International media régime and news management: implications for African states

Abstract

This paper attempts to understand the political implications of the information revolution, which is giving rise to an international media regime. Despite the technological and political obstacles, the paper contends that an identifiable international regime around the issue‐area of media is emerging in the international system. The characteristics of this regime are most apparent during crisis situations and news or media ‘management’ has become an institutionalized feature of this régime. Therefore, this paper will use the framework of regime analysis to identify the elements of the international media regime and analyse its impact on Zimbabwe's media policy.