User:ShuyuanoliviA/sandbox

Africa

Traditional media practitioners in Africa are making adaptive changes to keep up with the new, more dynamic and interactive media era. Journalism in particular has grown exponentially, with bloggers and citizen journalists advocating for good governance and other ideals.Although the technology and methods of the media have changed dramatically over the past 15 years, society still expects the media to play its traditional role of communication, education and entertainment.

In Africa, the media plays a more critical role in furthering the development and institutionalization of democracy, because as the state assumes new responsibilities in today's globalized world, citizens must be adequately educated and informed. The journalism that Africa needs in the process of its modernization should not only innovate itself, but also support innovation. Can not only self-growth, but also can promote the growth of others and social development; It can not only generate thinking as the driving force of social transformation, but also preside over the debate caused by social change.

Due to the lag of economic development, the development level of media in Africa is far behind that in other parts of the world, but this undoubtedly provides a huge market for many foreign media, especially western media. Beginning in the 1980s, various international channels began to enter and gradually occupy the African television market. At present, most African countries lack experience and capacity in program production and other fields, and there is a great demand for program mode and program production. Their TV channels need to broadcast other countries' TV programs. In some African countries, for example, international media outlets such as CNN and the BBC are often heavily broadcast on television to fill the airtime gap.

Africa serves as one of the hubs targeted by the Millennium Development Goals. It is a continent rich with cultural norms, values, and behavioral patterns. The media has been playing an essential role in highlighting and advancing the institutionalization of democracy in the globalized world. The penetration of media and technology in Africa has led to the degradation of the social problems facing African countries. Communication through various media sources has led to the revolution of social activities as Africans steer towards innovation (Servaes). Technology has re-institutionalized how African nations perceive education, politics, and social aspects of life. The media has become an integral aspect of economic growth as it provides a platform for addressing social problems and managing the modernization processes. In the mid-20th Century, Africa existed as colonies of wealthier states which did not focus on developing the African nations. The colonists were interested in exporting resources from African nations and tapping out the African natives through slavery. The term ‘Third World Countries’ was designed to address countries that did not pick a side during the perpetration of the Cold War. However, the term has been expanded to include the elements of development and economic stability (Crook). For instance, most of the third world countries are located in Africa, Asia, and South America. The term third world is synonymous with poverty, low living standards, and over-population. The media has been at the frontline of diminishing the use of the term third world since it is a politically incorrect term. Media has resorted to the use of the term developing nations as a means of referring to countries developing economically. Social change in Africa entails addressing the Millennium Development Goals and the investment of funds, time, effort, education and politics towards the eradication social and cultural values, norms and behavioral patterns that hinder the African nations from reaching the epitome of their financial capability. However, the interests of the superpowers like China and the United States of America has continued to suppress the advancement of these nations (Reality Check team). Countries like Zambia, Angola, Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo and North Sudan have huge Chinese debts which threaten the ownership of the essential financial hubs used as the collateral for their debts. All these debts could have been avoided if the citizens, politicians, and the governments of the countries participated actively in the processes of debt acquisition and transparency involved (Pettit, Juan, and Alfonso 447). Politics has made it difficult for the presentation of transparency of public policies in information technologies. In Africa, eradication of extreme hunger and poverty has elicited slight improvement as countries have stretched their efforts towards dealing with unemployment through the development of Global partnerships for development. The penetration of technology and constant communication through various media platforms has aided the creation of diverse economic spaces and knowledge base that has continued to enlighten the Africans from various countries on how to stand up and make life better for the next generation. Investment in health institutions and environmental sustainability through communication has aided the protection of the essential resources from pollution and encouraged effective exploitation of the approaches and methods of tackling poverty and pre-existing perceptions that hinder efficient human development. African countries have made tremendous improvements in education that have seen them embracing modern education curricular that promotes the development of competency-based careers that promotes innovation and creativity as opposed to the traditional approaches that have resulted into the pre-existing setbacks.

Reality Check team. "Is China Burdening Africa with Debt?" BBC News, 5 Nov. 2018.>  Crook, Clive. "Third World Economic Development, by Clive Crook: The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics | Library of Economics and Liberty." Econlib - The Library of Economics and Liberty,1992./ref> Pettit, Jethro, Juan Francisco Salazar, and Alfonso Gumucio Dagron. "Citizens' media and communication." Development in Practice 19.4-5 (2009): 443-452./ref>