COM1511 DECOLONIAL COMMUNICATION ASSIGNMENT 1 SAMPLE
ESSAY – EPISTEMIC INJUSTICE IN GLOBAL NEWS MEDIA |
DISTINCTION QUALITY | UNSW
COM1511: DECOLONIAL COMMUNICATION
Assignment 1: Critical Reflection Essay
Student Name: Amara Osei-Bonsu
Student ID: z5489201
Tutorial Group: Thursday 11am – Room 104
Tutor: Dr. Priya Nair
Date Submitted: 4 March 2026
Word Count: 1,248 words (excluding references)
"Whose Voice Gets Heard?": Examining Epistemic Injustice in Global News
Media
Introduction
Communication is never neutral. Every act of speaking or writing carries with it a history
of power — a set of assumptions about who constitutes a legitimate knower, whose stories matter,
and whose words travel across borders unimpeded. This essay draws on the frameworks of
decolonial theory and epistemic justice to analyse how mainstream global news media reproduce
colonial hierarchies of knowledge and voice. Specifically, I argue that the sourcing practices,
framing conventions, and institutional structures of Western news organisations constitute a form
of what Miranda Fricker (2007) terms 'epistemic injustice': a wrong done to a person in their
capacity as a knower. Understanding this injustice is, I contend, a precondition for reimagining
more equitable forms of global communication.
Coloniality and the Production of Knowledge
The concept of 'coloniality of power', introduced by Anibal Quijano (2000), refers to the
enduring patterns of racial and epistemic domination that persist long after formal colonialism has
ended. Unlike colonialism — which describes a specific historical and political relationship —
COM1511 Decolonial Communication | Assignment 1 p.
ESSAY – EPISTEMIC INJUSTICE IN GLOBAL NEWS MEDIA |
DISTINCTION QUALITY | UNSW
COM1511: DECOLONIAL COMMUNICATION
Assignment 1: Critical Reflection Essay
Student Name: Amara Osei-Bonsu
Student ID: z5489201
Tutorial Group: Thursday 11am – Room 104
Tutor: Dr. Priya Nair
Date Submitted: 4 March 2026
Word Count: 1,248 words (excluding references)
"Whose Voice Gets Heard?": Examining Epistemic Injustice in Global News
Media
Introduction
Communication is never neutral. Every act of speaking or writing carries with it a history
of power — a set of assumptions about who constitutes a legitimate knower, whose stories matter,
and whose words travel across borders unimpeded. This essay draws on the frameworks of
decolonial theory and epistemic justice to analyse how mainstream global news media reproduce
colonial hierarchies of knowledge and voice. Specifically, I argue that the sourcing practices,
framing conventions, and institutional structures of Western news organisations constitute a form
of what Miranda Fricker (2007) terms 'epistemic injustice': a wrong done to a person in their
capacity as a knower. Understanding this injustice is, I contend, a precondition for reimagining
more equitable forms of global communication.
Coloniality and the Production of Knowledge
The concept of 'coloniality of power', introduced by Anibal Quijano (2000), refers to the
enduring patterns of racial and epistemic domination that persist long after formal colonialism has
ended. Unlike colonialism — which describes a specific historical and political relationship —
COM1511 Decolonial Communication | Assignment 1 p.
