Reflections on the African Print Media

Abstract

This study set out to revisit some of the early newspapers in Africa and their relevance to anti-colonial struggle. It examined their audacious confrontation of the colonial masters, what guided their militant approach, and why such nationalistic tendencies are lacking in the post-independent journalism. The key objectives were to locate the influence of nationalistic ideology on the performance of the pre-independence newspapers. Anchored on the twin theories of agenda setting and social responsibility roles of the media, the study adopted the qualitative data collection method, with the library as its main source of data source. Findings showed that what is lacking in the modern African media are well articulated national ideologies from which the media could draw inspiration in their practices. The study recommends well-articulated national ideologies without which the media will have no foundation for their individual missions that would help reinvent the lost nationalistic zeal.