ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an exploratory overview of research into Internet-based digital journalism in Africa by exploring trends and perspectives taken by different researchers in this field. It discusses the “mixed” opinions characteristic of early research into the impact of the Internet on journalism in Africa. Despite the fact that Africa is the least connected continent on the Internet, traditional journalism has not escaped the complexities and contradictions associated with the 1990s crusade towards the adoption of the Internet in journalism. A number of early researchers also focused on the impact of specific technological features on journalism, especially the interactivity of online newspaper editions. The chapter provides an emerging corpus of critical research that transcends the tension between advocates and cynics by adopting a more “balanced” approach, sensitive to the multiple factors that shape the adoption and use of the Internet in African journalism.
