reporting corruption and media ownership: a comparative study of how government and privately owned media report on corruption in uganda

Description

This thesis discusses the relationship between the efforts of combating corruption and the role of the media. It focuses on the connection between media ownership and combating corruption. The research uses the 2005 Global Fund corruption scandal in Uganda as a case study. This scandal involved about US $200million from the Global Fund, meant to fight malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The study is based on a comparative analysis of how the two main newspapers in Uganda; Daily Monitor (privately owned) and New Vision (government-owned) reported on this corruption scandal. Using this case study, the thesis discusses the role and feasibility of using the media to combat corruption. The research is based on theories of causes and means of combating corruption. Within these theories, the study deals with the relationship between the media and fighting corruption. The theory of media ownership and editorial independence has also been discussed with a view of tracing the relationship between ownership and editorial content. The findings in this study have been based on three research methods that include in-depth interviews with editors and journalists, qualitative and quantitative content analysis and document analysis. The study found out that there is a marginal difference in the way the government and privately owned media report about corruption. The study also found out that the media’s ability to combat corruption in Uganda is greatly hampered by unfriendly press laws and the media’s failure to mobilize resources and skills to do investigative journalism. As such, most of the reports are based on investigations of other agencies. This research strongly recommends that media owners should invest heavily in investigative journalism. In cases where this may not be possible, journalists should resort to existing charities that support investigative journalism. The media should also continue to lobby for a better legal environment that encourages more freedom and access to information in possession of the state. Keywords: Corruption, Global Fund, media, editorial independence, investigative journalism, media ownership, Daily Monitor, New Vision.