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This article deals with the place and status of radio local pioneers in the making and the evolution of Northern Cameroon's media landscape and social space. Drawing from history from below, it uses bourdieusian sociology and subaltern studies theories as entries to question the emergence and the social (re)positioning of the first radio local actors in Northern Cameroon's social space. As radio hosts assigned to the production of programs in local languages, these pioneers were second class professional who emerged in the framework of mutations induced by colonization. Thanks to their recruitment in Radio-Garoua - the first radio implanted in the region in 1958 - they constituted a new socio-professional category/class, in a society apportioned between tradition and modernity. Through empirical data provided by three biographies (Ahmadou Abdou, Adam Alhadji and Haoua Siddiki), the study reveals that the trajectories of these pioneers were determined by the French (neo) colonial policies and the perpetuation of Muslim hegemony under Ahmadou Ahidjo's regime (1960-1982). This sociopolitical context contributed in making their social status ambivalent. Benefiting from the cultural capital conferred on them by their belonging to the Muslim community, they integrated the modern society where they were looked upon as subalterns whereas this integration valued their image and status in the traditional society.

This thesis explores the interplay between media, politics and religion in Northern Cameroon, from the French colonial period (1916-1960) to the beginning of the 21st century. Invoking post-colonial theory (Mbembe 2000), the political economy of communication by the Fulani hegemony over the non-Muslims also known as Kirdi. It contributes to both the literature on the political role of media in Cameroon and the debate on Muslims and non-Muslims relations in multi-religious settings. The work is grounded in qualitative and quantitative data collected through interviews, observations and questionnaires in the main cities of Northern Cameroon (Ngaoundere, Garoua) The first chapter lays emphasis on the processes through which Northern Cameroon became a multi-religious setting in the aftermath of the Jihad (19th century) and the arrival of Christian missions (1920s). Subsequently, the second chapter shows how Radio Garoua was created in 1958 by the French colonial administration, in order to support its policy towards Islam.

This paper seeks to address the political participation of the press in the Northern Cameroon after the beginning of the democratic process which led to the institutionalization of freedom of speech in 1990. Through a Political Economy of Communication perspective, it aims at focusing on L'Harmattan and L'OEil du Sahel -which are the main newspapers in Northern Cameroon- to question the political capital of the press in this area where there is an hegemonic competition between ethno-tribal communities. The paper provides a venue to unveil the contribution of L'Harmattan and L'OEil du Sahel to rivalries between elites in sight of their positioning on the political chessboard at local and national levels. It arises from the analysis of the publications of those newspapers that they have a partisan position in the political opposition between the Fulbe who are Muslims and the Kirdi who are non-Muslims. L'Harmattan supports the first while L'OEil du Sahel has affinities with the others.

This study deals with the borrowing of Pentecostal practices by mainstream churches in the town of Buea in Cameroon. Contrary to the impression given by the conceptualizers of 'Pentecost' who consider it as a de-territorialized place or a space characterized by the only presence of Pentecostals and their culture, this reflection which relies on diffusion theory, postulates that 'Pentecost' is not solely a matter of Pentecostals. It is a heterogeneous sphere shared by mainstream and Pentecostal churches. This sharing has led to the borrowing of Pentecostal religious forms by the former notably through proximity and media used to diffuse Pentecostal culture. By focusing on Buea which religious setting is a mosaic of Christian Churches with more than one hundred Pentecostal groups and about only six mainstream churches, the paper states that the latter are progressively becoming part of 'Pentecost' by adopting Pentecostal style. Pentecostal forms are usually expressed in mainstream churches activities principally through the way of preaching and praying. In some cases Pentecostal songs are even performed by church members. In the Catholic Church precisely, these forms are highly noticed in charismatic renewal groups where healings, glossolalia and crusades which are key features of 'Pentecost' are also practiced. The work relies on qualitative data collected in Buea through interviews, participant observation and media.