China’s Media Expansion in Zambia: Influence on Government, Commercial, Community, and Religious Media

Abstract

This study examines how news about China is presented, spread and impacts the diversity of opinions in state-owned, commercial, community, and religious media outlets in Zambia. Drawing from the 2012–2021 data, and guided by intermedia agenda-setting theory, we provide evidence of the counter-attitudinal influence of news content on China across the four media categories. While state-owned media emphasized issues of privatization, and government and foreign policies, community and religious media focused on issues of environmental degradation, poor labor conditions, and mining. Commercial media mirrored state-owned media, a trend also reflected in community and religious media outlets across time. These findings suggest that China shapes how the media in Zambia present content about China. As observed, over the years, China is positively presented in the Zambian media.