Reconceptualising Media Ownership and Shifting Power Relations in an Emerging Digital Media Framework

ABSTRACT

This article discusses media ownership and shifting power dynamics of critical political economy within a digital media framework. It questions the term media ownership and calls for reconceptualisation of the term in an era where media ranges from old media (television, radio, and newspapers), social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, WhatsApp, TikTok), interactive webpages and blogs to podcasts and streaming services. A case for the argument of shifting power relations in media ownership is the recognition that the concept of media and the regulations for media ownership were first drafted in many countries when digital media and mobile technologies as we know them today had not emerged. Today, independent digital media, social media platforms and mobile app technologies are a critical ‘alternative’ news source. Therefore, the questions guiding this article are: How do we conceptualise media ownership in an increasingly mediated environment? To what extent has digital media contributed to shifting power dynamics in the media landscape in Kenya? With social media increasingly shifting from ‘alternative’ to ‘mainstream’ sources of news consumption, social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have not only become sources of breaking news but also become spaces for diverse voices and content. The article will focus on independent and alternative media ownership and shifting power relations within an emerging digital media framework in Kenya driven by user-generated content and repositioning users not only as media creators but also as media owners.

KEYWORDS:

• media ownership
• pluralism
• alternative media
• shifting power relations
• media binaries
• user-generated content

Disclosure statement

No conflict of interest was declared by the authors.

Acknowledgements

We wish to acknowledge the work of scholars and researchers in African media studies whose work has been instrumental in situating ours within pertinent scholarly discourses. We extend our thanks to our colleagues who provided constructive feedback during the development of this article and express our appreciation to the editorial team and anonymous reviewers whose meticulous and constructive feedback played a crucial role in refining and enhancing the arguments and undoubtedly strengthened the quality of the manuscript.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

L. Lusike Mukhongo

L. Lusike Mukhongo is an associate professor in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University in the United States of America.

Job Mwaura

Job Mwaura is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.

Joyce Omwoha

Joyce Omwoha is a lecturer at the Technical University of Kenya.