sh.sePublications
Change search
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • harvard-anglia-ruskin-university
  • apa-old-doi-prefix.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-harvard.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-oxford.csl
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf
Media & Democratization In Cameroon: Effects of the 2014 anti-terror law on press freedom and perceptions of a changing media landscape
Södertörn University, School of Social Sciences, Journalism.
2021 (English)Independent thesis Advanced level (degree of Master (One Year)), 20 credits / 30 HE creditsStudent thesis
Abstract [en]

The importance of the media and the role of journalists in every democratic society is often perceived around its watchdog role of holding governments to account and helping citizens make responsible and informed choices. However, the context under which journalists around the world perform this idealistic function also differs. Hence, this study examines the experiences of journalists amidst the anti-terrorism legislation enacted in 2014 in Cameroon and the perceptions of working in a changing media landscape since the liberalization laws of the 1990s. Carried out against the backdrop of the broad definition of acts of terrorism in the legislation, the research reveals that while press freedom is on the decline as a result of the government’s use of the legislation to target, intimidate and arrest independent journalists who strive to remain objective, it also shows that the perception of the media landscape is problematic. Based on qualitative research method anchored on the public sphere theory, the argument in this research and from a near global level is that the press serving as a public utility and journalists acting as historians of the present can significantly contribute to enhancing democratic governance and advance society through impartial and objective information flow. Thus, using theanti-terrorism law as a strategy to stifle dissent and infringe on the rights of journalists is wrong and should be amended to reflect Cameroon’s international engagements.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2021. , p. 59
Keywords [en]
Media, Cameroon, Anti-terrorism law, Press Freedom, Democratization, Public Sphere Theory
National Category
Media and Communications
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-45622OAI: oai:DiVA.org:sh-45622DiVA, id: diva2:1563391
Subject / course
Journalism
Uppsok
Social and Behavioural Science, Law
Supervisors
Examiners
Available from: 2021-06-14 Created: 2021-06-10 Last updated: 2025-10-07Bibliographically approved

Open Access in DiVA

No full text in DiVA

By organisation
Journalism
Media and Communications

Search outside of DiVA

GoogleGoogle Scholar

urn-nbn

Altmetric score

urn-nbn
Total: 527 hits
CiteExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
Cite
Citation style
  • apa
  • ieee
  • modern-language-association-8th-edition
  • vancouver
  • harvard-anglia-ruskin-university
  • apa-old-doi-prefix.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-harvard.csl
  • sodertorns-hogskola-oxford.csl
  • Other style
More styles
Language
  • de-DE
  • en-GB
  • en-US
  • fi-FI
  • nn-NO
  • nn-NB
  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
  • html
  • text
  • asciidoc
  • rtf