Mapping discourses on citizen journalism in Southern Africa: A decolonial approach

Citizen journalism has become a global norm whose uncritical endorsement as a counter-hegemony is a matter of concern. Dominant discourses on citizen journalism mask ideological, epistemological and ontological stances of citizen journalism. Consequently, little is known about citizen journalism’s potential to perpetuate coloniality in postcolonial contexts such as Southern Africa. Deploying a decolonial theoretical approach and using Zimbabwe and South Africa as exemplars, this qualitative exploratory study examines discursive constructions of citizen journalism. Data were gleaned from a semi-structured electronic questionnaire e-mailed to 26 purposively selected media studies and journalism trainers, and civil society leaders involved in training citizen journalists. This was complemented by textual analysis of manuals used in training citizen journalists. This article argues that the supposed counter-hegemonic role ascribed to citizen journalism needs more nuancing, given that citizen journalism is sometimes captured by power structures. This has negative implications for social transformation in postcolonial contexts.