Globalization and Media Dependency: The Relationship Between Francophone African Countries and Foreign Media (2019-2024)

The subject of the study is the analysis of the media landscape and the media dependence of francophone African countries on foreign media (2019–2024). The authors of the article consider the impact of the globalization process on the strengthening of neocolonial systems in the media space, including the dominance of French media such as RFI, France 24 and TV5Monde, and their direct role in shaping political discourse, public opinion and cultural identity. The article also analyzes the attempts of francophone African countries to overcome media dependence through citizen journalism and digital technologies. Through the lens of media dependence theory, this study examines how economic pressures, limited public investment, and gaps in technological infrastructure are forcing French-speaking African countries to depend on external sources for both content and infrastructure. Examples from Mali, Niger, and Cameroon illustrate the deepening conflict between the desire for media independence and the practical realities of globalization. Efforts to develop independent local media face challenges such as censorship, insufficient funding, political instability, and lack of professional training. Meanwhile, foreign media continue to benefit from their long-standing influence and technological advantages. The article uses a qualitative interpretative method based on the synthesis of theories of media addiction, postcolonial communication theory and globalization studies to analyze the interaction between French–speaking African countries – Mali, Niger and Cameroon - and international media in the period from 2019 to 2024. The scientific novelty of this study is due to several factors: the current period of sampling research material (2019–2024), since the authors of the article for the first time analyze in detail the latest political changes in the countries under consideration (the ban on French media, the issue of media sovereignty, coups in Niger, Mali); a comprehensive theoretical approach (digital research, postcolonialism and media dependence for research on modern challenges); a look at alternative models (foreign influence, consideration of the potential of digital platforms and citizen journalism); consideration of regional specifics through the prism of different media policy trajectories. The relevance of the article is determined by cultural sovereignty (the dominance of Francophone content and the threat of the disappearance of local languages); the political context (changing geopolitical trajectories and the growth of anti-French sentiments); technological challenges (the contradictory role of digital platforms).

media, dependency, francophone, Africa, colonial, globalization, imperialism, local, sovereignty, influence