Popular Media, Democracy and Development in Africa examines the role that popular media could play to encourage political debate, provide information for development, or critique the very definitions of 'democracy' and 'development'. Drawing on diverse case studies from various regions of the African continent, essays employ a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to ask critical questions about the potential of popular media to contribute to democratic culture, provide sites of resistance, or, conversely, act as agents for the spread of Americanized entertainment...

This comprehensive Reader brings together seminal texts in media and communication from both traditional as well as more recent scholarship.

Readings are drawn from an international range of scholars and organized to reflect the growing internationalization of the field, with clearly defined sections covering key aspects of global communication. In addition to the core academic readings, key policy documents are also included to demonstrate the development of the political, economic and technological infrastructure that underpins the global system of media and...

The explosion of transnational information flows, made possible by new technologies and institutional changes (economic, political and legal) has profoundly affected the study of global media. At the same time, the globalization of media combined with the globalization of higher education means that the research and teaching of the subject faces immediate and profound challenges, not only as the subject of enquiry but also as the means by which researchers and students undertake their studies.

Edited by a leading scholar of global communication, this collection of essays by...