Perception and practices: examining the influence of Chinese media exchanges on West African journalists

This study examines the perception and influence of Chinese-funded media exchanges on journalistic practices in Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia and draws on the concept of Chinese ‘soft’ power as a theoretical framework and semi-structured interviews with 33 journalists. First, the findings identify three categories of Chinese-funded media exchanges including short-term, professional track, and scholars track. Short-term participants' spend 1 week to 4 months, the professional track takes 10 months, and the scholars’ track ranges from one to 5 years. There are suggestions that the perception and influence of Chinese-funded media exchanges are mediated through the prism of optimism, pessimism, and pragmatism. However, the perceptions and categories of Chinese-funded media exchanges are not mutually exclusive but interact and intersect across the four countries. Additionally, our findings suggest that Chinese-funded media exchanges have varied implications for journalistic practices in post-conflict societies and transitional democracies.