Assessing the influence of Chinese typical news framing on journalism in Sub Saharan Africa

This paper places focus on Chinese media’s influence on the local journalism and media system in the context of news reporting in post-autocratic African nations. Assuming that the structure of a media system dictates the practice of journalism, this enquiry turns to the question of how local mass media covers the news that involves current Chinese engagements in Africa. How frequently are the Chinese news sources referred to in the local press? To what extent do the framing, which is typically found in Chinese international media, concur with the framing in local reporting in African nations? These questions are partially answered through an analysis of news text from local newspapers, and interviews with media practitioners. The interviews indicate the common attitudes towards Chinese international media as an information source.

It has been argued that China is building soft power through its strategic international policies. The concept soft power was developed by Joseph Nye in 1990, and was applied to United States of America’s foreign relations. Neither the nature nor the existence of Chinese soft power have been determined, or fully agreed on, by scholars at this point. In terms of international relations, China has gained respect in multinational forums for its principles about non-interference in other nation’s internal affairs. Further more, China’s economic development model has caught interest in African countries. To the wider public, and especially to the ruling elite, China's speed of development is impressive, which is a source of soft power, according to some academic scholars.

China has in recent years made investments to upgrade Xinhua News, its global news bureau, Central China Television, and China Radio International, alongside direct media assistance in Africa between 2000 and 2011. South Africa exemplifies an important trade relation for China, in respect of its demand for natural resources, and also its search for growing export markets. Kenya, is interesting because of its expanding media industry, and because Kenya has a substantial level of cooperation with Chinese enterprises and mass media. China’s international media provides a platform from which ideas and information can be disseminated to the public, and thereby generate a favourable image of Chinese private and government institutions. The case study indicates whether the mass media, and the sourcing of news in South Africa and Kenya, are affected by China’s strategic policy in Africa. The result of the study allows for an estimate of the influence on textual content in selective African media, ascribable to China’s media policies. A debate has emerged with regards to China’s possible influence on press freedom on the continent, which assumes that while Western countries have promoted a democratic development model in Africa, China is now exporting its own alternative model for development. However, there has not been any study to date, which proves this assumption to be correct. This study aimed to collect more empirical evidence to better understand the scope and implications of Chinese international media in Africa.