Africa, North

Dayo Alao & Christopher H. Sterling

North Africa includes the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, which form a large region sharing many cultural and geographic characteristics substantially different from the majority of African countries found south of the Sahara Desert. Four of these nations, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco, are collectively known by the Arab term Maghreb , or “land of the sunset.” At least two major historical periods strongly influenced the development of news media across North Africa. Increasingly after the seventh century, Islam rose to prominence and soon dominance of the region, creating a largely shared religious, linguistic, and cultural influence. With the nineteenth century came European colonialists (Britain in Egypt and the Sudan; France in Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco; and Italy in Libya) who introduced Western ideas, culture, and forms of administration. Both historical traditions are widely evident across the region today. Most news media in North Africa operate under the dominance of ...

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