Media Practice in East Africa

Abstract

The modern media in East Africa, as it is emerging today was a creation of European missionaries, immigrants and the colonial administration. These were responsible for the introduction of the printing press, radio and later television. They used this media primarily for the dissemination of news and information .a....mongthe European residents and settlers. It has been suggested that the media at this time was used as a device to maintain the status quo (0 chilo, 1993). The media had little to offer the natives during the colonial period, it remained in character and function, European oriented and reflected basically the dominant influence of the west. Unlike in the west, the media in Africa during the colonial period was not a major instrument of political and social change; it lacked the profound social foundation and distinction relevant to the local people.