4 - Hegemony, Ideology and Political Journalism in Democratic Malawi’s Broadcasting Media
Corresponding Author(s) : Linje Manyozo
Africa Media Review,
Vol. 12 No. 2 (2004): Africa Media Review, Volume 12, n° 2, 2004
Abstract
For the first three decades following independence from Britain in 1964, the governance of Malawi was a political dictatorship under President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda and his Malawi Congress Party (MCP). The country adopted a multiparty constitution in 1993 through a national referendum. Bakili Muluzi and his United Democratic Front (UDF) emerged winners of the 1994 general elections and formed a government. The UDF also won the 1999 and 2004 elections. In a multiparty democracy, the right to freedom of expression should ideally empower journalists to provide in-depth and balanced reporting on issues that affect the disadvantaged populace, the majority of which lives in abject poverty. The media’s attempts at providing accurate and balanced information have, however, intensified tensions with the ruling politburo. Building on the case of four journalists who were dismissed from the country’s public broadcaster, the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Radio, this paper draws from Gramscian concepts of ideology and hegemony to critique the practice of political journalism in Malawi’s broadcasting media. It seeks to explore how oppressive political regimes stifle media freedom and how all this leads to the emergence of popular culture as a form of alternative media.
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- Adorno, T., 1994, ‘On Popular Music’. In John Storey (ed) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. New York, Harvester Wheatsheaf. 202-214.
- Althusser, L., 1971, For Marx, London: Allan Lane.
- Article 19., 2000, At the Crossroads: Freedom of Expression in Malawi. Summary of the Final Report
- of the 1999 Malawi Election Media Monitoring Project. Available at http://www.article19.org/publications. (viewed 1 December 2004). Black, E., 1982, Politics and the News: The Political Functions of the Mass Media. Toronto, Butterworths Chimbuto, J., 2003, ‘Commission says Dismissal of MBC Workers was Normal.’ The Daily Times, January 8:3.
- Chipangula, E. and Kachipeya, S., 2004, ‘Apology and Protest’. Personal Emails to Author, 10
- November.
- Chirwa, F., 2003, ‘Broadcast Media and Elections’. Interview with former Electoral Commission Chair for the Media and Public Relations Task Force,. Salima, June 4.
- Fiske, J., 1989, Reading the Popular, Boston, Unwin Hyman.
- Gramsci, A., 1974, Soviets in Italy. Nottingham, Institute for Workers’ Control. Gramsi, A., 1971, Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci. Q.Hoare, and G. Smith (eds) London, Lawrence and Winshart.
- Hall, S., 1994, ‘Notes on Deconstructing the ‘Popular’. In John Storey (ed) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. New York, Harvester and Wheatsheaf. 455-466.
- Hall, S, Lumley B. and MacLennan, G., 1977, ‘Politics and Ideology: Gramsci’. In Centre for Contemporary Studies (CCCS) (eds) Working Papers in Cultural Studies: On ideology. Birmingham, CCCS. 45-76.
- Jodal, M., 2004, ‘Malawi: Presidential and Parliamentary Elections 2004’. Oslo: Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. (Available at viewed www.humanrights.uio.no/forskning/publ/nr/2004/10.pdf. (viewed 1 December 2004).
- Lenin, V., 1962, What is to be Done? Middlesex, Penguin Books.
- Malawi 1998a, ‘Communications Act, Number 41 of 1998’, Gazette Extraordinary, Zomba, Government Print.
- Malawi 1994, ‘The Constitution of the Republic of Malawi’, Zomba, Government Print.
- Malawi 2004, ‘The Ombudsman’s Determination on the Inquiry in the Complaint of Mr. Geoffrey Msampha and Others Against MBC Unpublished Report, Blantyre, Office the Ombudsman.
- Malawi 1998b, ‘Vision 2020 Policy’, Unpublished Policy Document. Lilongwe, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.
- Malawi 1998b, ‘Vision 2020 Policy’, Unpublished Policy Document. Lilongwe, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.
- Manyozo, 2003. Malawian Media and General Elections. Paper Presented at an International conference on Media Empowerment for Balanced Coverage of the 2004 Tripartite Elections, 2-3 September 2003, Mount Soche Hotel, Blantyre, Malawi.
- Matiya, C, 2003, Politics and Broadcast Journalism. Former Producer and News Editor, Television Malawi. Email, March 8.
- Mijoga, H., 1996, ‘The Lenten Pastoral Letter: A First Public Declaration of the Hidden Transcript’, Journal of Humanities. 10-11: 55-67.
- Mochaba, K., Raffinetti, C., Vallabh, S. and White, J., 2003. SADC Media Law, Handbook for Media Practitioners: A Comparative Overview of the Laws and Practice in Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Johannesburg, Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung.
- Mouffe, C., 1979, ‘Hegemony and Ideology in Gramsci’, In C. Mouffe (ed.) Gramsci and Marxist Theory, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul. 168-204. Msampha, G., 2004, ‘Political Journalism at the Public Service Broadcaster’, Interview, Blantyre, March, 13. Assistant Controller of Programmes, MBC. Osman, A., 2003, ‘Media Freedom and Democracy in Malawi’, Interview, Blantyre, June 5. Station Manager of 102.5 Capital FM Radio.
- Radio Islam Broadcaster One (2004), ‘Political Journalism at Radio Islam’. Interview, Blantyre, March 11.
- Radio Islam Broadcaster Two, 2004, ‘Radio Islam and Political Journalism in Malawi’. Unpublished Interview, Blantyre, March 11.
- Rakner, L., Bakken, M., Svasand, L. and Tostensen, A., 2004, ‘Do You Have Anything to Add? An Eyewitness Account from the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Malawi on 20 May 2004’. Available at www.cmi.no/research/Malawielectionseyewitness.pdf. (viewed 1 December 2004). Senior MBC Broadcaster, 2003, ‘Media Freedom, Restructuring and Democracy’. Unpublished Interview, Blantyre, June 5.
- Storey, J., 2003, Inventing Popular Culture. Melbourne, Blackwell Publishing. Tomaselli, K., Tomaselli, R. and Muller, J., 1987, Narrating the Crisis: Hegemony and the South African Press.
- Johannesburg, Richard Lyon.
- UNDP, 2003, Human Development Index. New York: Oxford University Press and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
References
Adorno, T., 1994, ‘On Popular Music’. In John Storey (ed) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. New York, Harvester Wheatsheaf. 202-214.
Althusser, L., 1971, For Marx, London: Allan Lane.
Article 19., 2000, At the Crossroads: Freedom of Expression in Malawi. Summary of the Final Report
of the 1999 Malawi Election Media Monitoring Project. Available at http://www.article19.org/publications. (viewed 1 December 2004). Black, E., 1982, Politics and the News: The Political Functions of the Mass Media. Toronto, Butterworths Chimbuto, J., 2003, ‘Commission says Dismissal of MBC Workers was Normal.’ The Daily Times, January 8:3.
Chipangula, E. and Kachipeya, S., 2004, ‘Apology and Protest’. Personal Emails to Author, 10
November.
Chirwa, F., 2003, ‘Broadcast Media and Elections’. Interview with former Electoral Commission Chair for the Media and Public Relations Task Force,. Salima, June 4.
Fiske, J., 1989, Reading the Popular, Boston, Unwin Hyman.
Gramsci, A., 1974, Soviets in Italy. Nottingham, Institute for Workers’ Control. Gramsi, A., 1971, Selections from the Prison Notebooks of Antonio Gramsci. Q.Hoare, and G. Smith (eds) London, Lawrence and Winshart.
Hall, S., 1994, ‘Notes on Deconstructing the ‘Popular’. In John Storey (ed) Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. New York, Harvester and Wheatsheaf. 455-466.
Hall, S, Lumley B. and MacLennan, G., 1977, ‘Politics and Ideology: Gramsci’. In Centre for Contemporary Studies (CCCS) (eds) Working Papers in Cultural Studies: On ideology. Birmingham, CCCS. 45-76.
Jodal, M., 2004, ‘Malawi: Presidential and Parliamentary Elections 2004’. Oslo: Norwegian Centre for Human Rights. (Available at viewed www.humanrights.uio.no/forskning/publ/nr/2004/10.pdf. (viewed 1 December 2004).
Lenin, V., 1962, What is to be Done? Middlesex, Penguin Books.
Malawi 1998a, ‘Communications Act, Number 41 of 1998’, Gazette Extraordinary, Zomba, Government Print.
Malawi 1994, ‘The Constitution of the Republic of Malawi’, Zomba, Government Print.
Malawi 2004, ‘The Ombudsman’s Determination on the Inquiry in the Complaint of Mr. Geoffrey Msampha and Others Against MBC Unpublished Report, Blantyre, Office the Ombudsman.
Malawi 1998b, ‘Vision 2020 Policy’, Unpublished Policy Document. Lilongwe, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.
Malawi 1998b, ‘Vision 2020 Policy’, Unpublished Policy Document. Lilongwe, Ministry of Economic Planning and Development.
Manyozo, 2003. Malawian Media and General Elections. Paper Presented at an International conference on Media Empowerment for Balanced Coverage of the 2004 Tripartite Elections, 2-3 September 2003, Mount Soche Hotel, Blantyre, Malawi.
Matiya, C, 2003, Politics and Broadcast Journalism. Former Producer and News Editor, Television Malawi. Email, March 8.
Mijoga, H., 1996, ‘The Lenten Pastoral Letter: A First Public Declaration of the Hidden Transcript’, Journal of Humanities. 10-11: 55-67.
Mochaba, K., Raffinetti, C., Vallabh, S. and White, J., 2003. SADC Media Law, Handbook for Media Practitioners: A Comparative Overview of the Laws and Practice in Malawi, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Johannesburg, Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung.
Mouffe, C., 1979, ‘Hegemony and Ideology in Gramsci’, In C. Mouffe (ed.) Gramsci and Marxist Theory, London, Routledge and Kegan Paul. 168-204. Msampha, G., 2004, ‘Political Journalism at the Public Service Broadcaster’, Interview, Blantyre, March, 13. Assistant Controller of Programmes, MBC. Osman, A., 2003, ‘Media Freedom and Democracy in Malawi’, Interview, Blantyre, June 5. Station Manager of 102.5 Capital FM Radio.
Radio Islam Broadcaster One (2004), ‘Political Journalism at Radio Islam’. Interview, Blantyre, March 11.
Radio Islam Broadcaster Two, 2004, ‘Radio Islam and Political Journalism in Malawi’. Unpublished Interview, Blantyre, March 11.
Rakner, L., Bakken, M., Svasand, L. and Tostensen, A., 2004, ‘Do You Have Anything to Add? An Eyewitness Account from the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Malawi on 20 May 2004’. Available at www.cmi.no/research/Malawielectionseyewitness.pdf. (viewed 1 December 2004). Senior MBC Broadcaster, 2003, ‘Media Freedom, Restructuring and Democracy’. Unpublished Interview, Blantyre, June 5.
Storey, J., 2003, Inventing Popular Culture. Melbourne, Blackwell Publishing. Tomaselli, K., Tomaselli, R. and Muller, J., 1987, Narrating the Crisis: Hegemony and the South African Press.
Johannesburg, Richard Lyon.
UNDP, 2003, Human Development Index. New York: Oxford University Press and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).