[Commlist] cfp: The BBC Legacy in African Media, Changes and Continuities

*Call for Book Chapter Abstracts**
*

*
*

*Tittle: *The BBC Legacy in African Media, Changes and Continuities


Deadline for the submission of abstracts: 30 September 2023


Book Editors:

Associate Professor Anthony Gunde, University of Malawi

Dr Albert Sharra, University of Edinburgh and University of Witwatersrand

Mr Jimmy Kainja, University of Malawi


*Background*

The BBC is credited for helping British African colonies establish 
broadcasting services which also allowed it to exert its level of 
international influence ranging from the structuring of the broadcasting 
institutions themselves to the media strategies and ideologies, 
including their creative practices (Dupéré, 2021; Hendy, 2018). It began 
with the British Colonial Office supporting the BBC in setting up radio 
broadcasting transmitter sites in East and Central Africa in the 1940s 
(Armour, 1984). The then Secretary of State, Creech Jones, despatched 
what was termed the Confidential Circular of 1948, Broadcasting in the 
Colonies, an updated version of the 1936 circular, which emphasised the 
need to support the establishment of broadcasting services in Africa as 
part of improving communication between the government and the governed 
(Armour 1984:359). The Colonial Office engaged the BBC to appoint one of 
its senior employees, Oliver

Whitley, to work in its office to help with the project.


Although it initially faced some challenges, the initiative succeeded in 
most parts of the continent. For instance, in West Africa and the 
Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in Southern Africa, the BBC helped 
set up the first radio broadcasting systems. They also created regional 
programmes with a pronounced local flavour; that is, vernacular 
broadcasts with national programmes in English for educated Africans 
(Armour, 1984). Well known for its Reithian principles—to inform, 
educate and entertain—and commitment to the principles of independence 
and impartiality (Dupéré (2021), multiple public broadcasters in 
Sub-Saharan Africa like the South African

Broadcasting Corporation (Meyer, 2015), the Kenya Broadcasting 
Corporation (Ngugi & Kinyua, 2014), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation 
(Serwornoo, 2018), Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (Mano 2004) and the 
Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (Manjawira & Mitunda, 2011), have 
similarly adopted these BBC tenets, including programmes and programming 
styles and decorum.


*Central argument*

The central argument being advanced by this volume is that the BBC has 
made remarkable contributions to the development of the radio in many 
African countries. The BBC model has impacted radio broadcasting systems 
in multiple ways; some adopted it wholesomely, with others, over the 
years, embraced hybrid models of the British, local and transnational 
systems. The BBC model is a reference point, as it has become a 
benchmark for broadcasting style and etiquette in most parts of Africa. 
The BBC has had an enduring influence on broadcasting in Africa in much 
the same way as Jeremy Tunstall (1977) believes American media had on 
the media worldwide in the 1960s and 1970s.


Although there are several studies on some of these issues, lacking in 
the literature is a comprehensive examination of the extent of the BBC’s 
influence on African radio, focusing on how it has been consolidated and 
sustained, including efforts to do things differently. In this edited 
volume, we welcome entries that cover the historical background of 
African radio with a focus on the BBC, the broadcasting structure and 
strategies, funding models and editorial policies, programming styles 
and content, consolidation of the BBC’s broadcasting styles, and 
creative ideas that demonstrate a departure from these styles.


*Themes:*

The call is therefore interested in chapters that discuss the following 
and any related themes:

 1. The BBC and the history of the African radio.
 2. The BBC and African radio broadcasting systems.
 3. The BBC radio and the African politics and political exiles.
 4. BBC’s Straight Talk, interviews and debates genre.
 5. Popular Culture, the BBC and the African radio.
 6. The BBC, literary programs and the African radio.
 7. Education programmes, the BBC and the influence on African radio.
 8. Entertainment programmes, the BBC and the influence on African radio.
 9. Sports programmes, the BBC and the influence on African radio.
10. The BBC and 24-Hour News cycle and the African radio.
11. Transcultural journalism and the radio in Africa.
12. BBC’s influence in broadcasting technology in African radio.
13. Current trends of radio broadcasting in Africa.
14. BBC’s African presenters: telling the African Story.
15. Social inclusion in the newsroom.
16. BBC’s Focus on Africa and the African Story.
17. Decolonising African radio, changes and continuities.
18. African radio without the BBC

*Submission details:*

Please email chapter proposals of up to 400 words and brief author 
biographical information and affiliations to the editors at 
(agunde /at/ unima.ac.mw) <mailto:(agunde /at/ unima.ac.mw)> and copy in 
(asharra /at/ ed.ac.uk) <mailto:(asharra /at/ ed.ac.uk)> and (jkainja /at/ unima.ac.mw) 
<mailto:(jkainja /at/ unima.ac.mw)>. Decisions on proposals will be 
communicated to the authors by October 30, 2023. The book is earmarked 
for Palgrave Macmillan.


*Timelines:*

September 30, 2023, Abstract submission

October 30, 2023 Notification of Acceptance

December 20, 2023 Deadline for the first complete draft submission

January 30, 2024 Feedback on the first draft

March 30, 2024 Deadline for submission of the second draft

May 20, 2024 Final decision on submissions

July 30, 2024 Book submission to the publisher


Inquiries should be sent to: (agunde /at/ unima.ac.mw) <mailto:(agunde /at/ unima.ac.mw)>


*About the Editors:*

Anthony Gunde is an Associate Professor of Media, Communication and 
Cultural Studies at the Media and Communication Studies Department of 
the University of Malawi. He is also a Research Fellow at the Journalism 
Department, Stellenbosch University. Gunde holds a PhD in Journalism 
Studies from Stellenbosch University and a Master of Arts in 
Communications from Missouri State University. He has co-published a 
book, multiple chapters and journal articles in international 
peer-reviewed journals and books. Gunde is a member of the International 
Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).


Albert Sharra is a joint-postdoctoral research fellow at the University 
of Edinburgh, UK and the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. 
His research interests cover journalism and media studies, digital 
media, social media, digital activism, comparative politics, and 
government. He has taught media, politics, and international development 
for five years in South Africa and the UK. He has also published widely 
on journalism as a practice, digital media, and politics and presented 
papers at several international conferences in Africa, the USA, Europe, 
and the UK. Albert is also a multi-award-winning journalist with over 
ten years of newsroom experience, which included heading diverse 
editorial-content teams. He is a three-time winner of the Media 
Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)-Malawi Chapter ‘Overall Journalist 
of the Year Award’. Albert is a Digital Media Mentor for International 
Press Institute (IPI).


Jimmy Kainja is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Malawi. He has 
over ten years of experience teaching Media, Communication and Cultural 
Studies in the Media and Communication Studies department. His research 
interests are media and communication policy, journalism, new media, 
digital rights, freedom of expression, access to information and the 
intersection of media, democracy and development. He has published 
widely in these areas in international peer-reviewed journals and books.

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