Mobile telephony and changing patterns of audiences’ engagement with global media in Africa

Abstract

This article explores the patterns and consequences of transnational audiences’ engagement with global media in the digital age, focusing on experiences in Africa. It examines Nigerians’ interactions with the BBC World Service, and draws on active audience theory and Joseph Nye’s soft power concept to unpick their complex relationship. Using documentary analysis, focus groups and individual interviews, the study unpacks how Nigerians deploy digital devices to engage with the BBC – and how the broadcaster leverages this to extend its influence. The impacts of digital technologies on participatory programming and audience interactivity – and the theoretical implications – are also analysed.