Elections and the media in post-conflict Africa
Subtitle: votes and voices for peace?
By: Marie-Soleil Frère
Publisher: Zed Books; Distributed in the USA exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2011
Place of publication: London; New York; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 289
ISBN-13: 9781780320199; 9781780320182
Subjects: Press and politics; Political campaigns; Journalism; Elections; Mass media
Work titles: Elections et médias en Afrique centrale
Description: "Over the past ten years, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo and Rwanda all organized pluralist elections in a post conflict context, having experienced an armed conflict which either interrupted or prevented democratization processes. These polls were organized with the support of the international community, which viewed them as a crucial step in the peace-building process. The local media's role throughout was supposed to be to ensure that an electoral process is actually 'free and fair' - a role that becomes even more crucial in countries where the media have previously being perceived as warmongers or peace-builders in the conflicts.

Giving a voice to African journalists and analysing the work they have been publishing or broadcasting during these elections, African media specialist Marie-Soleil Frere explores if and how the local media fulfilled their duties. In doing so, the book reveals journalists' professional challenges at a time when much is expected from the media, as well as the intense political pressure faced that can make their work particularly difficult."--pub. desc.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [276]-279) and index.