Using a range of case studies, the contributors assess the challenges of adopting digital technologies by the media. They pay particular attention to how social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp have been appropriated by Africa language media.

Abiodun Salawu is Professor of Journalism, Communication and Media Studies and Director of the research entity Indigenous Language Media in Africa at the North-West University, South Africa.

Introduction: Not to be left behind: African languages, media and the digital sphere 1. Access, Skills, African Perspectives and 'Development'? in Africa: Local Knowledge in Local Languages 2. Alaroye, Isolezwe and the adoption of digital technologies 3. Okun Radio Online as an Impetus for Maintaining the Dialects and Cultural Heritage of Okun-Yoruba People 4. Grassroots Media and Social Media Adaptation: Case Study of Urhobo Today 5. Breaking Protocol: Indigenous Language Usage Practices in Online Readers' Comments in Zimbabwe 6. Perceptions of and motivations for accessing Swahili Online newspapers among students at the University of Dar es Salaam 7. Use of Indigenous Languages for Social Media Communication: The Nigerian Experience 8. Politics of language, ethnicity, and identity in Zimbabwean ethnolinguistic online communities 9. 'Digital Chieftaincy': Social Media, Register and Community Policing in Kenya 10. New Technologies, Indigenous Language Media Practice and Management for Development in Nigeria 11. Issues and challenges of adopting digital technologies by African language media: The YoruÌbaì example 12. African language online journalism in Malawi: Challenges and Prospects