Journalistic narratives amid the US and Chinese media expansion in Africa: What it means to tell an African journalistic story Gregory Gondwe Department of Journalism, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA Abstract With the Joe Biden–Kamala Harris administration working toward the resetting of policies and strategies toward Africa and China, the question of whether African journalists will be accorded a chance to tell an African narrative amid the trilateral relationship has become more apparent. The influence exerted by China in African poses questions of whether China is “constructively” reporting Africa and whether journalists do see themselves as telling an African story. This study interrogates the role of African journalistic paradigms within a broader framework of what it means to constructively report Africa. It argues that despite the overwhelming challenges, the African media can tell its narrative if, (a). it seriously interrogates its journalism education system, (b). focus on in-depth report- ing as opposed to efficiency and convenience, and (c). value its epistemologies and localize its content. Keywords African narrative, constructive reporting, African journalism training, China, US Introduction The Biden–Kamala administration has continued to revert some policies initiated by President Donald Trump’s government. Among them are the relationships between the US and Africa, and the US and China. Initially, the US government held a strong Corresponding author: Gregory Gondwe, Department of Journalism, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA. Email: grgo6214@colorado.edu Original Manuscript the International Communication Gazette 1–15 © The Author(s) 2022 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/17480485221134182 journals.sagepub.com/home/gaz