The goal of this book is to use Africa’s case studies to gain a clear understanding of the evolution of anti-corruption tabloid journalism in Africa and derive insights into the relationship between the anti-corruption actions of the state, and the anti-corruption reporting by the tabloids and tabloid journalists focusing on major corruption scandals.
Basically, a tabloid newspaper is traditionally a half the size of a broadsheet newspaper. However, in recent years, tabloids now encompass content dominated by screaming headlines, sensational pictures, and sensational stories. In fact, the origin of tabloids is very dubious and it is very difficult to point out the actual date in time when tabloid newspapers emerged. For instance, Biressi and Nunn (2008) note that they refer not only to changing formats in shifting historical contexts, but also to values and attitudes attached to these format. For example, Wasserman (2008) points out that the tabloids in South Africa peddle sensationalism and articulate politics of everyday lives of readers who seem to live on the periphery of society. It is this articulation of the politics of everyday lives that has contributed to the popularity of tabloid newspapers in Africa.
Furthermore, in the comparative study of tabloids and quality newspapers in Kenya, Ongowo (2011) notes that tabloids use salacious and sensational news accompanied by colourful pictures which are attractive to people with limited reading abilities. Similarly, a study by Opolot (2005: 33) explains that the fact that the tabloids in Uganda continue to attract readers is a clear testimony that people love them and it is the main reason why many readers actually buy them regularly and find them useful.
However, debates continue to emerge on how far tabloids in Africa can go in exposing corruption and hold those who abuse public resources to account. For instance, Phiri (2008: 13) while discussing the evolution of anti-corruption journalism in Africa looking at lessons from Zambia explains that tabloids have now taken the muckraking model in exposing corruption by breaking corruption scandals and producing reports that bring unethical behaviour to public attention. Besides, Paletz (1996) notes that the muckraking model drawn from the history of American journalism exhibits great promise in providing a framework that captures what is now going on in anti-corruption tabloid journalism in Africa. The idea behind the muckraking model is simple, as the imagery implies that the muckrakers, who are generally investigative tabloid journalists, now unearth and expose corruption through their tabloids.
Indeed, this book provides evidence of the successes and struggles of anti-corruption tabloid journalism practice in Africa. It goes at length by looking at different countries and analysing the role of tabloids in exposing corruption and the actions of the states and government agencies entrusted with the role of fighting corruption.
Tabloid Journalism Practice
The practice of tabloid journalism continues to attract scholarly debates. Many arguments are centred on the quality of information and style of writing often provided by the tabloids in comparison with traditional broadsheets. Since this book is on anti-corruption tabloid journalism in Africa and uses the continent’s cases to derive insights into the relationship between the anti-corruption actions of the state, and the anti-corruption reporting by the tabloids, it is very important to discuss the field of tabloid journalism as a practice and also look at relevant scholarly debates.
It is vital to note that tabloid journalism generally focuses on human interest stories with heavy in pictures and short stories that are graphically told. The term ‘tabloidization’ is associated with news content that focus on scandals (Bird, 1992). It is these content which attract critics to view tabloids as a form of journalism which is a complete departure from what is traditionally seen as the role of journalism which is to provide information vital for the readers to make informed decisions (Esser, 1999).
Furthermore, tabloids are often criticized for being sensational with news stories. It is this attachment to sensationalism of every news content by tabloids which has led to accusations that these newspapers play with readers’ emotions (Sparks, 2000). Moreover, Bird (1992) notes that apart from using emotive language, there remains confusion on what exactly constitute the key contents in tabloids and that it is a basically a news medium in which every thing goes to attract readers’ attention.
Despite the sustained criticism of tabloids, other scholars have come to their defence arguing that they are relevant in human affairs. For instance, Ongowo (2011) explains that readers buy tabloids because they find them useful to their lives and are proud to read them in the streets, in the public transport, and even in the living rooms. It is because tabloids provide content which they cannot access from other news media.
Similarly, Wasserman (2008: 2–7) argues that tabloids continue to enjoy popularity because they communicate ‘politics of everyday’ especially for readers who feel far more removed from formal politics through their daily lived experiences. It is within this context that tabloids can be read and seen as containing a political message even though not in the same way associated with public sphere of official media.
Furthermore, Fiske (1989) notes that tabloids provide very important escape routes from the news content which is often dominated by the elites and especially the politicians with their failed promises and policies. In fact, tabloids have the ability through their sensational language to question the dominant social standards. In addition, tabloids are able to offer an index of extent of dissatisfactions in society especially among those who feel powerless to change their current situations.
Moreover, Johansson (2007) argues that the practice of journalism is not merely about transmitting information on public issues to help the citizens gain knowledge to arrive at responsible judgements. It is this wrong view of journalism practice which has contributed to unfairly treating tabloids as insignificance side of news. Instead of generally regarding journalism as exclusively to convey information, there is need to engage in cultural discourses and acknowledge that people can connect with news through many ways. Moreover, the relationship between journalism and society is more complex than merely the transmitting of dry information (Johansson, 2007: 440).
Situating Tabloid Journalism
This book uses Africa’s cases to understand the evolution of the anti-corruption tabloid journalism in Africa and to gain insights into the relationship between the anti-corruption actions of the state, and the anti-corruption reporting by the tabloids and the tabloid journalists. Therefore, it is very important to situate the tabloid journalism practice within the African context.
The practice of tabloid journalism in Africa is very unique. This is largely because of various limitations often placed on press freedom in many countries. In fact, many tabloids that tend to adopt the Western view of tabloid journalism practice usually ends up having a limited life span. This is because such tabloids often face many cultural, legal, financial, and political problems. However, this does not mean that there are no success stories of tabloids becoming popular and attracting massive readership.
For example, Opolot (2005: 33) argues that tabloids have been in and out of Uganda for quite a while. However, it was not until 2002 that tabloid journalism took on a different meaning. In fact, up until then, each entrant had come with puff and pomp but often never lived to see its first anniversary. However, the Red Pepper tabloid newspaper has managed to shame the prophets who predicted its doom from the day it was registered in the country in 2002. Its longevity has been due to its raunchy and sensational stories in a country that has been dominated by ‘serious’ newspapers that kept away from sensational in favour of ‘serious’ content. This is not because they did not believe that the tabloid approach would bring new readers and an extra dollar, it was more the media law and the cultural environment that dictated their content.
Similarly, Ongowo (2011: 22) citing the tabloid Weekly Citizen explains that since its inception in 1997 in Nairobi Kenya, its owners and journalists have worked to grow its circulation. It often dwells mainly on sensational stories of Kenya and concentrates on publishing stories on corruption scandals taking place in private and public. For example, it concentrates on stories touching on politicians and very often breaks and publishes stories which are later picked up by the so-called quality newspapers. Moreover, the tabloid has since established itself as a voice of the ordinary people.
Furthermore, Wasserman (2008: 1) explains that the tabloids in South Africa have enjoyed unprecedented popularity with the Daily Sun now the biggest newspaper in the country, with around four million readers. It was established as a colourful downmarket publication by Deon du Plessis. ln 2000, the first copy of the tabloid was printed, and within three years, the circulation was close to 500,000. It has since become known for attention-grabbing headlines and pictures, with sales which have kept rising becoming the best-selling and widest read daily newspaper in sub-Saharan Africa.
Basically, tabloids in many African countries are generally known for hard-hitting headlines. It is within this context that that they play an important role in the curbing of corruption using sensational headlines on corruption to pressure government to act in the public interest. Tabloids headlines also draw the attention to behaviours th...