Since the so-called democratization decade of the 1990s, there has been increased scholarly interest in democratic elections and how they are conducted throughout Africa (see for example Cowen and Laakso 2002; Bratton and Van de Walle 1997).

Most of this scholarship has focused on the sincerity of these elections as a way of measuring the degree of democratization in particular African countries. However, except for expert reports, often including sections on the media coverage of these elections as one of the indicators of the level of democratization, there are very few, if any, scholars who have attempted book-length analyses of the role of the media in Africa’s democratic elections. Ragnar Waldahl’s book on Zimbabwe’s 2000 election is therefore pioneering in this respect. It looks at how the media in Zimbabwe – both the pro-government and pro-opposition media – covered different aspects of the election, including the treatment of the key election issues and the representation of the protagonists in the contest.

Click here to read the whole review

Book Review : Journal of African Media Studies Volume 1 Number 1 © 2009 Intellect Ltd Book Reviews. English language. doi: 10.1386/jams.1.1.173/5

.................

Politics and Persuasion: Media Coverage of Zimbabwe’s 2000
Elections, Ragnar Waldahl (2004), Harare: Weaver Press, 148 pages, ISBN 0 779220278, Pbk, $24.95

Reviewed by Dumisani Moyo, Department of Media Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

AND

Mixed Reception: South African Youth and their Experience of Global Media, Larry Strelitz (2005) Pretoria: UNISA Press, 199 pp., ISBN 1-86888-287-X,
Paperback, $34.78

Reviewed by Maria Way, Senior Lecturer in Media Theory, CAMRI, University
of Westminster, UK

.................

Source: www.atypon-link.com/INT/doi/pdf/10.1386/jams.1.1.173_5 (accessed on 21.01.10)