Prof. Levi Obonyo Profile
The Dean, School of Communication, Professor of Media and Communication
Prof. Levi Obonyo
The Dean, School of Communication, Professor of Media and Communication
25
Publications
1
Activities
Info
| Name: | Prof. Levi Obonyo |
|---|---|
| Mobile: | +254 709 972 000 |
| E-mail: | lobonyo@daystar.ac.ke |
| Website: | None |
| Updated: | 04 Sep, 2024 |
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About
Prof Levi Obonyo, the Dean of the School of Communication, holds a PhD in Communication and Media Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, USA, a postgraduate Diploma in Tertiary Education from Potchefstroomse Universiteit vir Christelike hoer Onderwys, (Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education), in Potchefstroom, South Africa; MA in Communication from Wheaton Graduate School, Wheaton, Il, USA and BA in Communication from Messiah College in Grantham, PA. Prof Obonyo has also completed professional courses in media, journalism, communication, leadership, management and regulation. He has built extensive experience in communication and media practice, strategy and policy formulation. He has worked in these fields for over three decades, seamlessly combining practice and theory of communication and media. He continues to engage in policy formulation and enforcement in the media sector in Kenya. Prof Obonyo has served as an external examiner for many universities in Kenya and internationally.
Prof Obonyo is keen on the intersection between scholarship and practice. He has consulted for County governments in Kenya, for government ministries, USAID, GIZ, and the Media Council of Kenya, among others.
His career started as a newspaper and magazine reporter and editor before he pivoted to the academy. He has taught and conducted research in the field of communication. Prof Obonyo coauthored Journalists and the Rule of Law and has published research papers in international journals. He has maintained a column in the People Daily newspaper for over a decade. Besides teaching, Prof Obonyo served as Chair of the communication department and in various university administration organs, including Senate, Management, Council and various internal committees. Prof Obonyo is currently the Dean of the School of Communication.
During his tenure, the School of Communication attained recognition by UNESCO as a Center of Reference in Media and Communication Studies in Africa. During the same period, the School of Communication played a central role in establishing the East African Communication Association, whose annual conferences the University has hosted several.
Prof Obonyo convened and chaired, in collaboration with the Church in Kenya, the 2013 deputy presidential and presidential debates that provided the platform for candidates for these high offices to explain to the public their agenda for the nation. He served as a member of a constitutional panel convened by the President of the Republic of Kenya to interview the Chair and Members of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission of Kenya. Prof Obonyo has served in various public and private organisational boards, including the Communication Authority of Kenya and the Media Council of Kenya. He is a past Chairman of the Media Council of Kenya and a former member of the Communication Appeals Tribunal.
Prof Obonyo is a member of the International Communication Association (ICA), the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC), the National Communication Association (NCA), the International Peace Research Association (IPRA), and Orbicom. He is currently the Vice President of the Global Communication Research Association (GCRA). Prof Obonyo has presented papers at many international conferences and given keynote addresses at the University of South Africa, Maseno University and the University of Botswana, among others.
Academic Qualification
Recent Publications
Teaches
Communication Theory, Media Theory, Management Communication, Communication Ethics, Media Studies
Relevant Links
Publications
Journals
Obonyo, Levi (2024) Conceptual Critique of African Journalism. In The Routledge Companion to Journalism in the Global South. Bruce Mutsvairo, Sebe Bebewi and Eddy Borges-Ray (Eds). NY: Routledge
Published2024
Link:
Okoye, J. B.; Mbutu, P. Obonyo, L.; Asande, J. Abubakar, R. Mbatha, W. and Aswani, D. (Submitted and accepted for publication). Guardians of health discourse: Analysis of sourcing practice of foreign correspondents in the Covid-19 pandemic coverage of Africa. Journalism Practice
Published2023
Link:
Obonyo, L. (2023). Toward an African Media Typology: Preliminary Reflections. Howard Journal of Communications, 35(3), 326–340. https://doi.org/10.1080/10646175.2023.2264231
Published2023
Link:
Okoye, J. B. S., Mule, D., Obonyo, L., Kadenge, E. A., Anyasi, L., Mule, L. & Britto, R. J. (2022). To Show or Not to Show? The Depiction of Terror and Death in Nairobi, Journal of Media Ethics, DOI: 10.1080/23736992.2022.2142124
Published2022
Link:
Obonyo, L. (2021). Africa’s information flows still suffer from global competition. Media Development LXVII (2): 33-37 https://waccglobal.org/africas-information-flows-still-suffer-from-global-competition/
Published2021
Link:
Obonyo, L. & Chege, N. (2020). Lost in Modernity: Doodling in the Digital Age. International Journal of Comic Art. 22(1): pp 207
Published2020
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March 2020. Kenya: Corona Virus and the Media https://en.ejo.ch/ethics-quality/kenya-coronavirus-and-the-media
Published2020
Link:
(With Radoli, L. A.) (2020). Balancing privacy and the right to information in Covid-19 reporting in Kenya. The International Journal of Communication Ethics. 17(3/4): 124-132.
Published2020
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(2020). Developments of African professional communication within the context of the global community. African Journal of Media and Communication. 1(1): 67-88
Published2020
Link:
Fengler, S., Bastian, M., Brinkmann, J. Zappe, A. C., Tatah, V., Andindilile, M., Assefa, E., Chibita, M., Mbaine, A., Obonyo, L., Quashigah, T., Skleparis, D. Splendore, S. Tadesse, M., & Legauer, M. (2020). Covering Migration in Africa and Europe: Results from Comparative Analysis of 11 Countries. Journalism Practice, DOI: 10.1080/17512786.2020.1792333: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17512786.2020.1792333
Published2020
Link:
Book Chapters
Observations from Kenya in Fengler, S., Lengauer, M. & Zappe, A. C. (Eds). Reporting on Migrants and Refugees Handbook for Journalism Educators. Paris: UNESCO. www.mediaandmigration.com
Published2023
Link:
Kenya: An Exploration of Media Regulation and Accountability. Susanne Fengler, Tobias Eberwein & Matthias Karmasin (Eds). Global Handbook of Media Accountability. London: Routledge: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429326943-36/kenya-levi-obonyo
Published2023
Link:
Cartoons in Kenya: Past, Present, Future (Awarded best paper, Comic Art Working Group) 2022 in First Top Ten Comic Art Working Group Collection. Ed Geisa Fernandes. IAMCR pp 63-73.
Published2022
Link:
Play Theory and Public Media: A Case Study in Kenya Editorial Cartoons, in Fortner, R. S. and Fackler, M. The Handbook of Media and Mass Communication Theory, NY: Wiley-Blackwell, April 2014, pp.726-740.
Published2014
Link:
Challenges facing the Media, in Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation: Building a Progressive Kenya. Nairobi: Kofi Anan Foundation, December 2011
Published2011
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Development of Media in Kenya, chapter in Thinking, informing and monitoring change program in Kenya. Nairobi: SID.
Published2011
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Media and Post Election Violence in Kenya, in Fortner, R. S. and Fackler, M. The handbook of global communication and media ethics. NY: Wiley-Blackwell, April 2011.
Published2011
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Thinking scholarship: A reflection on faith and integration. In Kuria, Mike (ed.). Integrating Faith and Learning: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Nairobi: Daystar University, 2007: pp: 92-99.
Published2007
Link:
Journalism and communication education in Africa. In Chitty, Naren (ed.). Faces of globalization, Varnasi, India: Genga Kaveri Publishing House, 2003.
Published2003
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Kenya. In World press encyclopaedia: A survey of press systems worldwide Vol.1 (2nd Ed.). Detroit: Gale: 2003: pp. 529-539.
Published2003
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Philosophy education in varsity curriculum: The Case of Daystar University. In B.J. van der Walt & Rita Swanepoel (Eds.), Signposts Vol. 1. Potchefstroom: IRS, 1998.
Published1998
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Articles
Njoroge, C. & Obonyo, L. (2017). Influence of PR Strategies on the success of CEO’s image in selected organizations in Kenya. International Journal of Communication and Public Relations 2(1): 46-66.
Published2017
Link:
Obonyo, L. & Owilla, H. (2017). Journalists in Kenya. In Worlds of Journalism Study. In https://epub.ub.uni-muenchen.de/36375/1/Country_report_Kenya.pdf (Accessed 2017-04-19)
Published2017
Link:
Obonyo, L. (2012) Media Regulation in Emerging Democracies: The Example of Kenya’s Hybrid Model. In African Communication Research, 5(2): 139-160.
Published2012
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Activities
Other Publications
Published2023 Obonyo, Levi published https://www.spreaker.com/user/geisafernandes/ep-3-levy Date: 23/9/2023 .
Research Interests
Media History,
Media Practice
Media Law, Ethics, Policy,
Communication theory
Platformization
Constructive Journalism and Social Development