ABSTRACT

During the 1990s, the media landscape was liberalized in Cameroon following the passage of Law No. 90/052 regulating the press. The number of newspapers has increased significantly since then, and there is an existing trend of private initiatives in both the print and broadcast media existing side by side the “state” media. However, the liberalization of the media space came with a paradoxical face, with liberal traits mixing with authoritarian characteristics. Press freedom is guaranteed by the constitution and regularly exhibited by the authorities to demonstrate their democratic commitment. However, informal strategies are developed to limit the potential “watch dog” role of the media, and especially to reduce their capacity to criticize any shortcomings in the management of public affairs and to make other perspectives than the official views available to the citizens. Although the constitution and the 1990 law, including subsequent modifications of these, guarantee media freedom, there is limited optimism for press freedom, and the role of the media in democratization for what the press supposedly gains by the new law is taken away in the same law by more severe provisions and a host of informal regulatory practices that have enhanced the arbitrary powers of the administrator.

摘要

在1990年代，喀麦隆通过了规范新闻界的第90/052号法律，从而使媒体领域自由化。自那时以来，报纸的数量已显着增加，并且与“州”媒体同时存在的印刷媒体和广播媒体都存在私人倡议的趋势。但是，媒体空间的自由化带有悖论的面孔，自由主义特征与威权主义特征混合在一起。宪法保障新闻自由，当局定期展示新闻自由以表明其民主承诺。但是，制定了非正式策略来限制媒体的潜在“看门狗”角色，尤其是要降低其批评公共事务管理中任何缺陷的能力，以及向公众提供除官方观点以外的其他观点的能力。尽管《宪法》和1990年的法律（包括随后对它们的修改）保证了媒体自由，但对新闻自由的乐观态度却有限，而且媒体在民主化中的作用，因为新闻界从新法律中获得的收益在同一篇文章中被取消了。通过更严格的规定和一系列非正式监管实践来增强法律效力，这些做法增强了管理者的任意权力。