African Muckraking

African Muckraking

Edited by Anya Schiffrin with George Lugalambi

Jacana. R245

Anya Schiffrin, director of the technology, media, and communications specialisation at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, writes in the introduction to African Muckraking that in the global North, the contributions of African journalists are largely unknown. The assumption is that good journalism doesn’t originate in Africa. Western audiences trust satellite news and parachute journalists more than they do local reporters, she writes. ‘This book aims to dispel that.’ Schiffrin says journalists really can change the world – and do so time and again. The book presents 41 pieces of campaigning and investigative journalism from around Africa, each prefaced with context provided by foremost experts on the continent, including Anton Harber and Ferial Haffajee. When selecting pieces for the book, Schiffrin and George Lugalambi, head of the department of mass communication at Makerere University in Uganda, included articles from newspapers in a wide range of countries, stories that had impact, and those that are not classical works of investigative journalism by today’s standards. The book highlights significant historical cases of journalism supporting social and political change. Its intent is clearly stated with the first piece, written by Sol Plaatje, entitled All We Claim Is Our Just Dues. It is riveting from start to finish.