Open debate and the unrestricted exchange of ideas in the public domain has become a hallmark of modern liberal democracy, as often symbolised by a free press. But what is the current state and efficacy of the public sphere in Africa? What are the issues that preoccupy the contemporary public domain? And what is the role of the media within this context now?
These and many other matters are addressed in the latest special themed issue of Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies 32(3) 201, titled “Journalism and the Public Sphere in Africa” – investigating actual situations through the focal point of journalism and the media as a means of promoting public conversation on the continent. As guest-editor Anthea Garman states in her opening article, even issues aired in public which show up the fragmentation of the public sphere should be taken seriously because they are rooted in deep questions about subjectivity and belonging.
Indeed, ‘belonging’ is a recurring sub-theme of this edition - from the debate around the complexity of white Afrikaner identity and inclusion in a post-apartheid South Africa in Rebecca Kahn’s article on the band Fokofpolisiekar, to the contestation between the presidency and media during the Mbeki era as a backdrop to the anxiety about being South African, speaking authentically, demonstrating solidarity and true citizenship in Alan Finlay’s piece. Lesley Cowling and Carolyn Hamilton focus in their contribution on whether journalists actively facilitate debate or merely allow it to unfold as the strongest actors dictate the terms, while Franz Krüger assesses the health of community radio and its task of imparting news and information to empower people as citizens.
At a time when threats to freedom of expression are perceived to be on the rise, “Journalism and the Public Sphere in Africa” again revives the notion of open discourse in the public domain as a vibrant aspect of democracy, whose key component in many ways remains a free and active media.