The Racial Dynamics of Reporting Africa: Colonial and Decolonial Practices in Mainstream Western News Media

This book critically considers how and why centring race in the analysis of journalism deepens our understanding of how race is constructed and experienced in society. In doing so, it offers a theoretical framework for unpacking and dismantling racism within journalism practice and representation. Linking race critical, post- and decolonial theories to the structural-constructivist framework of journalistic field theory, this book examines the role of Black journalists and INGOs in reporting on sub-Saharan Africa in dominant British news organisations. This study goes beyond journalistic representation to consider the racial dynamics informing the production of Western news and the complex relations between journalists of colour and the institutional culture of dominant Western news organisations. Through a case study and in-depth original interviews, the author addresses the racialisation of mainstream UK news production and news representations of Africa and shows how and why mediated racialised discourses occur and recur, as well as what to do about them. Advancing studies of race, representation, Black identities and journalism studies, The Racial Dynamics of Reporting Africa contributes to decolonising journalism, media and communication studies. It is recommended reading for students, academics and practitioners in these areas.