14. Sudan

This chapter describes the impact of the incessant political changes that took place in Sudan and highlights the impact of the shifts of the country from democratic to military governments since independence of the performance of the media. In particular, the chapter describes the role of newspapers in the development of nationalism in the early 1920s and in the development of partisan politics after independence. The chapter explores how, as radio and television remained public in their early years, they served as government propaganda and education tools, but later with the advent of satellite transmission and reception, how private entertainment radio and TV services prevailed. The chapter discusses the impact of the numerous political systems that shaped the media–politics relationship, and in particular, the effect of the various media laws that were promulgated in the country by the different political regimes.