Journalistic role orientations in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya

Abstract

This study examines how journalists in Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya perceive their journalistic role orientations in light of the countries’ differing political systems, Rwanda representing the nation with the most restrictive political system, Uganda sitting in the middle and Kenya illustrating the nation that is home to the least restrictive political system. Data were analyzed from a comparative, quantitative online survey completed by 424 journalists from the three East African nations. Overall, the journalistic role orientations that emerged in each country align with the freedoms afforded by the political system in each country, revealing a trend that journalists in non-Western countries lean toward more interventionist roles (at times to the point of actively supporting their government), and journalists in countries with less restrictive political systems lean toward more adversarial roles (keeping their government in check).

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