Sam Phiri Joins CMDS as Fellow

We are happy to announce that Sam Phiri has joined our Center as a Fellow.

Phiri is a former journalist with the Times of Zambia and now lectures in the Department of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Zambia (UNZA) where he teaches Communication Theory; Critical Media Analysis; Introductory courses in Media and Communication Studies, and Strategic Communication Management. He is also attached to the joint Doctoral program of the UNZA Institute of Distance Education and the Zimbabwe Open University (ZIOU). He is a former Permanent Secretary in Zambia’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Services, and previously headed the training department of the Nordic-SADC Journalism Centre in Maputo, Mozambique; and the Media Program of the Johannesburg-based Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA).

Phiri has a unique mixture of journalism practice, management, academic teaching and media development expertise. Consequently, his research interests are in Media Development, Digital Rights, Gender, and their nexus with Political Communication. He holds a PhD from the University of South Africa (UNISA), MA from Leicester in Britain and BA from the UNZA, all in the Communication Sciences.

Phiri will work on the Media Influence Matrix project.