"This policy brief reveals the complexity of Chinese media engagement with African countries, highlighting involvement from both state and private actors through a variety of forms. At its core, China aims to champion its development paradigm as a viable alternative to Western models, augment its so ... ft power, strengthen economic links, and sway public opinion to counterbalance prevailing Western narratives. Furthermore, this policy brief highlights the critical role of economic conditions and the political economy of the media in shaping the agency of African media organizations. It demonstrates that media entities with robust commercial strategies, situated in environments with relatively independent media regulations (e.g., Kenya), exhibit a more assertive agency compared to those in settings characterized by restricted press freedoms and scarce commercial opportunities (e.g., Ethiopia). To effectively counter authoritarian media influence, it is crucial to strengthen cooperation mechanisms within European media and development organizations, and to support African media organizations by improving their economic conditions and assisting them in developing comprehensive evaluation frameworks" (Abstract) more

"Drawing on field observations and extensive interviews, this study investigates how Kenyan media practitioners exercise their agency when interacting with Chinese stakeholders. When dealing with Chinese stakeholders or China-related stories, Kenyan media practitioners developed three strategies to ... exercise their journalistic agency: (a) situational negotiation, (b) collective reflection, and (c) resistance, through which they have approached, negotiated with, and resisted their relations with their Chinese counterparts. This article challenges the misconceptions that Chinese media organizations always hold a powerful position vis-à-vis African media organizations, and that African agents are dependents or innocent victims with neither agency nor creativity." (Abstract) more