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Press Freedom, Professionalization and Institutionalization of Journalism in Cameroon since the 1990s

par Ngangum, Peter Tiako
Président du jury Heinderyckx, François
Promoteur Frère, Marie-Soleil
Publication Non publié, 2018-05-02

Thèse de doctorat

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Résumé :

This study focuses on the development of press freedom and professional journalism in Cameroon since the country's transition to democracy in the 1990s. More precisely, it examines how press freedom and professionalism have become formalized through processes of legislation and institutionalization. To realize this, this study uses a broad literature review and documentary analysis to gain an overview of the evolution of press freedom and the professionalization of journalism in Cameroon. It also incorporates survey, in-depth interviews and newsroom observation to gain additional insights into how Cameroonian journalists go about their daily routines and the extent to which they feel free and autonomous to do so, as well as to better understand both the relationship between the roles of individual journalists and the organizational and societal contexts in which they operate. I contend that it is only through blending the survey, interview and newsroom observation that we can have a broader picture of the gap between role perception and performance in journalism.The study draws from the political economy approach to inform its discussions. It argues that journalism is a socially constructed activity within a specific political, economic, legal and regulatory context. It also draws from the sociology of the professions to analyse the professionalization of journalism in Cameroon, the role perception theory to underpin the journalistic role perceptions of Cameroonian journalists and the role perception and performance gap theory to explain and understand the gap between the various roles Cameroonian journalists believe the media should fulfil and the extent to which they perform these roles in daily practice.The hierarchical news environment includes not only reporters but also editors and directors of news publications, whose job involves ensuring that information reaching the public is ethically sound. From within the Cameroonian newsrooms, the role of editors and directors of news publications as gatekeepers, commercial and economic pressures, the interests of owners may undermine the efforts of journalists in performing their roles in actual practice. From outside the news organization, state interference in the media, the use of repressive press laws, sources, advertisers, political elites and the prevalence of gombo may limit the freedom and autonomy of journalists to live up to their ideals. When combined, these factors are likely to create a gap between journalists' ideals and practice.