2023-04-20 20:54:01
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After several years of research at the Multidisciplinary Spaces, Cultures and Development Doctoral School (EDP-ECD), François Koffi Awoudo managed to obtain his doctoral degree from the University of Abomey-Calavi on Thursday April 20, 2023. an international jury, the new doctor defended a thesis on the theme: “the influence of political communication in the newspapers La Nation and Le Matinal during the presidential elections from 1990 to 2021 in Benin”.
What you should know : Very honorable mention and unanimous congratulations from the members of the jury. It is the deliberation that sanctioned the doctoral thesis of François Koffi Awoudo, defended this Thursday, April 20, 2023 in the Michel Boko conference room of the Doctoral School at the University of Abomey-Calavi. The applicant worked on “the influence of political communication in the newspapers La Nation and Le Matinal during the presidential elections from 1990 to 2021 in Benin”. His research, carried out under the direction of Professor Jean-Euloge Gbaguidi, enabled him to achieve several satisfactory results from the point of view of the members of the jury. This six-member jury is chaired by Professor Cyriaque AHODEKON. At his side, four examiners including Professors Médard Dominique BADA, Maxime da CRUZ, both from the University of Abomey-Calavi and Professors Raymond K. KRA and Dimitri BALIMA, respectively from Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina- Faso. Professor Jean-Euloge GBAGUIDI is the rapporteur.
What to understand from the defended thesis : Starting from the observation that with the advent of democratic renewal in Benin in 1990, the candidates for the various elections made the media in general, and particularly the newspapers, forums to win over the electorate, he analyzed the extent to which communication politics, as intended by politicians, influences journalistic work. While this work should only aim for sincerity towards the electorate and remain equidistant between all the candidates for the elections, the situation is quite different. Political communication has an impact on the content of Beninese newspapers during the election period. This is what he has scientifically proven in his research after analyzing the results obtained in the field. This thesis opens a broad orientation on the participation of the media in the construction of spaces for citizen discussion. According to François Koffi Awoudo, the multitude of newspapers in Benin does not reflect the quality of information. In the defended thesis, he thinks that one cannot be moved by the fact that newspapers make communication because it is permitted by law. “The two conditions that simply have to be fulfilled are that someone must not exercise both professions. Because information and communication are two different things,” he says. He argues that within newspapers, the space reserved for communication cannot be confused with the space reserved for information. “This is why ethics refuses to write anything that appears to be advertising. At the very least one can agree to draft, but refuse to sign. Newspapers must do political communication subject to respecting professional rules,” he continues.
Between the lines : After his presentation the jury observed that his subject is relevant and topical. Its methodological approach is appropriate. This allowed him to achieve satisfactory results. To this end, the jury declared him worthy of the degree of doctor of the University of Abomey-Calavi in Language and Communication Sciences, option: Communication.
Who is Francois Koffi Awoudo : He entered the University of Abomey-Calavi in 1990 with a literary baccalaureate and enrolled in Legal Sciences and Modern Letters. But his love for letters ended up prevailing in 1995 when he obtained his master’s degree. Passionate about the profession of journalism, he took his first steps at the Student Journal, Le Héraut, where he has a very active participation. He climbed all the rungs and found himself at the head of this student press. Years later, he became a collaborator with national organs as well as a correspondent for foreign organs. In 2009, he entered the Cotonou Journalists Training Center and is supporting an international master’s degree in media management on the subject: analysis of public funding aid for the press in Benin. The man has accumulated many other qualifications with his Master’s degree supported by the UNESCO Chair in Election Management. The thirst for knowledge pushed him and in 2017, he ended up once again finding his way back to university where he enrolled in the multidisciplinary doctoral school spaces, cultures and development. He has enough publications to his credit. Essentially on what is related to his thesis, he has two publications. The first concerns the press review put to the test by social networks in Benin: diagnosis of the local mass media production system published in 2020 and the second: the repression of recurrent ethical abuses in the Beninese media during the electoral period published in 2022. He has participated in several training seminars, conferences etc.
Alban Tchalla
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