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New book celebrates five decades of journalism in Africa
Two West African organisations have joined forces to publish a book that explores the key periods of African journalism over the past 50 years.
The African Editors Forum (TAEF), Highway Africa and the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) have published 50 Years of Journalism: African Media Since Ghana's Independence celebrating leading figures of African journalism over the past five decades. With contributions from prominent journalists, editors, and media professionals from across the continent, the book explores the key periods of African media history while highlighting lessons learned from the past and perspectives on the future of African media.
The book is broken down into sections for all regions in Africa, and contextualizes and explores the different historical periods on the continent. Contributors include Executive Director of MFWA, Kwame Karikari, Professor Fackson Banda of Zambia, Cheriff Sy of Burkina Faso, and Michael Kudlak of the International Press Institute (IPI).
"Over 50 years, a host of phases have occurred in African media, and many lessons have been learned. It is time to bring these together, commit them to writing, and provide a valuable intellectual resource for interested Africans and others to locate their media practices and policies in a longer-term perspective, and to provide pointers to trajectories and priorities going forward," a statement by TAEF reads.
The book concludes with a look to the future by Guy Berger, Head of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, and active in the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) and Highway Africa.
"One thing is for sure: African journalists can play a proactive role in shaping the answers to what will be, what should be and what could be. This book is a valuable resource for that purpose," Berger writes.
50 Years of Journalism: African Media Since Ghana's Independence is edited by Elizabeth Barratt, executive editor of The Star newspaper in Johannesburg and Secretary General of the African Editors Forum, as well as Berger. The book will soon be available in electronic form at www.theafricaneditorsforum.org.
