This article reappraises Kasoma's ethical framework of Afriethics. By locating Afriethics within the wider sociopolitical context, it demonstrates the extent to which Kasoma's religious, professional and scholarly outlooks coalesced in the formulation of Afriethics. The study rationalizes the ethical orientation in terms of its underlying epistemological and ontological framework of cultural relativism. It concludes that Kasoma's Afriethics is heavily influenced by the rhetoric of African cultural exceptionalism. The reappraisal establishes, first, how Afriethics seems to downplay Africa's complex media history. Second, its overreliance on the doctrine of African exceptionalism robs it of its analytic objectivity. Third, its theoretical grounding is not sufficiently explored in terms of normative media and social theory. Fourth, its appropriation as praxis seems to disregard the interpenetrated nature of African and western media cultures. The study concludes with a call for greater dialogue about the practicality of Afriethics in a globalizing African media context.
Afrobarometer (2002) `Key Findings About Public Opinion in Africa' , Afrobarometer Briefing Paper No. 1, April; at: www.afrobarometer.org (accessed 22 October 2006).
2.
Banda, F. (1997) Elections and the Press in Zambia: The Case of the 1996 Polls. Lusaka: Zambia Independent Media Association (ZIMA).
3.
Banda, F. (2004) Newspapers and Magazines in Zambia: A Question of Sustainability. Lusaka: Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Zambia.
4.
Banda, F. (2006a) `Negotiating Global Influences: Globalization and Broadcasting Policy Reforms in Zambia and South Africa' , Canadian Journal of Communication31(2): 459-67.
5.
Banda, F. (2006b) African Media Development Initiative (AMDI): Zambia Research Report. London: BBC World Service Trust.
6.
Barger, W. and R.D. Barney (2004) `Media-Citizen Reciprocity as a Moral Mandate' , Journal of Mass Media Ethics19(3-4): 191-206.
7.
Boudon, R. (2005) `The Social Sciences and Two Types of Relativism' , Journal of Classical Sociology5(2): 157-74.
8.
Christians, C.G. (2000) `Social Dialogue and Media Ethics' , Ethical Perspectives7(2-3): 182-93.
9.
Christians, C. and M. Traber (eds) (1997) Communication Ethics and Universal Values. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage .
10.
Crowder, G. (2004) `Galston's Liberal Pluralism' , paper presented to the Australasian Political Studies Association Conference , University of Adelaide 29 September-1 October.
11.
Dedering, T. (2002) `Globalization, Global History, and Africa' , Journal of Asian and African Studies37(3-5): 271-85.
12.
Du Gay, P. , S. Hall , L. Janes , H. Mackay and K. Negus (1997) Doing Cultural Studies: The Story of the Sony Walkman . London: Sage.
13.
Etzioni, A. (2003) `A 308. Communitarianism', pp. 224-8 in K Christensen and D Levinson (eds) Encyclopaedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual World , Vol. 1, A-D. Thousand Oaks , CA: Sage .
14.
Fukuyama, F. (1992) The End of History and the Last Man. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
15.
Fukuyama, F. (1997) `The Illusion of Exceptionalism' , Journal of Democracy8(3): 146-9.
16.
Galston, W.A. (2002) Liberal Pluralism: The Implications of Value Pluralism for Political Theory and Practice. New York: Cambridge University Press.
17.
Gunaratne, S.A. (ed.) (2000) Handbook of the Media in Asia. New Delhi, Thousand Oaks, CA and London: Sage.
18.
Hafez, K. (2002) `Journalism Ethics Revisited: A Comparison of Ethics Codes in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Muslim Asia' , Political Communication19: 225-50.
19.
Healy, L.M. (2007) `Universalism and Cultural Relativism in Social Work Ethics' , International Social Work50(1): 11-26.
20.
Herskovits, M.J. (1973) `Cultural Relativism and Cultural Values', in J. Ladd (ed.) Ethical Relativism , pp. 58-77. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
21.
Hood, S.J. (1998) `The Myth of Asian-Style Democracy' , Asian Survey38(9): 853-66.
22.
Johnson, R.H. and J.A. Blair (1993) Logical Self-Defense, 3rd edn. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson .
23.
Jones, A. (1999) `Dialectics and Difference: Against Harvey's Dialectical "Post-Marxism"' , Progress in Human Geography23(4): 529-55.
24.
Kabeer, N (ed.) (2005) Inclusive Citizenship: Meanings and Expressions. London and New York: Zed Books.
25.
Karikari, K. (ed.) (1996) Ethics in Journalism: Case Studies of Practice in West Africa. Accra: Panos Institute and Ghana Universities Press .
26.
Kasoma, F.P. (1996) `The Foundations of African Ethics (Afriethics) and the Professional Practice of Journalism: The Case of Society-Centered Media Morality' , Africa Media Review10(3): 93-116.
27.
Kasoma, F.P. and A.A. Moemeka (1994) `Journalism Ethics in Africa: An Aversion to Deontology?' , pp. 38-50 in F.P. Kasoma (ed.) Journalism Ethics in Africa. Nairobi: African Council for Communication Education (ACCE).
28.
Krüger, F. (2004) Black, White and Grey: Ethics in South African Journalism. Cape Town: Double Storey .
29.
Kymlicka, W. and B. He (eds) (2005) Multiculturalism in Asia. New York: Oxford University Press.
30.
Ladd, J. (ed.) (1973) Ethical Relativism. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth .
31.
Mamdani, M. (1996) Citizens and Subjects: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
32.
Marcuse, H. (1993) `A Note on Dialectic', pp. 444-5. in A. Arato and E. Gebhardt (eds) The Essential Frankfurt School Reader. New York : Continuum.
33.
Mbiti, J.S. (1969) African Religions and Philosophy. London: Heinemann.
34.
Mitchell, K. (2006) `Geographies of Identity: The New Exceptionalism' , Progress in Human Geography30(1): 95-106.
35.
Mueller, G.E. (1958) `The Hegel Legend of "Thesis-Antithesis-Synthesis"' , Journey of the History of Ideas19(3): 411-14.
36.
Mure, G.R.G. (1966) `Hegel, Luther, and the Owl of Minerva' , Philosophy41(156): 127-39.
37.
Murphy, S.M. and J.F. Scotton (1987) `Dependency and Journalism Education in Africa: Are There Alternative Models?' , African Media Review1(3): 11-35.
38.
Norbeck, E. (1963) `African Rituals of Conflict' , American Anthropologist65(6): 1254-79.
39.
Nyamnjoh, F. (2005) Africa's Media: Democracy and the Politics of Belonging . London , New York and Pretoria: Zed Books and UNISA Press .
40.
Overstreet, H.A. (1904) `The Process of "Reinterpretation" in the Hegelian Dialectic' , The Journal of Philosophy, Psychology and Scientific Methods1(19): 512-19.
41.
P'Bitek, O. (1998) `The Sociality of Self', in E.C. Eze (ed.) African Philosophy: An Anthology. Cambridge, MA and Oxford: Blackwell .
42.
Popper, K.L. (1940) `What is Dialectic?' , Mind49(196): 403-26.
43.
Retief, J. (2002) Media Ethics: An Introduction to Responsible Journalism . Cape Town: Oxford University Press Southern Africa.
44.
Rønning, H. and F.P. Kasoma (2002) Media Ethics: An Introduction. Pretoria: Juta and Nordic/Southern African Development Community (SADC) Journalism Centre.
45.
Rytina, J.H. and C.P. Loomis (1970) `Marxist Dialectic and Pragmatism: Power as Knowledge' , American Sociological Review35(2): 308-18.
46.
Sikka, S. (2005) `Enlightened Relativism' , Philosophy and Social Criticism31(3): 309-41.
47.
Sim, S. and B. van Loon (2001) Introducing Critical Theory. Roy ston: Icon Books .
48.
Tomaselli, K. (2003) `"Our Culture" vs "Foreign Culture": An Essay on Ontological and Professional Issues in African Journalism' , Gazette65(6): 427-41.
49.
Wasserman, H. and A.S. de Beer (2004) `Covering HIV/AIDS: Towards a Heuristic Comparison between Communitarian and Utilitarian Ethics' , Communicatio30(2): 84-97.
50.
Wilcox, D.L. (1975) Mass Media in Black Africa: Philosophy and Control . New York: Praeger.
51.
Wiredu, K. (1996) Cultural Universals and Particulars: An African Perspective. Bloomington and Indianapolis : Indian University Press.
52.
Wiredu, K. (2001) `Society and Democracy in Africa', pp. 171-84 in T. Kiros (ed.) Explorations in African Political Thought: Identity, Community, Ethics. New York and London: Routledge.
Wong, K. (2004) `Asian-Based Development Journalism and Political Elections: Press Coverage of the 1999 General Elections in Malaysia' , Gazette66(1): 25-40.
