intervention, or delayed intervention, of the international community on humanitarian grounds to end these crises was informed more by historical empathy/distance frames than empathy/critical frames in the mainstream Western news media discourse.

The politics of humanitarian intervention: a critical analogy of the British response to end the slave trade and the civil war in Sierra Leone

A leading scholar of humanitarian intervention, Brown (2002) refers to British internal politics to satisfy the influential church and other non-conformist libertarian community leaders, and above all ‘undermining Britains competitors, such as Spain and Portugal, who were still reliant on slave labour to power their economies, as the principal motivation for calls to end the slave trade than any genuine humanitarian concerns of racial equality or global justice’. Drawing on an empirical exploration, this article seeks to draw a parallel between this politics of humanitarian intervention which characterised the abolition movement, albeit rarely recognised in the academic literature, and the British intervention to end the almost 11 year civil war in Sierra Leone. The article concludes with a discussion on the implications of this politics of humanitarian intervention in the reconstruction of post-conflict Sierra Leone.

From Citizen Journalism to Human Rights Journalism: Framing the Ebola Epidemic in Sierra Leone on Facebook

This chapter seeks to contribute to the growing scholarly debate about the widening democratic deficit of citizen journalism in serving as a counter-hegemonic model to mainstream journalism. Moreover, earlier scholarly criticisms of citizen journalism have tended to focus on its limits in fostering a liberal democratic political participation and professional journalism. What has received little scholarly attention is a critical look at the shortcomings of citizen journalism in the promotion of human rights and development. What is more, the few studies that exist on this, for example by Allan (2006; Allan et al., 2007) looking at the potential and limits of citizen journalism in reporting Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Tsunami in 2004, and Madianou (2013) on the Kony 2012 humanitarian campaign video, only looked at the challenges of citizen journalism without necessarily identifying a journalism practice that would complement it (CJ) or serve as a kind of remedy. It is the aim of this chapter to offer a contribution to filling this gap in provision in the context of human rights journalism. Shaw (2012) talks about how human rights journalism can help address the shortcomings of citizen journalism in the promotion of human rights but only uses general examples. This chapter goes further, not only to throw more light on the latest developments in the debate, but to look at a specific case study of the framing of the Ebola epidemic in Sierra Leone by a Facebook discussion forum, to determine the extent of the potential or deficiency of citizen journalism in the promotion of human rights.

Introduction — Communicating Differences: Toward Breaking the Boundaries for Peace and Conflict Research in Communication

Society is undergoing rapid changes due to forces of globalization, mobility of people, technological evolution, and the media’s ubiquitous presence in all facets of life. As a result, the essence of how we communicate in relationships, between and across cultures, in organizations, through education, and in moments of conflict and crisis, is undergoing multi-faceted transformation. This volume brings together an eclectic and significant collection of essays representing influential theories, ideas, methods, and case studies in culture, media, conflict, and peace communication from diverse scholars who provide a thorough understanding of what entails processes of communicating differences in a conflict-torn world.

Human Rights Journalism: A Critical Conceptual Framework

Human rights journalism is often associated with the reporting of human rights abuses, especially against the victims of political violence, and sometimes with freedom of expression, also a fundamental human right, which is enjoyed, denied or abused by journalists. While these two conceptualisations of human rights journalism are equally important, it is the third one, journalism for all human beings, regardless of race, nationality, race, gender or geographical location, that is the most important — and hence the focus of this book. Nevertheless, the first two conceptualisations of human rights journalism — free speech and reporting human rights conditions (good or bad) — are also very important as they are indispensable to the realisation of the third conceptualisation of achieving journalism for all. Moreover, the first two conceptualisations demonstrate the extent to which journalism or mass media are connected to human rights. The mass media-human rights nexus involves two different yet overlapping elements: first, the existence of independent and free media to communicate information to citizens, make them aware of certain human rights and claim them; and, second, the extent to which media organisations report on human rights situations such as cases of violation or protection. A country is generally said to respect and protect its people’s human rights if it allows the two elements of the mass media and human rights nexus: free press and the unhindered reporting of human rights conditions (Caliendo, 2009).