Press Freedom and the (Crooked) Path Toward Democracy

Reviews / Votes

This volume brings new insights into press freedom challenges in three neighbouring East African countries which have different media histories. The book is particularly strong in connecting the media situation with the broader political and social situation in each of the three countries. * Terje Skjerdal, Associate Professor in Global Journalism, NLA University College, Norway * This book is a testimony to the intellectual capital invested in it. Oftentimes, we come across pseudo intellectualism as some scholars pontificate from ivory towers far removed from their physical areas of research. Not so in this case. The authors immersed themselves in East Africa and interacted with journalists whose lived experiences added authenticity and nuances to this work. This book will sharpen any reader's understanding of the intersection of press freedom and democracy in East Africa. * Uche Onyebadi, Professor and Chair, Department of Journalism, Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Texas Christian University, Editor: International Communication Research Journal * This is an important volume illustrating, with an enviable richness of data, the troubled trail to freedom of the press in the African countries leaving aside Western prejudices and bias. * Paolo Mancini, Formerly Full Professor of Communication, Department of Political Sciences, University of Perugia, Italy. * This is a terrific volume which catapults Africa into the global journalism scholarship. Cohen and McIntyre have relied on sound empirical data corpus to provide an insightful historical account of inter-twined factors that have shaped the evolution of press freedom in Eastern Africa. * Kioko Ireri, Associate Professor of Journalism & Mass Communication, United States International University-Africa, Kenya. * The authors use journalists' voices and the region's troubled history to give an update on press freedom in a region that is always cited by most press freedom indices as struggling. What makes the book valuable though is its examination of the unique characteristics of media politics like long stay in power, international linkages, status of the civil society, among others, as the region's entry point into the global discussion on media systems. * Brian Semujju, Senior Lecturer, Dept. of Journalism and Communication, Makerere University, Uganda. *