Mdlongwa, F. (ed). 2009. Doing Digital Media in Africa: Prospects, Promises and Problems

This is an anthology on how African media companies are embracing and experimenting with digital media to increase their audience reach and income. The book is published by Rhodes University’s Sol Plaatjie Institute for Media Leadership (SPI) and the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and is edited by SPI Director Francis Mdlongwa.

The book captures some of the important presentations made by African media leaders at the seventh Africa Media Leadership Conference held in Uganda’s capital Kampala in 2008 under the theme of   “Doing Digital Media in Africa: Prospects, Promises and Problems”.  Some of the articles in the book are from media experts who did not necessarily attend the conference but were specifically asked to make contributions because of their expertise in this field.

The contributors offer informative ideas, experiences and innovations from across the continent on how Africa can prepare itself for the challenges of a redefined journalism and media business in the age of discontinuity.

As Mdlongwa notes:  “The scramble is now on -- the scramble to rapidly find new ways of doing business in a media-scape that also offers unprecedented opportunities to those who embrace change.  And to do this quickly and without certainty or compass.”

The Africa Media Leadership Conference was launched by the SPI and KAS in 2002 to offer CEOs and editors-in-chief of Africa’s media firms a unique platform where they could network at the highest level and take decisions on crucial media management and leadership issues affecting their companies across the continent. The conferences are held each year in a different African country.

This book is a valuable resource to journalism and media management practitioners, trainers and students looking for some Africa-specific insights on digital media issues.

 Click here for the book in PDF

Last updated »  2009-07-13