"This book examines journalism practice in Rwanda to draw conclusions applicable to journalism fields everywhere. Drawing on seven months of fieldwork, the book argues that this field of journalism is weak in part because of powerful but murky political boundaries but also because journalists themse ... lves do not trust their profession. Compounding these forces are a powerful field orientation that emphasizes cooperation and positive development as news values and economic pressures that reward these values and render precarious any other behavior. Moreover, while global professional influences might provide an animating force, they in fact serve to reinforce the limitations of the local field—highlighting the limitations of globalization to effect change." (Publisher description) more

"Journalists act strategically in response to their political environments, using practices like self-censorship to avoid negative repercussions from powerful actors. But what does self-censorship look like in practice? Grounded in theories of policy response and media sociology, this study uses jou ... rnalistic narratives to examine three strategies journalists employ to publish news while safeguarding themselves in semi-authoritarian contexts with restricted media freedom. Journalists choose among these based on several factors, including the relative power available to them in a particular organizational context, story idea, or angle. The analysis shows that self-censorship is more negotiated and less one-directional than the current literature suggests. The negotiation lens also shows how power dynamics can change on a situational basis, even in contexts where one actor clearly has significantly more power than the other." (Abstract) more

"Journalists act strategically in response to their political environments, using practices like self-censorship to avoid negative repercussions from powerful actors. But what does self-censorship look like in practice? Grounded in theories of policy response and media sociology, this study uses jou ... rnalistic narratives to examine three strategies journalists employ to publish news while safeguarding themselves in semi-authoritarian contexts with restricted media freedom. Journalists choose among these based on several factors, including the relative power available to them in a particular organizational context, story idea, or angle. The analysis shows that self-censorship is more negotiated and less one-directional than the current literature suggests. The negotiation lens also shows how power dynamics can change on a situational basis, even in contexts where one actor clearly has significantly more power than the other." (Abstract) more