Nature of Mediatization of Sino-Kenya Relations by the Kenyan Mainstream Press

doi:10.7176/nmmc/97-04

Abstract

Theoretically, the Kenyan press tends to be superficial in mediatizing Sino-Kenya relations. The tightening, multilevel and overarching social, political and economic relations are to a certain extent dependent on a critical analysis of the Kenyan mainstream press. The relation however is exhibited by the Kenyan mainstream press superficially and therefore the need to have a critical analysis of the selected newspapers. The study used the political economy and the mediatization theories to critically explore and get the discourses in the selected Kenyan Newspapers’ mediatization of Sino-Kenya relations. This study therefore aimed at investigate the nature of Sino-Kenya relations in Kenyan mainstream press mediatization of Sino-Kenya relations. The study sought to answer the following question, what is the nature of Sino-Kenya relations as mediatized in the selected Kenyan mainstream press? An explorative research design approach was adopted to address the question of meditization by the mainstream press on Sino-Kenya relations. The identified nature of mediatization were found to be fused with ideological undertones that served in mediatizing the Sino-Kenya relations. The results indicated that articles adopted neutral tone whose implication was a dual beneficial relation. Keywords: Mediatization, Media discourses, Meaning, Sino-Kenya, Press DOI: 10.7176/NMMC/97-04 Publication date: August 31 st 2021

Highlights

To date, western media globally have mostly narrated the story of China’s engagement
This study focuses on tone, antinomies, images and metaphors as advanced by the theory of mediatization Hjarvard, (2013)
The general tone of reporting is positive81 % of the Articles and news stories sampled and those that appear negative in nature was 18%. These findings suggest that themes carry specific views and influence how the audience perceives a matter of how they can be oriented towards an issue.It can be interpreted that there is a deliberate strategy to shape the mediatization of newspaper readers and influence their attitudes towards China’s engagement in Kenya by presenting a positive tone and impression

Summary

Introduction

Western media globally have mostly narrated the story of China’s engagement. China’s progressive push into Africa has drawn considerable scrutiny from Western leaders, which is further perpetuated by Western media who criticize China’s environmental and labor standards, as well as China’s no-strings attached policy, which advocates noninterference in the countries with which it partners Bräutigam, (2011). To counter such negative news reports, China has embarked upon public diplomacy initiatives designed to improve its image, including an influx of Chinese news bureaus in East Africa (Taylor, I. et al 2014)

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