Journalism and the Representation of Truth in the Nigerian Postcolonial Literature

IF 1.1 3区文学 Q3 COMMUNICATION

African Journalism Studies Pub Date : 2022-07-03 DOI:10.1080/23743670.2022.2129706

Samuel Chinaza Ikueze, Onyemuche Anele Ejesu

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

ABSTRACT The connections between literature and journalism have remained grounds of severe contestation. The arguments border on importance and availability of connections between literature and journalism. Both sides recognise truth as their subject. However, whereas literature tells truth by reinventing its environment (defamiliarisation), journalism tells truth as it is. Literature and journalism tell about oppressions humans face, especially in postcolonial African society where both are instruments of resistance against oppression. Journalists are exceptional writers who base their writing on discovery, establishment, and projection of the true nature of things around them. However, their assignment is not one with minimum worries. This paper combines the concepts and ideas of journalism and literary studies. It is possible because while some journalists live literature, others write literature in real life. Through the novels of former journalists, Okey Ndibe's Arrows of Rain and Helon Habila's Oil on Water, this paper will locate the place of journalists in postcolonial literary works. It will look at both novels, evaluating the contributions of journalists (and journalism) in their postcolonial societies and, through them, see the challenges that journalists encounter in their duties as the mouthpieces of the ordinary and voiceless individuals, especially during state-orchestrated oppression.

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新闻学与尼日利亚后殖民文学中的真理表现

文学与新闻之间的联系一直是激烈争论的理由。争论的焦点是文学和新闻之间联系的重要性和可获得性。双方都承认真理是他们的主体。然而，文学通过重塑环境(陌生化)来讲述真相，而新闻则是如实报道。文学和新闻讲述了人类所面临的压迫，尤其是在后殖民时代的非洲社会，两者都是反抗压迫的工具。记者是杰出的作家，他们的写作基于对周围事物真实本质的发现、建立和投射。然而，他们的任务并不是无忧无虑的。本文结合了新闻学和文学研究的概念和思想。这是可能的，因为虽然有些记者活在文学中，但其他人在现实生活中写文学。本文将通过前记者的小说，Okey Ndibe的《雨之箭》和Helon Habila的《水上之油》来定位记者在后殖民文学作品中的地位。它将审视这两部小说，评估记者(和新闻业)在后殖民社会中的贡献，并通过它们，看到记者在他们的职责中遇到的挑战，作为普通和无声的个人的喉舌，特别是在国家精心策划的压迫期间。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

African Journalism Studies COMMUNICATION-

CiteScore

1.90

自引率

10.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Accredited by the South African Department of Higher Education and Training for university research purposes African Journalism Studies subscribes to the Code of Best Practice for Peer Reviewed Scholarly Journals of the Academy of Science of South Africa. African Journalism Studies ( AJS) aims to contribute to the ongoing extension of the theories, methodologies and empirical data to under-researched areas of knowledge production, through its emphasis on African journalism studies within a broader, comparative perspective of the Global South. AJS strives for theoretical diversity and methodological inclusivity, by developing theoretical approaches and making critical interventions in global scholarly debates. The journal''s comparative and interdisciplinary approach is informed by the related fields of cultural and media studies, communication studies, African studies, politics, and sociology. The field of journalism studies is understood broadly, as including the practices, norms, value systems, frameworks of representation, audiences, platforms, industries, theories and power relations that relate to the production, consumption and study of journalism. A wide definition of journalism is used, which extends beyond news and current affairs to include digital and social media, documentary film and narrative non-fiction.