African Regional Media System in Post-Bipolar Era

Vitaliy Tereshchuk
2018 Torun International Studies  
This paper examines the development of African regional media system in the post-Cold War period, including the contemporary situation, from a political perspective. It is characterized primarily by the fact that Africa ceased to be an arena of confrontation between communism and capitalism, but instead it became a place for international competition for the influence on the continent between the "old" and "new" global players, mainly, between the USA, Europe and China. This struggle is
more » ... ed by considerable attention paid to the creation and support by main actors of various channels of influence on African audiences by mass media (both traditional -foreign broadcasting by radio and television, and Internet platforms -websites, online broadcasting, social media). Secondly, there is an attempt by the African media environment to create Pan-African media, being guided by commercial needs and operated under the conditions of liberalized information space, are quite successful, unlike the failed projects that took place during the Cold War, being politically motivated and operating in rather undemocratic environment. We also argue that there are distinct sub-regional media systems that coincide with the borders of the former colonial empires. Their existence is both colonial legacy (common language, cultural ties, etc.), and a result of contemporary media influence of the former metropolitan countries.
doi:10.12775/tis.2018.005 fatcat:q5hceme2wra4pmzvoiaqgb624i