Abstract

This study focuses on the transformation of the Haitian media system over the past 60 years under the influence of three sets of factors: linguistics, democracy, and technology. The combination of these three sets of factors creates favorable conditions for the transformation of the Haitian radio system. According to our initial hypothesis, the transformation would lead to a reconfiguration of the system. In other words, the factors of change (Creole, democracy, digital) would have changed the rules of the game (regulation or modes of operation of radio) to such an extent that there would be a redistribution of power resources and positions of power in the system. System reconfiguration is a restructuring of the system’s power supply. However, the study shows that despite the changes observed since the fall of Duvalier, the power structure in the radio system has remained largely intact. We also conclude that the Haitian media system does not belong to any of the theoretical models that exist in the scientific literature. That is why, at the end of our analysis, we propose a new model that we call the model of the precarious system of democratic transition that could be applied to media systems that have the same characteristics as those of Haiti.