ABSTRACT

This essay is an interpretive qualitative analysis of secondary data that explores and/or highlights the intricacies of “media capture”, relations of patronage and clientelist media practices in sub-Saharan Africa. It adopts an exploratory approach that delineates the contours and patterns of debates around these intricately connected phenomena by identifying salient examples in the region, and their implications to the role of the media in struggles for democratisation. Our analysis points to a typology of interconnected driving forces of media capture which coalesce around legal and administrative regulation; financial and economic enticements, and lastly, the dynamics of media ownership. These driving forces collectively broaden our understanding of the social practice as well as the role of the media in processes of democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa. The study further establishes that while there are marked differences and nuances which have significant implications on the operations of the news media in the region, there are several shared professional practices, values, and attitudes, that are qualitatively generalisable across sub-Saharan Africa.

摘要

本文是对次要数据的解释性定性分析，探讨和/或强调了撒哈拉以南非洲“媒体捕获”，顾客关系和客户媒体实践的复杂性。它采用一种探索性方法，通过识别该地区的突出例子及其围绕媒体在争取民主化中的作用，来描绘围绕这些错综复杂的现象的辩论的轮廓和方式。我们的分析指出了媒体捕捉的相互联系的驱动力的类型，这种类型围绕法律和行政法规而合并; 财务和经济吸引力，最后是媒体所有权的动态。这些驱动力共同扩大了我们对社会实践以及媒体在撒哈拉以南非洲民主化进程中的作用的理解。该研究进一步证实，尽管存在明显的差异和细微差别，这些差异和细微差别对该地区的新闻媒体的运作产生了重大影响，但在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，存在几种共有的专业实践，价值观和态度，可以在质量上进行概括。