Information flows in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The state of research into media and information flows in sub-Saharan Africa describes a situation marked by rapid growth of a wide range of media and distinctive geo-linguistic mediaspheres. This article focuses on two revolutions in information flow in the region: first, an expansion since the 1990s of traditional media, facilitated by satellite broadcasting and related technologies; secondly, since about 2000, the ongoing embrace of mobile telephony. It describes these developments in Lusophone, Francophone and Anglophone mediaspheres. Building on the author’s own previous research, and that of others, the article highlights the shift from asymmetrical, elite dominated communications concerning the major public affairs of the day toward increasingly symmetrical and participatory electronic