Abstract
Abstract Rwandan reporters and editors develop routines and news values in the context of financial pressure that leads them to integrate professional values like creativity and enterprise in storytelling about low-power figures, while adopting standardized frames and approaches to news stories that involve figures wielding financial power over the organization. Journalists around the world face pressure to produce flattering news from powerful actors in government and business sectors. In Rwanda, though, business and government pressures often overlap; many of the biggest advertisers and thus, the biggest sources of revenue, are government agencies, so news organizations must keep politicians happy to keep their funding intact. As a result, journalists tend to avoid highlighting conflict or criticism of political or financial leaders. In short, in the face of uncertainty, journalists prioritize producing news in a way that will get them paid, and they learn what kind of news this is through the spoken and nonverbal routine interactions of newsroom norms.
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