Democratic Republic of the Congo: Media Environment Assessment Report

This desk analysis of the media environment in Democratic Republic of the Congo has been done on the basis of a field report from Kinshasa, combined with a search for web information supplemented by a number of interviews with key observers or partakers. Where possible, interviews have been made by telephone.

As DRC is not a transparent society, and as it has been fragmented and controlled and influenced by foreign forces and their allied rebels, information about the media situation is scattered and localized. Even key donor organizations or NGO’s, which are able to operate on a national scale, might not have much knowledge outside their own special field. For that reason, most reliable information will have to be gathered on the spot. While these spots are many and difficult to access, one will usually find local people involved in media activities readily sharing their information on media affairs.