Jurnal Politique
Vol. 6 No. 2 (2026): July

Owning the Crisis Narrative: A Scoping Review of Media Ownership, Editorial Framing, and Democratic Accountability in the Global South

Alim, Syahirul (Unknown)
Pratiwi, Ken Anidhya Ika (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jul 2026

Abstract

Political crises increase public dependence on journalism while intensifying efforts by governments, parties, proprietors, and commercial actors to shape event interpretation. This scoping review examines how media ownership influences editorial framing during elections, protests, corruption controversies, geopolitical conflicts, and democratic transitions in the Global South, and considers the implications for democratic accountability. Following established scoping-review and PRISMA-ScR principles, Scopus and Web of Science were searched using terms related to media ownership, editorial production, framing, political crises, and developing or transitional democracies. Thirteen core studies were charted according to ownership configuration, mechanisms of influence, crisis frames, and accountability outcomes. The findings indicate that ownership effects are conditional rather than automatic. Politically affiliated, state-dependent, and concentrated media frequently emphasized stability, incumbent legitimacy, public order, and geopolitical alignment. Independent outlets more often foregrounded protest legitimacy, governance failure, accountability, and political change. Influence operated through owner pressure, centralized editorial control, funding dependence, resource allocation, regulatory weakness, professional risk, shared infrastructures, and organizational ideology. Foreign ownership sometimes protected editorial autonomy but could also encourage commercial depoliticization. The review proposes an integrated model linking ownership configuration, editorial influence, crisis framing, and democratic accountability.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

politique

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Social Sciences

Description

Jurnal Politique merupakan jurnal yang dikelola oleh Prodi Ilmu Politik Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik (FISIP) UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya. Jurnal Politique bersifat terbuka untuk diakses publik (open access). Terbit secara daring dengan frekuensi terbitan 2 kali dalam setahun. Jurnal Politique ...