In order to assess the role that alternative media can play in a democratic process, it is important to explicitly define it and establish what it entail as it is always with cases of umbrella labels. Victor W. Pickard (2007: 12) defines alternative media as media that are somehow opposed to or in contention with mainstream media. The most common definition theorists start with is to call alternative that which is “not the mainstream” (Comedia 1984 p. 95). Therefore, the forms and examples of alternative media include: flyers, jokes, internet list serves, blogs, pod casts web casts chat rooms grape vine, underground cassettes and pamphlets as well as other similar publications, music, drama, dance, community radios to mention but a few.
Haas (2004:115) define alternative media as media devoted to providing representations of issues and events which oppose those that are marginalised in the mainstream media and to advocate social and political reform to provided access to information for such a category. In other words, it is an outlet of those issues that a critical in society but which are shunned by the main stream media. This could because the issues are not profitable or in reaction to state control. Community/alternative media is also defined by Mwajabu (2003:168) as:
Media for a certain community and for specific reasons…owned and controlled by a defined community, are non-profit…are media of the people, for the people and by the people. They are services that influence the public opinion, create consensus, strengthen democracy and above all create a community.
Community media is quite instrumental in the empowerment and emancipation of the poor. These qualities are definitely crucial in the process of democracy.
Whether alternative media can play a role in democracy depends on society’s understanding of democracy and how alternative media can be used to advance it. Blaug R and Schwarzmantel, J (1988:4) defines democracy in terms of the democratic ideal. They argue that it is:
…a political system and a wider society organised on certain key principles. These principles are sovereignty, freedom as autonomy or self-direction, and equality.
The above definition is in line with Pericles’ declaration in Funeral Oration when he says, “our constitution is called democracy because the power is in the hands not of a minority but of the whole people …everyone is equal before the law.” This means that democratic institutions must work to empower people to make decisions within society. It is in this respected that alternative media becomes crucial. In order for democracy and the institutions referred to above to work, there is need for a process of putting these in action. Berger (2002:22) defines democracy as decision-making power by majority principle, exercised by way of a process that is based on equal rights of participants. This means that democratic institutions must work to empower people to make decisions within society.
According to Haus (2003:2) democratization refers to a political environment in which, “... a country must choose its leaders through fair and competitive elections, ensure basic civil liberties and respect rule of law”. Van der Veur (2002:81) corroborates the above definition of a democratic society by describing it as a society based on the rule of the majority of the population in a fair and equitable way and with institutions that empower people to participate in the affairs of their society.
Democracy flourishes where the needs and concerns of the individual are paramount and sacred. The individual must be facilitated to participate in public decision-making at all levels of representation. Secondly, there must be mechanisms through which the citizen can voice his concerns and demand for accountability. The public agenda should not be monopolized and manipulated by corporations, politicians or the media. And finally the individual citizen’s vote should always count in the course of determining an issue. The question then is whether alternative media-with all its different components can be used to empower a citizen in society irrespective of his/her class, education, race, religion or creed to meaningfully participate in the democratic process?
To reiterate the thesis of this paper, the following issues need reemphasis. Democracy and democratization can only be achieved if the people are given adequate and timely information about the important issues upon which they are to take a decision. Ultimately, this means that a vibrant public sphere must be created for democracy to thrive. Given the nature of the weak African institutions and structures of both the state and the civil society, the main stream media can not function effectively in its role of watchdog and gatekeepers. The case in point is the melt down of the Kenyan society after the 2007 elections. The media had given assurances to the people that their votes would count, but from pressure from the state, they capitulated with dire consequences. Some people believe that had the media continued to tally the votes-they stopped when Odinga was leading Kibaka by over a million votes-it would have been hard to for the ECK to manipulate the outcome and the bloodshed would probably have been avoided.
In such a scenario, the only refuge for the people is the alternative media that is hard to coerce into doing the bidding of the undemocratic governments. This is because the alternative media can provide counter information for social and political reform. It is actually the only bastion against the propaganda machinery and disinformation agenda of the state. It can mobilize the population for political action since it is owned and operated by the people who fund its activities. This means that its primary master is the society that founded and funds it.
One of the roles that the alternative media can play to facilitate democracy is through the provision of a voice for the voiceless and the underrepresented. For example in the 2006 Ugandan presidential election FDC managed to garner 37% of the vote despite the harassment of the state(its leader was standing trail for attempted rape and treason instead of campaigning) and an almost media blackout because of the forms of the alternative media they employed to reach the people. The use of slogans like, “
Related to the above, is the fact that alternative media gives chance to those that are underrepresented or marginalized to participate in the democratic process. Given the level of poverty in Africa-on average over 80% of the population living below the poverty line-many people do not have the means to access mainstream media. Specifically, they can not access the radio, afford the newspapers and even if they did, these are in foreign languages they do not understand. Therefore, a poster, a song, a local drama or the opinion of a local opinion leader on a village loudspeaker and occasional on a community radio can do a lot to shape the opinion of the populace. For example in the 2001 Presidential elections, the Bakayimbira Dramactors’ production of “Gakuteme Bamwongere a chupa” loosely translated as the ‘Brewer should be given an extra bottle” that called upon voters to give President Museveni another term in appreciation for what he had done for the country, may have done a lot to Museveni’s campaign than the speeches and advertisements on radio in the Buganda sub region who easily deciphered the motif and imagery of the play.
Alternative media facilitates democracy because it creates a forum for advocacy and enables citizen journalism. This is through the provision of a forum to debate those issues that are labelled dissident by the main stream media and political establishment. In other words, it gives an outlet for the discussion of those issues that are thought to controversial by other interested parties. For example, though CBS is not a defacto community radio station-given the fact that it is commercial and not entirely owned by the Ganda community-its activism on the land bill 2008, shows what community media can play in getting important issues to be debated. Needless to mention the land bill seminars it has funded and organised to educate the Baganda about the provisions on the land act that are anti-Buganda. Through its mobilization of the Ganda community to fight for its land, it has exposed the loopholes in the bill and forced the government to send it to a select committee of parliament and honest acknowledgement by key leaders in the NRM, like Vice President Gilbert Bukenya that the law had weakness. The point to note here is that the community media has forced the state to account and in doing so saved the country the burden of a bad law.
Alternative media does set the political agenda and creates an alternative public sphere at which this agenda is to be discussed. It acts as a conduit through which issues of socially marginalized members of society are expressed. It also puts on the table issues to be discussed that other wise could never have come to public attention. In other words it brings to the attention of stakeholders those crucial issues. For example the website www.bizcommunity.com during the Kenyan election relied on reports from Internet enabled mobile phones that were uploaded to their website to give a clear picture of those responsible for the violence. Where the mainstream media had given the impression that the violence was entirely ethnical, they showed the contribution of the state that bordered on extra judicial killings. www.ushaidi.com used the testimonies of the eyewitness to the violence to document clearly the scale of the mayhem. It is such information that prompted the international community to put pressure on Odinga and Kibaki to find a compromise.
Alternative media facilitates democracy by reducing the barriers of communication. This is through creating an environment through which the fundamental human right of freedom of expression is exercised. (Article 19, of the UN charter.) The use of new media like the Internet has reduced the barriers to communication. People are increasing discussing political issues in chat rooms, on blogs, through mailing lists, web casts and pod casts online. For example Timothy Kalyegira has started an online magazine entitled African Intelligence in which he express views that Daily Monitor endeavoured to suppress. The other example is www.radiokatwe.com and its publications on line during the 2006 presidential elections. Despite the questions of accuracy and fairness, it did give the people an opportunity to access information that they would never had accessed.
Alternative media plays a crucial role in the democratic process as discussed above. However, it has a couple of constraints which if not sorted out, are likely to compromise its effectiveness in shaping the democratic agenda. Funding and commercialization of alternative media is one of its serious problems. The people and organisations that fund community radios for example have a say in the content and as such reduce the levels of independence of the media. In a situation like that prevailing in
The other problem has to do with the commercialization of community media. The success of community media has made it attractive to commercial advertisements who want to use it to sell products and services to its audiences. In a long run, this will destroy the community media’s overall goal since it will emphasize the interests of advertisers rather than the interests of the community.
Other limitations of alternative media in enhancing democracy include like it is the case with main stream media is lack of access. Due to issues of literacy, poverty and locality, some people can not be reached by the media. This means that its impact can only be felt among those who can access it. Related to this is the limited financial support for producing and distributing programming among different stations and communities. This has lead to commercialization and consequently its disadvantages as a result.
Alternative media has limitations which include ethical considerations, and financial constraints. These may in the long run threaten its democratic roles. Nevertheless, these can not undermine its role in democracy. This role is critical to democratization in
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