CHAPTER 4: AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER THEMATIC TRENDS: 2011-2021 is perceived to be costly and a potential irritant to the much-valued advertising community. Based on tendencies evident in the AMBs, it seems that the commercial angle of African media is likely to deepen and entrench the marginalisation of poor people (at least at the discursive level), especially those in rural areas whose value to potential advertisers is often not apparent. While some countries have legislative and administrative provisions for financially supporting the media, the actual money available is usually inadequate or non-existent. 4.6 The resource curse, journalistic standards/practices and training As with many other aspects of the social world in Africa, one of the consistent themes in the AMBs is that of limited resources in terms of the financial stability of news media, as well as the government agencies or regulatory bodies whose work is directly linked to such media. This has directly impacted several key aspects of media operations in sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, due to lack of resources, the AMBs showed that journalists often found themselves working in dismal conditions with little or no pay; journalists sometimes engaged in corrupt activities to supplement their income; and journalists practised self-censorship to ingratiate themselves with proprietors and escape the wrath of hostile political actors. This was evident in countries such as Togo (2021 AMB), Madagascar (2016 AMB), DRC (2012 AMB), Kenya (2016 AMB), Republic of Congo (2018 AMB) and Mali (2016, 2021 AMBs). The 2016 AMB for Madagascar flagged the “negative impact on work quality” of journalists’ onerous working conditions. Although much improved after 2016, these conditions were also noted in the country’s 2019 AMB. In Nigeria, the 2019 AMB highlighted a direct link between the journalists’ low pay, poor working conditions, and poor journalism. This tendency also flourished in countries such as Benin, Cameroon, Togo, DRC, Mali, and Malawi. The 2018 AMB for Benin observed that journalists’ working conditions and salaries remained precarious, resulting in bad practices, especially corruption. In the same year, the AMB for Cameroon asserted that corruption in the media was “worsening in spite of progress in other areas, such as access to training and awareness of professional standards”. The 2017 AMB for Ghana highlighted that “one major issue is in the area of ethics and professionalism” and the significant proliferation of ‘brown envelope’ journalism,3 3 18 When journalists are paid in cash or kind to cover or not to cover a story. AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER 11 YEARS IN REVIEW