Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe

Digital media have transformed media’s news gathering, production and news dissemination traditions. However, African language newspapers’ use of digital media has been overlooked and understudied. Therefore, this study explores the adoption of digital media by Isolezwe, a South African indigenous l...

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Main Authors: Salawu, Abiodun, Tsutsa, Fortune, Mpofu, Phillip
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20929/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20929/1/ADOPTION%20OF%20DIGITAL%20MEDIA%20BY%20AFRICAN%20LANGUAGE%20PRINT%20NEWSPAPERS%20THE%20CASE%20OF%20ISOLEZWE.pdf
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author Salawu, Abiodun
Tsutsa, Fortune
Mpofu, Phillip
author_facet Salawu, Abiodun
Tsutsa, Fortune
Mpofu, Phillip
author_sort Salawu, Abiodun
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Digital media have transformed media’s news gathering, production and news dissemination traditions. However, African language newspapers’ use of digital media has been overlooked and understudied. Therefore, this study explores the adoption of digital media by Isolezwe, a South African indigenous language newspaper that publishes in IsiZulu. Data were gathered using the interview and observation methods. Deploying strands drawn from media convergence and diffusion of innovation theories, the study shows the convergence of African language print media and digital media, and advancement of African language newspapers towards increasing their digital and social media presence. This development has positively enhanced Isolezwe’s journalistic functions of newsgathering and dissemination. The study provides insights into understanding African language journalism in the context of the advancement of digital and communication technologies. Findings from this research show that Isolezwe has expanded its digital presence to social media. Over and above the online version, Isolezwe is also actively engaged on Twitter and Facebook which are the two most popular social networking sites in South Africa. The platforms are strategically deployed for newsgathering and news dissemination purposes. This is a timely contribution to existing scholarship on the adoption of digital media by indigenous languages newspapers in South Africa in particular and Africa in general. The study also provides insights into understanding African language journalism in the context of the advancement of digital and communication technologies.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:209292023-01-13T03:07:34Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20929/ Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe Salawu, Abiodun Tsutsa, Fortune Mpofu, Phillip Digital media have transformed media’s news gathering, production and news dissemination traditions. However, African language newspapers’ use of digital media has been overlooked and understudied. Therefore, this study explores the adoption of digital media by Isolezwe, a South African indigenous language newspaper that publishes in IsiZulu. Data were gathered using the interview and observation methods. Deploying strands drawn from media convergence and diffusion of innovation theories, the study shows the convergence of African language print media and digital media, and advancement of African language newspapers towards increasing their digital and social media presence. This development has positively enhanced Isolezwe’s journalistic functions of newsgathering and dissemination. The study provides insights into understanding African language journalism in the context of the advancement of digital and communication technologies. Findings from this research show that Isolezwe has expanded its digital presence to social media. Over and above the online version, Isolezwe is also actively engaged on Twitter and Facebook which are the two most popular social networking sites in South Africa. The platforms are strategically deployed for newsgathering and news dissemination purposes. This is a timely contribution to existing scholarship on the adoption of digital media by indigenous languages newspapers in South Africa in particular and Africa in general. The study also provides insights into understanding African language journalism in the context of the advancement of digital and communication technologies. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2022 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20929/1/ADOPTION%20OF%20DIGITAL%20MEDIA%20BY%20AFRICAN%20LANGUAGE%20PRINT%20NEWSPAPERS%20THE%20CASE%20OF%20ISOLEZWE.pdf Salawu, Abiodun and Tsutsa, Fortune and Mpofu, Phillip (2022) Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe. e-BANGI: Jurnal Sains Sosial dan Kemanusiaan, 19 (5). pp. 24-35. ISSN 1823-884x https://ejournal.ukm.my/ebangi/index
spellingShingle Salawu, Abiodun
Tsutsa, Fortune
Mpofu, Phillip
Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe
title Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe
title_full Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe
title_fullStr Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe
title_full_unstemmed Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe
title_short Adoption of digital media by African language print newspapers: the case of Isolezwe
title_sort adoption of digital media by african language print newspapers: the case of isolezwe
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20929/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20929/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/20929/1/ADOPTION%20OF%20DIGITAL%20MEDIA%20BY%20AFRICAN%20LANGUAGE%20PRINT%20NEWSPAPERS%20THE%20CASE%20OF%20ISOLEZWE.pdf