The present relations of dependency of Third World countries on the industrilizcd countries are sustained by the well-known inequalities in technological resources between the North and the South. This article presents two levels for analysing the role of media technology in perpetuating this dependency syndrome: (1) the role of technology in the information and communications sectors; and (2) the impact of multinational corporations in news coverage, and, hence, on local culture, through their news agencies and other cultural products. It posits three questions to guide technology choice in Africa: (1) Why choose a particular technology? (2) To what end? (3) Which social group(s) will benefit from the technology economically, politically, and culturally?
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