Patronage, politics and performance: radio call-in programmes and the myth of accountability

Abstract

The role of media in promoting political accountability and citizen participation is a central issue in governance debates. Drawing on research into the interactions between radio station owners, journalists, audiences and public authorities during Somali radio call-in programmes we argue that these programmes do not simply offer a new platform for citizens to challenge those who are governing but that they are also spaces where existing power structures reproduce themselves in new forms. We identify the ways the programmes are structured and the different motivations the audience has for participation. Three types of programmes are identified and their relationships with patronage, politics, and performance are examined. Rather than focusing on normative assumptions about the media as a tool of accountability, the article emphasises the importance of understanding radio programmes in their social and political environment, including the overlapping relationships between on-air and off-air networks.

Digitalization and Government Corruption in Developing Countries: Towards a Framework and Research Agenda

“…Inducement to wrong by bribery or other unlawful or improper means (n=1) Choudrie et al 2017, Goundar 2009, Introna et al 2010, Krishnan and Teo 2012, Lee and Lio 2016, Masiero 2015, Owusu-Oware et al 2018, Palvia et al 2017, Pankowska 2017, Peterson 1998, Priyatman 2008, Raghupathi and Wu 2011, Rana et al 2013, Rana et al 2014, Senyo et al 2019, Seo and Warman 2011, Silva and Hirschheim 2007, Srivastava et al 2007, Stamati et al 2015, Stremlau et al 2015, Therese and Azwe 2016, Vaidya and Myers 2017, Veeraraghavan 2013, Zhao and Xu 2015 For example, the definition relies on a clear distinction between 'public' and 'private' although in the context of several developing countries, particularly those in Africa, it has been shown that the lines between public and private are at best blurred and at worst non-existent (Nawaz & Hodess, 2008;O'Neil, 2007;von Soest, 2006).…”

“…Table 5 summarizes motivations underpinning digitalization and corruption in the literature. (Addo, 2016;Amankwah-sarfo, Boateng, & Effah, 2018;Kock & Gaskins, 2013;Senyo, Liu, & Effah, 2019b), or be tactical i.e., have short-term expectations derived from a general belief in the potential of digital technologies to transform organization (Stremlau, Fantini, & Gagliardone, 2015).…”

“…In the government administrations of developing countries, particular structures have been identified as shaping the enactment of strategic capabilities of digital technologies and modalities for anti-corruption. Stremlau et al 2015 Flattening hierarchies and decentralizing access to information on to the desks of all employees and in promoting associated changes in power within organizations, are seen as a direct threat to many senior staff, who then block adoption Bhuiyan 2011 Culture has a strong impact within the context of developing countries, too. Older individuals and those who travelled abroad were respected more than others.…”

From ‘animation’ to encounter: Community radio, sociability and urban life in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire

“…In Africa, models are most often challenged by hybrid realities (e.g. Gagliardone, 2015; Stremlau et al, 2015; Willems, 2013), in which several contradictory types of communication are at play. Media actors frequently use descriptors such as ‘community media’ strategically to position themselves in uncertain and power-striated environments (see Brisset-Foucault, 2011).…”