Urgent Need for a Private Television Channel in Mauritius - Constant Navigation between Intention and Reality

This dissertation explores the urgent need for a private TV channel in Mauritius, the effect of media ownership in Mauritian society, and the drift between intention and reality towards privatization of media channels. It also identifies the significance of introducing independent and private TV channels in Mauritius by bridging up the challenge faced by people.

Dissertation

TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................3
Background..................................................................................................................................3
Aim and objectives......................................................................................................................3
Rationale......................................................................................................................................4
Scope............................................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................5
2.1 effect of media ownership in Mauritian society with specific reference to MBC.................5
2.2 drift between intention and reality towards privatization of media channels in Mauritius...6
2.3 Significance of introducing independent and private TV channel in Mauritius by bridging
up the challenge faced by people.................................................................................................8
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHDOOLOGY...........................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................13

Topic: Urgent Need for a Private Television Channel in Mauritius - Constant Navigation
between Intention and Reality
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Background
In this changing era, countries keep introducing different media channels in order to let
people updated towards the information digitally. There are some countries where people still do
not get an access of using new technology like Mauritius. From last 250 years, print media
actually considered one of the best source of information and from 1965 to 2001, broadcast
media is evolved to provide information to the people. Though Mauritius has several operators
like Mauritius Telecom, Nomad etc but they all are connected with fiber optical cable only
known as Internet Protocol Television in which single TV broadcast the news to the entire
country but only local news. Hence, people of Mauritius actually have a right to free and fair
news bulletins on public channel but it is not provided in MBC (Mauritius Broadcasting
corporation).
The present study will highlight the intention of people in order to get update regarding
the news from personal TV rather than MBC. Also, with the help of thematic data analysis,
scholar further examine the opinion regarding the chosen topic.
Aim and objectives
The aim of the research is to investigate the urgent need of private TV channel in
Mauritius.
Objectives:
 To understand the effect of media ownership in Mauritian society with specific reference
to MBC.
 To critically evaluate the drift between intention and reality towards privatization of
media channels in Mauritius.
 To identify the significance of introducing independent and private TV channel in
Mauritius by bridging up the challenge faced by people.

Research questions:
Q1: What is the effect of media ownership in Mauritian society with specific reference to MBC?
Q2: Is there any drift between intention and reality towards privatization of media channels in
Mauritius? Please specify?
Q3: What is the significance of introducing independent and private TV channel in Mauritius
along with the challenges of introducing the same?
Rationale
The reason for conducting the research on this topic is such that Mauritius is limited by
its small population size and though there are number of media outlets includes print newspaper
and radio but it provide local news only. Thus, it is considered as an issue because in this
developing era, people shift towards a new technology in order to collect information but people
of Mauritius do not have any personal TV. Hence, with the help of thematic data analysis,
scholar present the intention of people towards using TV by determining the reality of a country.
Moreover, another rationale for conducting research on this particular topic is such that may be
University provide a topic and that is why, scholar have to conduct research on this topic in order
to evaluate the views of people and reasons for urgent need of TV in Mauritius.
Scope
The present study is beneficial for other scholars who want to study on similar topic so
that they can collect the information as a secondary source and this in turn assist to provide them
relevant information. On the other side, the present study is also beneficial for the people of
Mauritius in order to identify the key reason for not introducing private TV as a new media
source and then the government may take action accordingly. In addition to this, another scope
for the present study is such that it will help to let other countries to examine the constant
navigation between intention and reality with regard to introducing private TV for the people.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Literature review is all about a way to write an academic writing that demonstrate
knowledge and understanding of a topic by citing the views of different people. Also, it includes
critical evaluation of material in which different author shared their views. In the present study,
this section also helps to determine the drift between intention and reality towards privatization
of media channels by using relevant books and articles that published recently in order to meet
the defined aim. Therefore, it will assist to generate a better outcome in order to conduct the
entire study in more precise manner.
2.1 effect of media ownership in Mauritian society with specific reference to MBC.
In Mauritius, the ownership of media is taken by MBC which is run by satellite and
provide different news to the people. In the view of Feezell (2018) media ownership is takes in
many forms such that state, family, party etc. But in Mauritius, the ownership of media is taken
place by MBC which was established in 1965 and it is run under government only. Though the
news was broadcast in 12 different languages and also provide 17 tv channels but the people do
not have right to view their own because it is not allowed. Anwar and et.al., (2020) argued in the
Karl Marx theory that those who owns the media, they only they have a power to control over
the same and that is why, author also stated that media is owned by the member of bourgeoisie
because they are wealthy business owners.
Thus, Marxist theory also directly applied to MBC organization because it was actually
owned by the single authority but with the changing era, there is need to introduce the new
technology in order to meet the demand of the people so that effective outcome can be generated.
In accordance with the agenda setting theory, it has been evaluated that the news which is
presented prominently and frequently by a media which deemed to be viewed as highly
important by a public will. Karakaya and Glazier (2019) also explained that people have certain
issues in their mind and the same has been repeated in a news which affect their views. That is
why, it can be stated that media actually affect the people opinion and this in turn affected the
overall performance of people.
Peifer (2018) investigated in the study that Mauritius TV as a tool of government and this
is because it is nothing more than act as a government tool in order to manage the public opinion.

Also, it has run in three TV channels and all run by MBC and snow TV broadcasting is now no
longer matched with national ideals. Ghazali, Osman and Shukor (2022) critically evaluated that
moving towards a commercial broadcasting require range of issues which need to be resolved
and that is why, most of the political leaders do not want to introduce private TV into the country
because the thinking of people actually changes. Also, there are many countries who fined
heavily when dealing with a commercial news and the same thinking belongs to the leader of
Mauritius and that is why, it is act as a government tool. It has been also identified that around
50% of the total population of Mauritius access news but most of them prefer to read the news
through other platform rather than broadcasting. However, due to not having any individual TV
channels, people of Mauritius are used to it and did not determine the actual news run
internationally that might have affected their views and behavior as well.
2.2 drift between intention and reality towards privatization of media channels in Mauritius
Navarro and et.al., (2021) explained in their study that people of Mauritius wants a right
to freedom of expression in which they get freedom of media however, the government do not
respect these rights. As per the survey conducted in 2019 it has been identified that majority of
the people do not have a right to use the Internet in order to get an access of news. Further, the
survey also shed a light upon the citizen’s perception, attitude and habits regarding ICT but
unfortunately, they do not use the same in order to determine the actual news. In
Afrobarometer’s survey, it has been identified that majority of the Mauritius people actually do
not want any interference with news media and no government policy should monitor the private
communication, but in reality they do not have any access of the same (A D277: Most
Mauritians want free news media, private communications free of monitoring, 2017). This in
turn reflected that people of Mauritius have different intention from reality but actually they do
not get any rights regarding the same and that is why, majority of them do not want any
interference. Herrero-Gutiérrez and Urchaga-Litago (2021) supported the same that if the
country do not have any access regarding the social media and news media reports then the
people do not get any current information that might be dangerous for the country as well.

Figure 1: Views of Mauritius people regarding accessibility of news
Many secondary sources also stated that when it comes to an information then most of
the Mauritius actually rely upon TV and radio to stay tuned with news. However, the daily use of
Internet and social media for news has grown to almost half of population. That is why, it can be
stated that the attitude of people is with the new trend but they do not have government support
to get an access directly through internet which is unlawful. Dong and et.al., (2022) critically
evaluated that from Great Firewall of to Germany, social media is the major platform to keep
updated regarding the news but the story of Mauritius is completely different because the route
of all social media web traffic monitored by government. The rationale of this is such that
intrusion on its citizen is merited due to social media companies which are not perfectly meet the
demand of content and that is why, it wants a government appointment body to do blocking the
message. This is all due to authoritarian power grab but in 2018 when government actually
amended the information and Communication Technologies Act where a message has forward in
vague language because people retweet about politicians and also made video clips on them. As
a result, the power is in the hands of government in which if anyone found with such activity
then they are blocks (Mauritius Must Not Fall into the ‘Mass Surveillance’ Trap, 2020). That is
why, the people of Mauritius do not want any interference of government which is not possible.

Vargo (2021) reflected that being a democratic country, still the people of Mauritius are
not allowed to freely share their views and express themselves by making an amendment in ICT
act, as many restriction has been imposed to people by introducing new amendments to surveil
social media traffic. Though the aim of this proposal is to protect or regulate harmful and illegal
contents especially for politicians. Proper monitoring has been imposed in the account and this
shows that activities of people has been monitored and that is why, they have to power to express
themselves freely. Overall, it can be stated that there is an unsafe internet in Mauritius and that is
why, to uphold the safety and privacy of all internet users, there is a need to make changes in act
so that they can provide better outcome in order to access the news.
2.3 Significance of introducing independent and private TV channel in Mauritius by bridging up
the challenge faced by people
As per the views of Tunney, Thorson and Chen (2021) introducing new method of mass
media will be more beneficial to Mauritius because people actually need the same and that is
why, implementing independent TV will be more beneficial to audience in order to check the
news as per their demand. However, it has been identified that in 2012, MBC revamped its
website and raise its performance on social media but in the same time MBC also set an
agreement between MBC and SanalSat Mauritius in order to present the news in an effective
manner. Rather than this, people should have allowed to get an access of news from their own
private TV which in turn assist to keep them updated. Krylova-Grek (2022) critically evaluated
that most of the people retweet about politicians by using vague video clips and this provoke
government to keep interfere in such issue. Though there are many facilities also offered by the
government to the people with regard to online access to content at the time of pandemic and this
also used by people in negative manner.
……..examined in their study that people of Mauritius actually do not have right to freely
express in any media and that is why, MBC provide news so that no negative tweet can be post
on politicians. As a result, being an intendent country, the people do not have right which is
considered as a major challenge and as a result, they want to introduce individual TV. Moreover,
as per the interview held in 2012, the president of the country also stated that TV channels are
unfair and partial because they think it act as a government tool. ……..critically argued that for a
healthy of democracy, people should have an access of information and all citizens must have a

right and responsibilities to participant in a public matters but in Mauritius, it is completely
opposite. Liberalisation of broadcast media was formed in 2002 where the people of Mauritius
has a choice between MBC and three other private radio
…………shared the information that under Mauritian law, only journalist have a right to
obtain information through private source whereas people do not have a right to release
information about themselves in which they are willing to disclose. Therefore, this increase the
urge among people to use their own TV in order to get an access to collect information and then
raise the knowledge. However, it can be stated that due to change in the market, the country
needs to be implement new item that helps to meet the demand of people and live them in this
democratic area. In order to minimize the activity of negative post, government can monitor the
activities by hiring the new team that assist to let people enjoy their right as well as create a
better outcome in front of other countries. ………also supported that though there are 17
channels available in MBC in different languages but it do not provide an authentic and national
news because people might be react upon the news and this causes direct impact over the
performance.

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHDOOLOGY
RM is the specific procedure which is used to determine and select process that helps to
conduct an in-depth research about a chosen topic (Mohajan, 2018). With the help of this section,
scholar actually criticalluy evaluate the study’s overall validity and reliability. There are many
key elements associated with this section that helps investigator to conduct the research in more
authentic manner.
Research type:
There are two main types of research which can be used by the scholar i.e. qualitative and
quantitative (Pandey and Pandey, 2021). Under qualitative researcher mainly conduct an in-
depth research by using theories and concepts so that effective outcome can be generated.
However, under quantitative research, scholar mainly used number and figures in order to
illustrate the topic in effective manner. Among all, research uses
Research approach:
It is a plan and procedure that is consist of different steps in a broad assumptions that
helps to conduct research by using detailed method of data collection, analysis and interpretation.
This in turn assist to create a better outcome for the research and it is also of two types. In
inductive research approach, scholar start with a set of observation that helps to move the
research towards a particular results by evaluating their experience. On the other side, deductive
approach is mainly linked with a specific investigation where results are generated by testing
hypothesis by involving quantitative research approach.
Research philosophy:
With the help of this, scholar assist to gain an understanding of underlying reasons and
opinions so that effective outcomes can be derived. Moreover, it also provides insights into a
problem that helps to generate results by testing the hypothesis or determining the trend under
qualitative study (Zangirolami-Raimundo, Echeimberg and Leone, 2018). There are two ways
through which research philosophy can be divided which includes Interpretivism and Positivism.
Under Interpretivism, research is based upon a principle which determine the role of observing

the entire world and it is mainly depend upon the researcher interest. On the other side,
positivism is based upon the factual knowledge collected through observation so that a
trustworthy results generated in order to meet the defined aim.
Data collection:
It is a process through which researcher collect information in the form of numbers and
text that helps to make the planning more effective so that a valid outcome can be derived. With
the help of this methodology, researcher allows to store and analyse information regarding the
present customers. There are two ways through which data can be collected i.e. primary and
secondary (Snyder, 2019). With the help of primary research, scholar collect fresh data which in
turn assist to determine the best output. On the other side, secondary data collection method uses
already conduct research and article that helps to determine the trend regarding the topic.
For the present research, both primary as well as secondary data collection methods has
been adopted which helps to collect relevant information. Such that under primary research
scholar uses survey method through the means of questionnaire in which questions asked to
selected respondents regarding their behavior of urgent need of TV as a media. Whereas, under
secondary data collection method, relevant books and articles that published after 2017
considered in order to develop a brief thesis. This in turn assist to collect the reliable information
in order to conduct the study in more precise manner.
Sampling:
It is all about selection of a sample from a large population in order to meet the defined
aim of a study. Through sampling, scholar also obtain enough data in order to answer the
research questions that helps to save money and time. It is also of two types i.e. probability and
non-probability (Nayak and Singh, 2021). Such that under probability, selection of sample from
a population is performed randomly where all the people from a population has a chance to
participate within a research. On the other side, non-probability does not provide an equal chance
to the population for participation. Though each number of population has also a known chance
of being selected.

From the above, scholar only uses simple random sampling method under probability
where researcher selected 60 people of Mauritius from the large population in order to generate a
better outcome. This in turn assist to create a better outcome and also helps to identify their
views pertaining to urgent need of TV as a media in Mauritius. Hence, it can be stated that with
the help of chosen sampling, researcher can meet the aim and conduct the study in more effective
manner.
Data analysis:
Data analysis is the process of inspecting, cleansing, transforming the data with an aim to
discover the relevant information so that it provide a valid conclusion and support decision of a
company as well (Goldstein, 2022). Further, there are two ways through which the data can be
analysed such that thematic and SPSS. Under thematic data analysis, scholar can uses graphs and
tables on the basis of research objectives so that effective outcome can be generated and conduct
the study in a presentable manner. On the other side, through SPSS, researcher measure results
on the basis of software so that authentic outcome can be derived which in turn assist to meet the
defined aim.
Ethical consideration:
There is a need to conduct a study in an ethical manner and that is why, reference list has
to be added at the end of a report which entails that the study is not copied from anywhere. Also,
a consent form need to be signed before conducting the study so that effective outcome can be
generated (Ngozwana, 2018). In addition to this, there should not be any miscommunication
between the researcher and participants because it might be affect the results in negative manner.
Moreover, voluntarily participation should be performed which in turn help to improve the
results.
Research limitation:
Unavailability of the sources are considered as a research limitation that need to be
minimised because it affect the results in negative manner. In order to minimize the same, there
is a need to use keywords that helps to save time and provide authentic results as well.

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Through the above it has been concluded that people of Mauritius do not have right to
freely express after the incident of retweet about any politician and that is why, there is a need to
implement an independent TV within an area so that it create a better outcome for the people.
Through secondary research, it has been also evaluated that the media trend in Mauritius is slow
because government does not allow to have individual news because it affect the views of people
in adverse manner.
Recommendations

REFERENCES
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Online

A D277: Most Mauritians want free news media, private communications free of monitoring.
2017. [Online]. Available through: < https://afrobarometer.org/publications/ad277-most-
mauritians-want-free-news-media-private-communications-free-monitoring >.
Mauritius Must Not Fall into the ‘Mass Surveillance’ Trap. 2020. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2021/05/mauritius-must-not-fall-into-the-mass-
surveillance-trap/>.