Press Freedom and Globalisation - International Press Institute

Press Freedom and Globalisation
country, the bank emphasised the media’s role as a part of the Ugandan civil society. 148
However, the actual politics on openness into public information, is not an easy process to
establish in the country. 149
An alliance evolved among media, development politicians, NGOs engaged with
development aid, and scientists within the field, all who benefit from interactions in
development. Critics claim that the mass media are too much intertwined with the
development sphere to have a critical approach where some distance is necessary. The
development agenda (or ‘development regime’) benefits from the extensive attention from
the mass media to achieve public support. 150 In this way the mass media enter development
politics as an actor, and the World Bank emphasises how it is a goal for the development
politics to strengthen this alliance. The goal is to re-establish the role of mass media to
become a partner in the development politics, connected to the agenda of globalisation. 151
Introduction of mass media into development aid policy is controversial. Despite
media’s supports to global democratisation processes there are considered to be a part of
the process where states are weakened and the underlying interests are to promote
American values and economics. 152 Democratisation is in accordance with the mass
media’s declared social responsibility. Thus, in that concept interests behind the liberal
economic globalisation have found a key to create an alliance with the most honourable
interests within mass media. Whether liberalism is the system which benefit mass media’s
social responsibilty is another debate.
Third are three types of criticism about press freedom that arose from Africa. One
is warning against copying of Western concepts. Second is the attempt to define African
148
Datta-Mitra (ed.), Uganda : Policy, Participation, People, pp. 133 and 138-141.
149
Musoke, David, “Uganda Publishers Right to Information Bill” in The East African (Nairobi: Nation
Media Group), news article, 19 th April, 2004.
150
Tvedt, Terje, Utviklingshjelp, utenrikspolitikk og makt : Makt- og demokratiutredningen (Oslo:
Gyldendal, 2003), pp. 232-236.
151
Islam, “Into the Looking Glass”, pp. 1-23.
152
Munene, Macharia, “Hazards of Postmodern Colonialism in Kenya”, Draft Paper prepared for Conference on
‘The Political Economy of Kenya’, Oxford University, 27 th – 28 th May, 2004, Oxford, United Kingdom, p. 14.
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