Digging for Transparency: How African Journalism Only Scratches the Surface of Conflict

Abstract

It has become a pattern to find academics, professionals and students of journalism bragging with the scope, techniques and dilemmas of investigative journalism. But there is one gaping hole: nowhere was information collated about the heroic contributions, and often the sacrifices, that were made for the profession by African investigative journalists across Africa. Writing a history or complete account of African investigative journalism is outside the scope of this article. But I am trying to offer here a series of contributions –some current, some historical –on the topic of safety of journalists, that will, hopefully, lay the foundations for further research, and also lay to rest decisively the myth that journalism which exposes social problems and criticizes the powerful is ‘un-African’.Keywords: Africa, transparency, investigative journalism, safety of journalists, risk societies, watchdog