What Is Weak Journalism Good For?

Abstract

Abstract This chapter summarizes the book’s contribution to scholarship, policymaking, and journalism, and speculates on the future of journalism in Rwanda. It argues that the field’s current orientation toward development and limited autonomy is self-reinforcing for a number of reasons. The myths surrounding the role of media during the genocide lead journalists to adopt and embrace a weak social position. The financial constraints around news production prompt reluctance to anger powerful advertisers, and cooperative social values further complicate any journalistic impulses to investigate or report on conflict. Journalists who try to resist these pressures are automatically relegated to peripheral status. As a result, significant changes are unlikely unless Rwanda experiences major changes in governance or funding models while powerful actors fully within the local journalism field concurrently advocate for changes in the field’s doxa and values.