Media regulation in sub-Saharan Africa: Trends and stakes in French-speaking countries

Abstract

After independence since the 1960s, the legacies and traditions in the field of media policy led African countries from the three distinct European linguistic spheres (French, English and Portuguese) to draw on the institutional models in use by the former colonial powers. Media policy is a fundamental issue for democratic consolidation, and one that has received different responses in the French - and English-speaking African public spheres. This article examines the current situation of media regulation authorities in French-speaking sub-Saharan Africa. It outlines the mission of these institutions and identifies the problems they face as they concretise the dialectic between freedom and public control in the media landscape.