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Specialised Journalism in North Kivu, DRC: Foreign-Led or Locally Shaped?

par Fierens, Marie ;Maombi Mukomya, Vo
Référence Researching Media Production in the Global South’: ICA 2026 Preconference (3 juin 2026: Cape Town (en ligne))
Publication Non publié, 2026-06-03

Communication à un colloque

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Introduction In the conflict-affected province of North Kivu in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), decades of conflict have contributed to economic collapse and worsened security conditions for Congolese citizens, including journalists (RSF, 2026). The conflict also attracted hundreds of international development actors (Büscher & Vlassenroot, 2010). In this precarious professional environment, journalists adapt their conduct to the actions of international organisations that control essential economic resources and information (Fierens & Mukomya, 2024). Some journalists specialise in areas that mirror those of external actors, adopting their terminology to describe their own focus areas, such as “gender,” “environment,” “transitional justice,” “peace and conflict,” or “reproductive health.” This presentation examines the process of professional specialisation among Congolese journalists in North Kivu by addressing two main questions: how journalists from North Kivu develop a claim to specialisation, and what role international actors play in shaping this specialisation. The answers to these questions help us understand whether and how the specialisation process in North Kivu (re)defines the journalistic role that Congolese assign to themselves. This exploratory study builds on previous research comprising 116 interviews conducted between 2016 and 2023 with journalists and development actors in North Kivu (Fierens and Mukomya, 2024), supplemented by 5 new interviews in 2026 with Congolese journalists from North Kivu who identify as 'specialists'. The five journalists were selected based on their locations (Butembo, Beni, Goma), their expertise (sexual and reproductive health; investigative journalism; environment; data journalism; humanitarian and security issues; transitional justice; media education), and their gender (2 women, 3 men). Each interview lasted an average of 1.5 hours and was conducted remotely by the authors, based in Kinshasa and Brussels. These interviews addressed their career paths, motivations, perceptions of journalism, partnerships with international actors, and practical experiences in producing content as specialised journalists. Additional data were collected, including CVs, media outputs produced within the scope of their specialisation, and lists of partners with whom they have collaborated or continue to collaborate. Ethical considerations were carefully addressed.  Specialisation at the intersection of local/international and individual/collective dynamics Our exploratory research shows that specialisation emerges at the crossroads of local economic constraints, international opportunities, and individual and collective dynamics. Local economic conditions appear to be a defining factor in specialisation paths. Journalists report irregular, low incomes in Congolese media, as well as the frequent absence of employment contracts. In this context, collaborations with international organisations constitute strategic resources, linked to opportunities for specific productions, training, or access to fieldwork. Some journalists confine their exploration to international partnership opportunities available through their local media. Others actively pursue personal initiatives to expand their networks beyond their local media outlets, namely through the Internet. But these categories remain fluid, as career trajectories are characterised by constant movement. All journalists emphasise the importance of mastering the standards, practices and operating principles of international actors. Specialised journalists, therefore, develop skills within a professional economy that is both globalised and rooted in local realities. Collaborations with international actors lead journalists to move away, either temporarily or permanently, from their media organisations in an environment where local media struggle to retain the best-trained staff (Frère, 2016). Whilst opportunities for specialisation enable journalists to maintain a degree of financial viability in a context marked by severe economic and professional constraints, they simultaneously generate a constant tension between their involvement in external networks and the need for both their practices and the content they produce to remain firmly rooted locally. Furthermore, the local relevance of the content produced is compromised because the distribution channels (online) and languages (French and English) remain inaccessible to local communities. Journalists present their specialisation process as the outcome of an individual process. The interviewees indeed emphasise their personal commitment to specialisation, highlighting individual dispositions and vocation as structuring principles of their career paths, as explored by the ‘indigenous career theory’ (Bastin, 2011). However, the interview analysis shows that career trajectories are strongly shaped by collective dynamics. Relations with Congolese colleagues and networks with international actors play an important role in accessing opportunities, gaining exposure to certain topics, and, ultimately, moving towards specialisation. In this way, career paths result from a constant interplay between individual strategies and collective dynamics. Hybrid professional practices and (re)configuration of journalistic work   Specialisation does not replace the traditional versatility of North Kivu journalists (Mukomya, 2025) but contributes to hybrid professional profiles at the margins of journalism, communication and development. As collaborations with international non-media actors are seen as unstable, often punctual and subject to disruption due to deteriorating security or the withdrawal of funding, such as from USAID, journalists continue to navigate across topics, media and organisations, depending on available opportunities and their career aspirations. This hybrid nature is evident in the diversity of activities undertaken, including training assignments with media and non-media stakeholders, and in the coexistence of journalistic, communication and awareness-raising practices. Specialised journalists express adherence to a conception of the profession geared towards social impact, in which producing information amounts to contributing to social change within their community. Journalists attached to foreign organisations present their practices as new or emerging and associate specialisation with professional recognition and excellence. Several journalists report receiving awards, grants or honours, as well as invitations to training courses, conferences or collaborative projects at national and international levels.  Specialisation is also presented as a strategy for distinguishing oneself from peers, as an attempt to distance oneself from informal remuneration practices such as ‘coupage’ (Lapess Mukeni, 2009) in precarious working conditions, and as a way of professionalising the Congolese media sector. However, certain forms of remuneration linked to collaborations with international actors (travel expenses, per diems, production funding) serve as a reminder that these practices are part of intertwined local and international as well as formal and informal economies. It can be hypothesised that opportunities offered by entities outside the journalistic sector are reshaping the traditional influence on journalistic production and contributing to a renewed repertoire of dependencies and interdependencies, thereby redefining the conditions under which journalists practise their profession. Perspectives   Specialised journalism appears to be a complex, hybrid process in which local, national, and international logics merge with individual and collective dynamics. International organisations influence networks and steer coverage by focusing their interventions, while journalists leverage these opportunities to advance their careers amid economic, security, and professional uncertainties. These insights reveal areas of convergence, tension, and negotiation between journalists and external actors (Mangon, 2024) that shape specialised journalists' perceptions of their professional role. Additional interviews, mapping partnerships, and analysis of media output from these collaborations would help deepen this research. Including perspectives from international organisations would also help clarify their influence on the development of specialised journalism in a challenging context marked by political, economic, security, and professional constraints.   Bibliography   Bastin, Gilles (2011). « Profil : journaliste. Trajectoires biographiques et identités collectives dans les mondes de l’information ». Communication au colloque GIS Journalisme « Le journalisme, une activité collective ». Université Paris II.   Büscher, Karen, and Koen Vlassenroot (2010). “Humanitarian Presence and Urban Development: New Opportunities and Contrasts in Goma, DRC”. Disasters 34 (Suppl. 2), 256–S273.   Fierens, Marie & Mukomya, Maombi (2024). “Being a Journalist in North Kivu Province, DRC: Negotiating Professional Boundaries with International Development Actors”. 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