Noting the many difficulties in conceptualizing and analyzing development communication, this paper enriches the concept by linking it with a particular form of political, economic, and social organization common to many developing nations--the patron-client network. After a brief review of relevant communication and political science literature concerning the definition of development, development communication, and patron-client networks, the paper focuses on how patron-client ties and development communication are related as social forces in a developing nation. It then reports the findings of a small content analysis of newspapers from Nigeria and the Ivory Coast showing the amount and type of development communication news items available to African readers, and how the media's participation in the patron-client structure might influence the type of information disseminated. (FL)