[ Private media tested by political powers in Africa: Case of Togo (2020-2022)] ]
Volume 38, Issue 3, January 2023, Pages 539–548
Assindah Magnetine1
1 Département de Sociologie, Université de Kara, BP: 43, Kara, Togo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The freedom of expression and of the press won in the early 1990s with the return of democratization in Africa is still under threat in some countries on the continent. In Togo, where democracy is under construction, it is going through moments of calm and tension despite the decriminalization of press offenses known in the country since 2004. What are the fundamental reasons for the conflicting relations between political power and the private media in Togo? This is the main question posed by this study. To answer this questioning, the reflections are screened through the documentary inventory and the qualitative method, the aim of which is to explain the causes of the difficult relations between the actors in conflict. In terms of results, it appears that the misunderstandings arising from the application to the media and journalists found guilty of press offenses of the sanctions regime recently introduced into the new legal arsenal justify the frustrations of the media. The study also reveals the lack of professionalism of the media in the treatment of information and the systematic violation of the rules of ethics and deontology of the media as causes of the muzzling of the press in Togo.
Author Keywords: democracy, decriminalization, journalist, media, press freedom, public power.
Volume 38, Issue 3, January 2023, Pages 539–548
Assindah Magnetine1
1 Département de Sociologie, Université de Kara, BP: 43, Kara, Togo
Original language: French
Copyright © 2023 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The freedom of expression and of the press won in the early 1990s with the return of democratization in Africa is still under threat in some countries on the continent. In Togo, where democracy is under construction, it is going through moments of calm and tension despite the decriminalization of press offenses known in the country since 2004. What are the fundamental reasons for the conflicting relations between political power and the private media in Togo? This is the main question posed by this study. To answer this questioning, the reflections are screened through the documentary inventory and the qualitative method, the aim of which is to explain the causes of the difficult relations between the actors in conflict. In terms of results, it appears that the misunderstandings arising from the application to the media and journalists found guilty of press offenses of the sanctions regime recently introduced into the new legal arsenal justify the frustrations of the media. The study also reveals the lack of professionalism of the media in the treatment of information and the systematic violation of the rules of ethics and deontology of the media as causes of the muzzling of the press in Togo.
Author Keywords: democracy, decriminalization, journalist, media, press freedom, public power.
Abstract: (french)
La liberté d’expression et de la presse conquise au début des années 1990 avec le retour de la démocratisation en Afrique demeure toujours menacée dans certains pays du continent. Au Togo, où la démocratie est en construction, elle traverse des moments d’accalmie et de tension malgré la dépénalisation des délits de presse connue dans le pays depuis 2004. Quelles sont les raisons fondamentales des relations conflictuelles entre le pouvoir politique et les médias privés au Togo ? Telle est la question principale que se pose cette étude. Pour répondre à ce questionnement, les réflexions sont passées au crible de l’inventaire documentaire et de la méthode qualitative dont le but est d’expliquer les causes des relations difficiles entre les acteurs en conflits. En termes de résultats, il ressort que, les incompréhensions nées de l’application aux médias et aux journalistes reconnus coupables des délits de presse, le régime des sanctions récemment introduites dans le nouvel arsenal juridique justifient les frustrations des médias à l’égard du pouvoir politique. L’étude révèle également le manque de professionnalisme des médias dans le traitement des informations et le viol systématique des règles d’éthique et de la déontologie des médias comme des causes du musèlement de la presse privée au Togo.
Author Keywords: démocratie, dépénalisation, journaliste, médias, liberté de presse, pouvoir public.
How to Cite this Article
Assindah Magnetine, “Les médias privés à l’épreuve des pouvoirs politiques en Afrique: Cas du Togo (2020-2022),” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 38, no. 3, pp. 539–548, January 2023.
