Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Press and politics – South Africa – Grahamstown'

This thesis examines the meanings that residents of the township of Hooggenoeg (in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa) made of the election coverage in the Grocott’s Mail newspaper during 2011 municipal elections in South Africa. In addition, this study also sought to understand the particular set of ‘normative roles’ played by the paper, both with reference to the well-established body of theory about the normative roles of journalism in a democracy, and in terms of the paper’s own conceptualisation of its role in the functioning of local democracy. Grocott’s Mail, the oldest independent newspaper in South Africa, provided extensive pre-election coverage, which included producing and distributing an unprecedented free edition of the paper. The paper also facilitated a town hall debate in order to encourage residents to vote, and empower them to make a more informed choice about their vote. Three qualitative research methods, namely qualitative content analysis, focus group interviews, and individual interviews were used to examine the relationship between the content provided by the paper and the audience’s process of ‘making sense’ and deriving meaning from the content provided. The study concludes that Grocott’s attempt to encourage democratic culture in Grahamstown, in keeping with the more ‘facilitative’ normative roles that the local media can play, was only partially successful. Much of the election reporting subordinated the voices of the ordinary people, and privileged reporting that focussed narrowly on the voting process, and which foregrounded the views of political parties. Overall this coverage largely failed to resonate with the Grocott’s readers who live in Hooggenoeg (a largely ‘coloured’ area of Grahamstown), whose key concerns in terms of their daily life – such as poverty, unemployment, crime, lack of services – seemed, to them, unaddressed by this election coverage and, consequently, was not as engaging or convincing as the publishers/editors had hoped it would be. It can be also argued that Grocott’s narrow conceptualisation of democracy as entailing only public participation in electoral processes failed to cater for how audiences can be made aware of how they can participate in governance beyond the election period.

The 2014 national general elections were characterised by a cloud of scandal hanging over the ANC, and the ANC president Jacob Zuma. The biggest and darkest cloud was the Nkandla scandal. Owing to a reported R246 million spent by the state to refurbish his private home, the president stood accused of wasteful expenditure and financial irregularity. In a country reeling from the continued effects of apartheid, which include high unemployment and poverty, the scandal was a bombshell. According to a vocal and often adversarial mainstream media sphere, the ANC went into those elections with an albatross around its neck. The dominant thought was that the ruling party would suffer a heavy loss of votes. This outcome did not materialise. The ANC lost a marginal share of its previous vote. Mainstream media and civil society were confounded. What had happened? Why had poor black South Africans continued to vote for a party that was obviously in breach of the constitutional order? Against the mismatch between what was predicted or purported and the outcome, this study investigates how young people in the township of Joza, Grahamstown, interpreted one of the biggest political scandals in South Africa’s fledgling democracy. Using a combination of subaltern studies, counter public sphere and audience study, the research looks into the interpretation of a mainstream media scandal that was supposed to diminish the chances of the ANC retaining power, but, instead, barely dented its majority. Through a combination of interviews and participant observation, the study found that young people in the township of Joza demonstrated that they chose to ignore the messages about the corruption of the ANC. The data suggests that they did so, not because of overt racial solidarity, but due to the fact that in a context of high inequality, and continued limitations on economic emancipation, the party shone brightly as a vehicle for economic development. Overall, the study argues that the seemingly dubious undertaking to continue with the ANC is a calculated decision that makes sense when viewed within a given socio-economic context.

This thesis argues that there is a clear imbalance in the representation of crime in the newspaper, Grocott’s Mail, in Grahamstown, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The thesis concludes that the system of marginalisation and segregation which was established during the apartheid era is the foundation for the continued segregation and marginalisation of certain groups of people in Grahamstown as depicted in crime journalism. Previous research shows that not only people, but spaces are marginalised through media representations of crime. As people are represented as dangerous, so too the spaces they occupy become dangerous spaces. Importantly, the research shows that discourses of marginalisation are present in newspaper reports reproducing the discourses prominent in society, and in turn, the newspaper itself perpetuates these marginalising discourses. This extends into the coverage that different crimes receive in newspapers. For instance, the reports show that a middle-class audience will be more concerned with property crime in middle-class neighbourhoods, than other crimes in lower-class neighbourhoods. I argue that not only the type of crime, but the severity, the effect, and the necessity for justice represented by the newspaper, are all largely determined by the region of the crime. Further, I show that the criminal is not only demonised and represented as individually deviant in the reports in the newspaper, but that these representations are made by this newspaper because they are deeply imbedded as a discourse in society. This is partly because this newspaper has taken on a monitorial role, requiring neutral reporting from journalists, and a dedication to surveying the processes of state institutions, like the police and courts. As a result, the ways in which crime is reported on in the newspaper is fairly well fixed, making it difficult for journalists to conceive of different ways of reporting crime. The representations of the criminal justice system that the monitorial media, this newspaper included present, are a careful balance between the interest of the public, and the need to preserve relationships with sources. The monitorial media in general, and this newspaper in particular, represent the criminal justice system. The relationship between the police and the newspaper, and the courts and the media, therefore strongly influences the way in which crime news is reported. In particular, crime news is represented from the perspective of the criminal justice system. This research was carried out using Critical Discourse Analysis, qualitative interviews, and focus group interviews.

This thesis is about the relationship between local government, grassroots organisations and the organisation of power resulting from the interaction of the two. Exploring this relationship this thesis investigates whether the actions of grassroots movements can bring local government in line with their developmental role as accorded to them by the Constitution. The assumption embedded in this question is that the current balance of power at the local level exists outside of the service of the historically disadvantaged. Following on from that, the thesis explores, through different modes of analysis, theoretical and historical, the policy and constitutional framework for local government, and then it unravels the context set by the political economy of South Africa. The aim is to make a significant attempt at understanding the possible implications of the interventions grassroots movements make in the public space. The thesis does this also by looking at the strengths and weaknesses of the strategies of the UDF to makes an assessment of the possible endurance of post-apartheid grassroots movements. Since civil society ‘suffers’ from nationalist politics, with its own corporatist institutions, the thesis searches deep within or arguably 'outside of civil society', subjecting AbM and UPM to academic critique, to see how movements embedded among the poor and carrying the political instrument of anger and marginalisation, can dislodge the power of capital. More importantly, the thesis situates the post-apartheid moment within postcolonial politics; navigating through the legacy of Colonialism of a Special Type (CSP), the thesis explores the limits and opportunities at the disposal of grassroots movements. From a different perspective, the thesis is an examination of the organisation and movement of power and the spaces within which power and ideas are contested. Drawing on the political and economic engagements, dubbed the Dar Es Salaam debates, in the 1970’s and 1980’s spurred on by Issa Shivji, the late Prof Dani Wadada Nabudere and Mahmood Mandani, the conclusions of this thesis develops these engagements, essentially making a case for the continued centrality of the post-apartheid state. However, the thesis also asserts the indubitable role that both grassroots movements and civil society need to play, not necessarily in the democratisation of the state, though that goes without saying, but in taking the post-colonial state on its own terms. Consequently, the thesis puts forward the idea that issue-based mobilisation does exactly this, and in the manner that acknowledges the state’s centrality and makes paramount the self-organisation (popular assemblies) of ordinary people in public affairs. The thesis categorically concludes that the centrality of the post-apartheid state and its progressive outlook (constitutional values) is contingent on organs of popular assemblies which need to take the state on its (progressive) terms.

The influence of local economic development strategic leaders on how Integrated Development Plans (IDP) are developed is critical to gain insights into strategic planning directed towards economically developing municipalities. Concisely, the aim of this qualitative study was to gain a multiple understanding of how LED strategic leaders, namely managers of the LED directorate and sub-directorates at Makana local municipality influenced the IDP formulation. The fact that these LED strategic leaders, ‘make consequential or strategic decisions’ suggests that their decisions have an influence on the IDP formulation. Thus, the key research question in this study was: How do LED strategic leaders at Makana local municipality influence the formulation of the IDP at this municipality? This qualitative research used purposive sampling of incidents upheld by LED Strategic leaders. A total of ten in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted with four LED strategic leaders regarding incidents of their perceived influence on the formulation of the Integrated Development Plan at Makana. The interviews were in-depth in order to gain a rich understanding of their perspectives of reality. As the number of LED strategic leaders was already very small, all the four leaders at Makana participated in this study. Interview data was transcribed and analyzed using open coding and constant comparison. Member check was conducted to enhance confirmability of the findings of this study. Findings indicate that LED strategic leaders perceived their influence on the formulation of the IDP Makana municipality in four varied ways. Predominantly, LED strategic leaders commonly perceived that they had influence in setting evidence-driven direction, and searching for fitness of activities and issues with LED strategy. Thereafter, the other ways in which these LED strategic leaders perceived how they influenced the IDP formulation involve the facilitation of clarity and local relevance of LED mandates, and finally the integration of multiple economic voices of stakeholders. This demonstrates that LED strategic leaders at Makana emphasize proactively managing strategy process rather than content in terms of identifying key opportunities and major economic drivers in the local milieu. Instead, they perceived their influence as characterized by enhancing compliance with bringing the process of municipal strategy formulation closer to stakeholders. Implications of these findings are highlighted.

This Thesis examines the socio-political perceptions of Grahamstown, a small South African City, during the period 1946 to 1960. The ‘White English’ population of Grahamstown is the specific focus, as it formed the dominant social group during the period and consequently provided the majority of information for this work. During this period the majority of Grahamstowns ‘White English’ population thought of their City as holding many attractive features and experiences despite the slum-conditions and poverty that were rife in the Locations. During the British Royal Familie’s tour of the Union of South Africa in 1947, Grahamstown was one of the Cities visited. The loyalty that Grahamstown’s ‘White English’ citizens felt towards the Royal Family and the United Kingdom is explored in connection with the regard that ‘White English’ Grahamstown held for the 1820 Settlers. To highlight the Grahamstown City Council’s activities during this period five events are analysed: The Grahamstown Financial Crisis, The Grahamstown Housing Crisis, The Beer Hall Debate, The establishment of a Tuberculosis Hospital and the granting of Full University Status to Rhodes University College. It is shown, with regard to the politics of the period, that ‘White English’ Grahamstown, unequivocally supported the United Party and were vocally anti-Nationalist. The implementation of Apartheid policies within Grahamstown is explored, with specific focus placed upon the Group Areas Act. Finally the anti-republican sentiment espoused by ‘White English’ Grahamstown is reviewed.

This thesis considers the impact which the Protection of State Information Bill will have on media freedom in South Africa. During apartheid, draconian laws prevented the media from reporting freely, and newspapers as well as the broadcast media were heavily censored. When the country became a democracy in 1994, the political grip on the media faded, and a new era of press freedom began. However, the Protection of State Information Bill is seen as a direct threat to that freedom. The Bill, also known as the Secrecy Bill, will classify state-related information and censor the media who make public or are found to be in possession of, classified information. For journalists this means that the way in which they report and what they report will be severely restricted. The Bill will also impact on the willingness of whistleblowers to come to the fore. This study looks at the importance of a free press, at how the Secrecy Bill evolved, and how opposition parties and civil society set about opposing it. It will examine democracy and its relationship with a free press, and do a policy analysis of the Bill. It will also look at how civil society organisations came together to oppose the Bill, and some of the changes which came about as a result of this opposition.

The aim of this study was to establish whether the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) performed according to its mandate in ensuring a fair broadcast coverage of all political parties that participated in the 2014 national general election. The study was undertaken as a result of the complaints by political parties who accused the SABC of bias during the election. The study focused on two SABC radio stations, namely SAFM and UKHOZI FM. In executing the research, particular attention was paid to the coverage of political party manifestos, town hall election debates and radio interviews. The study was written utilising the theoretical paradigm of Social Responsibility Theory, as this is largely deemed the most ethical guide in testing South African journalism. The research was conducted in accordance with the Independent Complaints Authority of South Africa (ICASA) regulations that govern broadcast media during elections. The second part of the analysis deconstructed the SABC’s media coverage of the 2014 election through Media Monitoring Africa – a non-profit organisation that monitors and reports on media coverage of elections, whilst simultaneously taking ICASA stipulated guidelines into account. The MMA and ICASA equipped the study with reports which were compiled after an intense monitoring of SABC’s coverage of the 2014 election. Through the analysis of political parties’ accessibility to the election broadcast programmes on SABC platforms, the study concluded that although there were errors, the SABC treated all parties fairly during the 2014 general elections. The study also found that poor corporate governance at the SABC did not impact directly on the public broadcaster’s ability to deliver fair election broadcasting. By conforming to the social responsibility role that calls for high professional conduct, fairness and objectivity as expected in the public broadcaster, this study found that the SABC was committed to a fair coverage of the 2014 election.

This thesis examines the 1998 complaint of racism against the Mail & Guardian, a leading exponent of South Africa's alternative press in the 1980s, and important contemporary producer of investigative journalism. The study is framed within a cultural studies approach, analysing the Mail & Guardian as constituted by a 'circuit of production': its social context, production, texts, and audiences. The thesis makes three main arguments. First, that the claim of racism cannot be understood outside of a consideration of both the changing political milieu, and subtle changes within the Mail & Guardian itself. Significant social changes relate to the reconfiguration of racial and class identities wrought by the 'Mbeki state'. Within the Mail & Guardian, the thesis argues for the importance of the power and subjectivity of the editor as a key 'factor' shaping the identity of the paper, evidenced in its production practices and textual outputs. In this regard, the thesis departs from a functionalist analysis of particular 'roles' within the newsroom, drawing instead on a post-structuralist approach to organisational studies. Based on this production and social context, the thesis examines key texts which deal with aspects of South Africa's social transformation, and which exemplify aspects of the Mail & Guardian's reporting which led to the complaint of racism by the Black Lawyers Association (BLA) and the Association of Black Accountants (ABASA). Their complaint was that the Mail & Guardian's reporting impugned the dignity of black people, and in so doing was a violation of their rights to dignity and equality which are constitutionally guaranteed. However, as freedom of the press is also guaranteed by the South African constitution, their complaint to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) resulted in public debate about these contending rights. My second argument relates to the jurisprudential approach to racism, and the related issue of affirmative action, which informed the complaint against the paper. Contrary to the 'normative', liberal approach to these issues, this thesis highlights Critical Race Theory as the jurisprudential basis for both the claimants' accusation of racism against the Mail & Guardian, and aspects of its implicit use in South African human rights adjudication. The thesis argues that in failing to recognise these different philosophical and political bases of legal reasoning, the media, including the Mail & Guardian, in reporting on these matters failed in their purported role of serving the public interest. The thesis concludes by applying Fraser's critique of Habermas's notion of a single, bourgeois public sphere to journalism, thereby suggesting ways in which the critiques of some of the Mail & Guardian's own journalists could be employed to enlarge its approach to journalism - giving voice to constituencies seldom heard in mainstream media.

This research focuses on the controversy surrounding the exhibition and media publication of Brett Murray’s painting, The Spear of the Nation (May 2012). It takes the form of a qualitative Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), underpinned by Fairclough’s (1995) three-dimensional approach, to investigate how the contesting discourses articulated by the ruling political party (the ANC) and the news media have been negotiated in the City Press coverage in response to the painting. While the contestation was fought ostensibly on constitutional grounds, it arguably serves as an illustrative moment of the deeply ideological debate occurring in South Africa between the government and the national media industry regarding media diversity, transformation and democracy. It points to the lines of fracture in the broader political and social space. Informed by Foucault’s conceptualisation of discourse and the role of power in the production of knowledge and ‘truth’, this study aims to expose the discourses articulated and contested in order to make inferences about the various ‘truths’ the ANC and the media make of the democratic role of the press in a contemporary South Africa. The sample consists of five reports intended to represent the media’s responses and four articles that prominently articulate the ANC’s responses. The analysis, which draws on strategies from within critical linguists and media studies, is confined to these nine purposively sampled from the City Press online newspaper texts published between 13 May 2012 and 13 June 2012. Findings suggest the ANC legitimise expectations for the media to engage in a collaborative role in order to serve the ‘national interest’. Conversely, the media advocate for a monitorial press to justify serving the ‘public interest’. This research is envisioned to be valuable for both sets of stakeholders in developing richer understandings relevant to issues of any regulation to be debated. It forms part of a larger project on Media Policy and Democracy which seeks to contribute to media diversity and transformation, and to develop the quality of democracy in South Africa.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2001.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: During the course of the 20th century the press played an absolutely crucial role as a source of information, a medium of communication and propaganda, educator, critic, public watchdog and in forming and influencing opinion. In this respect the press may also be regarded as a reflection of South African society. This study investigates the role that the press played and the influence that it exercised in the political and economic mobilisation of the organised labour movement during the period 1908 to 1924. In view of the racial divisions that have prevailed in South Africa, the focus here is specifically on the white labour movement, because it was this manifestation of the organised labour force that virtually dominated the first few decades of the twentieth century. During this time the black labour movement was still to a large extent under-developed and began to emerge only around the 1920s. Organised labour flourished during the period under review. This period is characterised as one of political turbulence, as well as of large scale and serious industrial unrest, as part of the cathartic process in which the relationship between the state and its subjects in the field of labour took shape. The study adopts as its point of departure the year 1908, when the National Convention began its deliberations on the unification of South Africa, which in turn led to the official founding of the South African Labour Party in October 1909. The Labour Party operated independently until 1924, when the alliance between the National Party and the Labour Party won the election held in that year and formed the Pact coalition government. From an economic point of view there were two clear positions. On the one hand, there were the so-called establishment press organizations. These included Afrikaans-language newspapers, although - because of their ethnic commitments - they were strongly in favour of the protection of the economic position of the Afrikaner workers. On the other hand, there were anti-capitalist press organisations that wished to promote proactive steps in favour of the workers, which in tum often resulted in industrial conflict in the form of strikes. These tensions in the economic terrain spilled over into the political sphere elections, and here too the press played a central role in the often tense relationship between state and subject. In order to understand a meaningful analysis of the social role of the press, the following press organs and study materials were selected: The Star was the mouthpiece of the powerful Witwatersrand gold-mining industry. Die Burger and Ons Vaderland played a great role in the political and economic mobilisation of the Afrikaner working class whose sympathies lay with the National Party. The following labour-orientated and socialist papers reflected and interpreted the political and economic points of view of the labour movement in the period 1908 - 1924: Voice of Labour, The Worker, The Eastern Record, The Evening Chronicle, The War on War Gazette, The International, The Labour World, The Bolshevik and The Guardian. In addition, the role of a number of extremist strike newspapers In mobilising workers during the strikes of 1913, 1914 and 1922, is also investigated. The press played an important role in exposing a number of cardinal issues that dominated the discourse within the labour movement to greater public criticism and discussion. The effect of this was to raise the struggle between labour and capital for hegemony in the political and economic life of South Africa - as happened every time during election campaigns - to the level of the national political debate. Furthermore, the press, and specifically the right-wing labour and left-wing socialist press organs, also reflected the deep ideological divisions in the labour movement. In this respect, it was particularly the views of these press organs on race and the place of black people in the industrial dispensation that determined and influenced their political creeds. The mobilising power of the press was vividly illustrated by the strike papers. By propounding militant extremism these papers often succeeded in sweeping up industrial unrest among workers to the level of violence, which meant that the authorities were compelled to suppress these publications by means of martial law proclamations. It is probable that the SALP, and especially the socialist organisations, on the periphery of the political spectrum, would not have survived for long in South African politics without the communicative support of their mouthpieces.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Gedurende die 20ste eeu het die pers, as bron van inligting, kommunikasie- en propagandamedium, opvoeder, kritikus, openbare waghond en meningsvormer en -beihvloeder, 'n uiters belangrike samelewingsrol vertolk. In hierdie opsig kan die pers ook as 'n weerspieeling van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing beskou word. Hierdie studie ondersoek die rol wat die pers gespeel het en die invloed wat dit as openbare memngsvormer met betrekking tot die politieke en ekonomiese mobilisasie van die georganiseerde arbeiderbeweging gedurende die tydperk 1908 tot 1924 uitgeoefen het. Gegewe die historiese rasseverdeeldheid in Suid-Afrika, is daar spesifiek op die blanke arbeiderbeweging gekonsentreer, aangesien dit die arbeidsterrein gedurende die eerste paar dekades van die twintigste eeu feitlik oorheers het. Die swart arbeiderbeweging was in daardie stadium nog grootliks onderontwikkeld en het eers om en by die twintigerjare begin ontwaak. Die betrokke tydperk was 'n tydperk van hoogbloei VIr die georganiseerde blanke arbeiderbeweging. Dit word veral gekenmerk as 'n tydperk van politieke onstuirnigheid, asook van groot en ernstige endemiese nywerheidsonrus en konflik, as dee 1van 'n katarsis waardeur die verhouding tussen staat en onderdaan op die arbeidsterrein uitgekristalliseer het. Die vertrekpunt van die studie is 1908, toe die sittings van die Nasionale Konvensie met die oog op die unifikasie van Suid-Afrika 'n aanvang geneem het en ook aanleiding gegee het tot die amptelike stigting van die Suid-Afrikaanse Arbeidersparty in Oktober 1909. Dit strek tot 1924, toe die verkiesingsalliansie van die Nasionale Party en die Arbeidersparty die oorwinning by die stembus behaal en die Pakt-koalisieregering gevorm het. Vanuit 'n ekonomiese oogpunt gesien, was daar twee duidelike stellingnamens. Enersyds was daar die sogenaamde establishment-persorgane. Hieronder ressorteer ook Afrikaanstalige koerante, alhoewel hulle as gevolg van 'n etniese verbondenheid sterk ten gunste van die beskerming van die ekonomiese posisie van die Afrikanerwerkers was. Andersyds was daar anti-kapitalistiese persorgane wat 'n pro-aktiewe optrede ten behoewe van die werkers, wat dikwels op nywerheidskonflik in die vorm van stakings uitgeloop het wou bevorder. Hierdie gespannenheid op ekonomiese terrein het oorgespoel na die politieke sfeer van verkiesings en ook daarin het die pers, in die dikwels gespanne verhouding tussen owerheid en onderdaan, 'n sentrale rol gespeel. Ten einde 'n sinvolle ontleding van die samelewingsrol van die pers te kon doen, is die volgende persorgane as studiemateriaal geselekteer: The Star was die mondstuk van die magtige kapitalistiese, Witwatersrandse goudmynindustrie. Die Burger en Ons Vaderland het 'n groot rol in die politieke en ekonomiese mobilisasie van die Nasionaalgesinde Afrikanerwerkersklas vervul. Die volgende arbeider- en sosialistiese blaaie het die politieke en ekonomiese uitgangspunte van die arbeiderbeweging in die tydperk 1908 tot 1924 weerspieel en vertolk: Voice of Labour, The Worker, The Eastern Record, The Evening Chronicle, The War on War Gazette, The International, The Labour World, The Bolshevik en The Guardian. Daarby is ook die mobiliseringsrol wat 'n aantal ekstremistiese stakersblaaie in die stakings van 1913, 1914 en 1922 gespeel het, ondersoek. Die pers het 'n belangrike rol gespeel om 'n aantal kardinale kwessies, wat die diskoers binne die arbeidergeledere oorheers het, ook aan groter openbare kritiek en bespreking bloot te stel. Sodoende is die stryd tussen arbeid en kapitaal om die hegemonie van die Suid-Afrikaanse politieke en ekonomiese lewe byvoorbeeld telkens tydens verkiesingsveldtogte tot die nasionale debat verhef. Daarbenewens het die pers, spesifiek by monde van die regse arbeider- en linkse sosialistiese persorgane, ook die diepe ideologiese verdeeldheid in arbeidergeledere weerspieel. In hierdie opsig was dit veral hulle rassebeskouings en die posisie van die swart man in die nywerheidsbestel wat die politieke credo van hierdie persorgane bepaal en befuvloed het. Die mobiliseringsmag van die pers is treffend dem stakerblaaie gemustreer. Dem militante ekstremisme te verkondig, kon sodanige blaaie dikwels daarin slaag om nywerheidsonrus onder werkers tot die vlak van geweld op te sweep sodat die owerheid dan genoop was om hierdie publikasies dem middel van Krygswetproklamasies te onderdruk. Synde op die periferie van die politieke spektrum, sou die SAAP, en veral die sosia1istiese organisasies, sonder kommunikatiewe ondersteuning van hulle spreekbuise waarskynlik slegs 'n kortstondige politieke bestaan in die Suid-Afrikaanse politiek gevoer het.

The arts in many countries, but particularly in developing ones, are coming under increasing financial pressure and finding it difficult to justify the increases in government funding needed to maintain and grow the cultural sector. The trend in cultural economics, as well as in other areas, appears to be towards including qualitative valuations, as well as the more traditional quantitative ones. This thesis argues that the value of cultural events should include long term historical qualitative analysis, financial or economic impact and a valuation of the positive externalities provided by cultural events and that any one of these should only be regarded as a partial analysis. Four methods of valuing the arts using the South African National Arts Festival (NAF) as an example are demonstrated. Firstly, a qualitative historical analysis of the role of the NAF in South Africa’s transformation process from Apartheid to the democratic New South Africa is examined, using theories of cultural capital as a theoretical basis. It is argued that the value of cultural events needs to take into account long-term influences especially in countries undergoing political and social transformation. The second valuation method applied is the traditional economic impact study. Four economic impact studies conducted on the NAF are discussed and methodologies compared. It is concluded that, despite the skepticism of many cultural economists, the method can provide a useful partial valuation and may also be used for effective lobbying for government support of the arts. Chapter four discusses willingness to pay studies conducted at the NAF in 2000 and 2003 (as well as a pilot study conducted at the Klein Karoo Nationale Kunstefees). It is found that lower income and education groups do benefit from the positive externalities provided by the Festival and that this is reflected in their willingness to pay to support it. It is also argued that such contingent valuation studies can provide a reasonably reliable valuation of Festival externalities, but that they may be partly capturing current or future expected financial gains as well. Finally, the relatively new choice experiment methodology (also called conjoint analysis) is demonstrated on visitors to the NAF. The great advantage of this method in valuing cultural events is that it provides part-worths of various Festival attributes for different demographic groups. This enables organizes to structure the programme in such a way as to attract previously excluded groups and to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each part of the Festival.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.
Bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When South African President Thabo Mbeki began doubting that HIV was the cause of AIDS in the late 1990s, failed to provide AIDS medication and stalled its introduction, openly supported HIV pseudoscientists and doubted HIV statistics, one of the most widely reported debates in the country’s history emerged. When two independent 2008 studies found that the death of approximately 330 000 South Africans could have been prevented between 1999 and 2007 if President Mbeki’s HIV policy made provision for AIDS medication, the AIDS debate was re-introduced, and it was these findings that provided the motivation for this study. The purpose of this study was to provide a historical perspective on HIV reporting in the media during Mbeki’s presidency in order to answer how the media reflected and reported on his HIV policy, and also to provide possible reasons for the way the media reported on the matter. Research has shown that the government (particularly President Mbeki and his health ministers) and AIDS social movement organisations (particularly the Treatment Action Campaign [TAC]) were the main actors framing the AIDS epidemic in South Africa. Thus, this study examined the media’s HIV trail in reporting on these actors’ responses and counter-responses by means of content analysis. Qualitative analysis, in the form of questionnaires sent to health journalists who reported on HIV during this period, was completed in order to provide the possible reasons for the media’s reporting style. During the content analysis it was found that the media reporting was mostly positive towards the TAC and mostly critical towards Mbeki and his government, and the results of the questionnaires verified this, but also provided reasons why the media were mostly critical of Mbeki and his government. One principal reason was that the government’s policies on HIV were so blatantly contrary to scientific evidence and medically unethical that it was the media’s duty to fulfil their watchdog and surveillance role.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Toe die Suid-Afrikaanse president, Thabo Mbeki, in die laat jare negentig begin het om die oorsaak van VIGS in twyfel te trek, daarin misluk het om VIGS-medikasie te verskaf en produksie daarvan vertraag het, en openlik MIV-pseudowetenskaplikes ondersteun het en MIV-statistiek bevraagteken het, het ’n debat met moontlik van dié wydste nuusdekking in die geskiedenis van die land posgevat. Die VIGS-debat het weer op die voorgrond beland nadat twee onafhanklike studies in 2008 bevind het sowat 330 000 Suid-Afrikaners se dood kon tussen 1999 en 2007 vermy gewees het indien president Mbeki se MIV-beleid voorsiening gemaak het vir die verskaffing van VIGS-medikasie. Hierdie bevindinge het die motivering vir die studie verskaf. Die doel van hierdie studie was om ’n historiese perspektief van die mediadekking van MIV tydens Mbeki se presidentskap te verskaf om sodoende vas te stel hoe die media die debat oor Mbeki se MIV-beleid weerspieël het, maar ook om die redes te bepaal vir die manier waarop die media oor die kwessie berig het. Navorsing het getoon die regering (spesifiek president Mbeki en sy gesondheidsministers) en aktivistegroepe (spesifiek die Treatment Action Campaign [TAC]) was die hoofkarakters betrokke by die fokussering van die VIGS-epidemie in Suid-Afrika. Dus het hierdie studie probeer om die media se MIV-spore met betrekking tot beriggewing oor hierdie akteurs se stellings en reaksies deur middel van inhoudanalise te bestudeer. Kwalitatiewe analise in die vorm van vraelyste wat aan gesondheidsjoernaliste gestuur is wat in hierdie tydperk beriggewing oor MIV gedoen het, is gebruik om moontlike redes te verskaf vir die manier van beriggewing. Tydens die inhoudanalise is bevind dat mediadekking meestal positief teenoor die TAC was en meestal negatief teenoor Mbeki en sy regering. Die resultate van die vraelyste het dít bevestig, en redes verskaf waarom die media meestal krities was teenoor Mbeki en sy regering. Een van die vernaamste redes was dat die regering se beleidsrigtings met betrekking tot MIV so blatant teen wetenskaplike bewyse gekant was en boonop medies oneties was, dat dit juis die media se plig was om die rol van waghond te speel.

The specific instances of R.H.W. Shepherd and H.I.E. Dhlomo are used in this thesis to investigate some of the many factors that influence the formation of a colonial literature, such as politics, social structures and personal ideals. By isolating the Lovedale Mission Press ~s a "contact zone" - a·place where the cultures of the colonizer and the colonized come into direct contact with each other - it is possible to trace how the interaction between these cultures shaped the writing of a particular African writer, H.I.E. Dhlomo. This is done through an analysis of historical factors that shaped the policy of the Lovedale Mission Press in the twentieth century: the development of liberalism in South Africa, the·role of the missionary in African education, the function ofa liberal magazine such as The South African Outlook and the appointment of an ambitious missionary, R.I.W. Shepherd, to the position of Director of Publications. This necessarily included a study of Shepherd's vision of African literature. On the other hand, this study takes cognisance of the factors that shaped Herbert Dhlomo's vision of literature: the development of African nationalism, the entrenchment of segregation as a politial doctrine, and most importantly, his struggle to have his creative writing published by the Lovedale Press. It is shown how Shepherd's vision of what African literature should entail contrasted with Dhlomo's, and how, as a result, Dhlomo deliberately structured his critical writing as a response to Shepherd's Eurocentric approach to African literature.

Research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, towards a 33% fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Security). 11 November 2016.
South Africa, like other liberal democracies worldwide, is characterised by constant tension between government and the media, particularly the press. At the centre of the tension is the need by government to maintain a certain level of state secrecy on the grounds of national security on the one hand, and the need for transparency and the right of access to information on the other. Both these rights are provided for in international and local statutory instruments. Press reports about an alleged secret procurement by South Africa’s Department of Defence of a spy satellite have also heightened the tension. The purpose of the research is to explore the nature of the tension through a case study focusing on some national newspapers. The study examines if the South African press, which, when it dispensed information to the public, published sensitive state information that detrimentally impacted national security. This research shows that in some instances local newspapers published classified and sensitive information relating to national security. Although a court of law is the proper organ to determine whether the press contravened the law by publishing sensitive security information, the disclosure arguably prejudiced the national security interests of South Africa.
MT2018

A research report submitted to the School of Literature, Language and Media in the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Journalism and Media Studies by combination of coursework and research, Johannesburg, 2016
This research report examines news media representation of political leadership and governance in South Africa between 2007 and 2013, when President Jacob Zuma served his first terms as ANC leader and later as the head of state. The research sought to find out what themes and ideas exist about political leadership in news media more than 20 years since the advent of democracy. Quantitative manifest content analysis is utilised to analyse newspaper articles from the City Press, Mail & Guardian, the Sunday Independent and the Sunday Times. The results show that media representation of political leadership is most discussed in opinion articles and editorials and relies on key democratic concepts such as freedom of expression and freedom of the media. The key themes and ideas that emerge include the personalisation of leadership, defining leadership, debate on how to lead, Zuma’s own leadership traits versus expectations and it became clear that news media evaluated Zuma as head of state or leader of the nation more often than as president of his party.
XL2018

M.A. (Politics)
This study represents an empirical inquiry into the attitudes of South African Members of Parliament towards the credibility of the South African press. The study was conducted in the field of Political Science, but literature from the field of Communication Science was also used to explain certain aspects of mass media behaviour and political communication. In any governmental system political leaders are the most important people in the decision-making process. In most societies with a high level of technological development the mass media is the primary and most frequently used instrument for disseminating information and influencing public opinion. It can be used very effectively by political leaders to make contact with the electorate. Chapter One deals with the research problem of the study. Political leaders in South Africa are confronted by a specific reality when reading different newspapers. This reality is one created by the criteria of newsworthiness and editorial policy, as well as by the political interests of newspapers. This study attempts to determine to what extent political leaders. experience this reality of newspaper reporting as credible. This question is answered by an analysis of the attitudes of South African MPs toward the credibility of the press. The interaction between the political leader and the press is the most important aspect of the theoretical framework for this study. Different dimensions of this relationship are analysed. Influence is regarded as one of the major concepts in this relationship. In the communication process the relationship of influence between sender and receiver is of major importance. This relationship consists of the following elements: (1) the situation or context in which the communication occurs; (2) communicator or message characteristics; (3) receiver characteristics; (4) effects. To isolate certain of these...

This dissertation investigates print media reporting on the Jacob Zuma case to establish levels of bias, if any, in reporting such a high profile political case. The study is premised on the concept of social construction of reality where values and preferences could colour the perception of facts. The use of both ethnographic and quantitative content analysis allowed for the systematic investigation of the content of newspaper articles while the use of discourse analysis highlighted the importance of language use in the social construction of reality. Under apartheid the media was critical of government both ideologically and morally. The print media had a liberal democratic ethos and generally defended the underdog. This has been carried over into the democratic dispensation. The implication of the Deputy President of the country and the brother of the Secretary of the Arms Procurement Committee in corruption hit the nerve of the press, hence the vigilant reporting on the case. The media generally painted a picture of Zuma as a corrupt man not fit to be in public office with his implication in corruption being perceived as a threat to the country's democratic ethos. The view was that this undermined democratic principles of equality, justice and accountability. On the contrary COSATU, SACP and the ANCYL mobilised the public in support of Zuma arguing that the charges were instituted by vindictive opponents who wanted to destroy Zuma's political career. The NPA's conduct during the case including its failure to provide Zuma with a final indictment in over a year arguing that it was not prepared to continue with the case thus seeking a postponement - gave credence to the conspiracy theorists. At the end, the NP A conceded the conspiracy theory on the representation made by Zuma following leaked conversations between National Prosecuting Authority (NP A) boss Leonard McCarthy and former National Director of Public Prosecutions, Bulelani Ngcuka. This in essence brought a non-conclusive end to the saga as the allegations and the defence therefore could not be tested in a court of law.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2011.

his project adopts a coherent framework developed to enable assessment of the performance of the press in upholding democracy. The framework was developed by Pippa Norris for a developed world context, but proved by this project to be equally applicable in the developing world context of South Africa. The main functions of the press in relation to elections for public office are deemed to be facilitating pluralistic competition, public participation and the protection of civil liberties and political rights. The main research method employed in this project is content analysis; applied to press coverage of the election of 2004, but the results are correlated through interviews subjected to narrative analysis. The sample for the study includes a wide range of newspapers, from catch-all publications to publications with more segmented readerships and from provincial to national circulation newspapers. Despite the differences in the profiles of the various newspapers, the cross-title press election coverage in the case of the 2004 South African general election was internally very similar indeed. All publications covered the African National Congress more than the other parties and all gave the ANC much more parity between positive and negative coverage than the other parties. The Democratic Alliance and the Inkatha Freedom Party received a negative slant in the coverage over all. The Independent Democrats experienced the opposite. The publications had different directional bias in their editorial coverage to the one presented in the letters to the editor. The publications gave similar amounts of practical information to voters and only to a very small degree did they explicitly encourage people to get directly involved in the electoral context, for example by casting their ballot. All publications focused strategically on the electoral context and all allowed a few dominating themes to run through their coverage. The press carried a relatively small number of watchdog-category articles. While the benchmarks in the framework employed proved very useful indeed in uncovering characteristics of the election coverage provided by the press, uncovering determining factors behind the coverage was not an aim of this study, even though theoretical perspectives on some of the background to the coverage are discussed. Given that this is, to the best knowledge of the author, the first application of the employed framework to a specific case of media coverage, the results are just that, a first set ofbenchmarks. Only future research can determine if the results obtained here indicate that the press did well, or badly, in upholding their role in democracy when covering the 2004 general election in South Africa.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2004.

Housing delivery has been in a state of crisis long before the realisation of democracy in South Africa and still remains a point of contention for the poor. Issues of service delivery, particularly housing delivery, have consistently made newspaper headlines in post-apartheid South Africa. Between 2004 and 2012, service delivery protests increased from 34% in 2005 to 173% in 2012. The City Press, a weekly newspaper, focused on the coverage of issues of development in South Africa, emerging as an important voice in reporting on citizen action related to service delivery in the country during this time. Therefore, the principal objective of this study was to investigate the City Press representation of citizen action on housing delivery in South Africa between 2005 and 2015. With a view to providing insight into the role of the media in development, this study employed qualitative research methodology. Qualitative content analysis was utilised in studying the City Press editorials and the City Press individual journalist’ opinion pieces and the newspaper news reports. In addition, past and present City Press journalists identified with reporting on developmental issues were interviewed. The development communication theory was explored as an appropriate theoretical framework for this study, The investigation of the City Press representation of citizen action on housing delivery found that there were several complex issues and processes that negatively impacted the process of housing delivery during the second decade of South African democracy, including a scourge of corruption driven by inefficiencies administration of the housing delivery process. In that respect the study revealed that housing delivery has been hindered by many aspects, resulting in tensions and a strained relationship between the government and the poor citizens of South Africa. Furthermore, the study established that the City Press individual journalists played a significant role in the representation of citizen action through portraying housing delivery protests at key moments when these happened.
Communication Science
D. Lit. Phil. (Communication)

M.A. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities (Journalism and Media Studies), 2012
South Africa obtained a new constitution in 1994 that enshrined the right to sexual orientation, race and gender equality, as well as – crucially – ensuring the “freedom of the press and other media”. However, consequent national debates appear to indicate that the country is still grappling with issues of sexual orientation and of sexual practices. It is against the complexity of this background that this research examines – through a focus on reported conflict over South Africa’s blood transfusion service – how certain debates and controversies around issues of race and sexual orientation arose and played out in the media. The editorials and opinion pieces of both The Star and The Citizen newspapers were more than mere platforms for debates to unfold upon. While both publications did undoubtedly provide a seemingly neutral platform for the two controversies to play themselves out, which included ample input from their readers, both publications from their editorial position intervened in a wide range of editorials, opinion pieces, commentaries and one cartoon. Thus, in fact, they played a powerful role in the curating manipulation of the debates.

M.A. University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Humanities (Journalism and Media Studies), 2012
The relationship between governments and the media has historically been an antagonistic one, and investigative journalism – the material manifestation of the role of the press as fourth estate – is central to this antagonism. In their capacity as the fourth estate, those newspapers that pursue and publish investigative journalism stand in opposition to government. Governments have responded to this opposition in a variety of ways; mostly, however, by way of legislated censorship of the press. In South Africa, the legislation that regulated what newspapers could print under apartheid was unusually vast. In spite of this, major exposés of government corruption – and worse – were seen on the front pages of those publications that pursue investigations into political malfeasance. In South Africa’s post-apartheid democracy, with constitutional protection of the freedom of expression, there has been increasing evidence of what Jackson has called the “embedded qualities of intolerance and secrecy” (1993: 164) in the state’s response to revelations of corruption in the press, culminating in the Protection of State Information Bill that was passed in Parliament in November 2011. The passing of the Bill has resulted in widespread concern about the possibility of legislated, apartheid-style censorship of the media and freedom of expression. I interviewed five editors who were part of exposing state corruption during and after apartheid, in order to establish what motivates their decisions to keep on printing stories that brings them into conflict with the political powers of the day, in spite of the financial consequences for their publications. Regardless of the different political landscapes, the strategies that they followed in order to keep on publishing were remarkably similar, as is their reason for continuing to publish investigative stories: they believe it embodies the role of the press in a democracy. Indicators are that editors will keep on publishing, in spite of attempts by the government to gag the press.

A Dissertation present in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Arts Degree in the Political Studies, Faculty of Humanities at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016
Pending legislation in South Africa in the form of the Protection of State Information Bill presents an unprecedented threat to freedom of the press in post-apartheid South Africa. Like most countries globally, there have been tensions between the ruling party, which represents the state and the media, who argue that freedom of the press is critical to democracy. Both are institutions that consider their presence essential elements in a democratic regime. There is a fine line between censorship and self-regulation. But equally important is the need to balance rights to privacy with information that is in the public interest. In a country seen to have one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, enshrining freedom of the press, there are, however, still many questions around the media and where they ideally fit into society. Should they be the watchdog? Should they be a mouthpiece? And 22 years into democracy, how free are they to choose which role they prefer? With the freedom of expression war between the media and the ruling party continuing to play out in South Africa, the challenge lies in understanding what role the media has in efforts to entrench democracy.
MT2017

Text in Afrikaans
It has become clear that the continued existence of the Afrikaner in the 21st century will demand a recontextualisation of the identity and values attached to being an Afrikaans-speaking South African in a post-apartheid South Africa. Various institutions and intellectuals are already busy with this process. The study used the social phenomenology of Alfred Schutz to describe and analyse the first steps taken in the recontextualisation of Afrikaner identity from the perspective of letter writers to the Afrikaans daily newspaper, Beeld. Phenomenology accepts that the world of everyday life is man's fundamental and pervasive reality. Schutz uses concepts like the social stock of knowledge, typifications and intersubjectivity to explain how people interpret their everyday reality so that it becomes meaningful to themselves and others in communication. The task of the phenomenologist would be to question the taken-for-grantedness of this life world and identify its underlying principles (or essences). The study found that, while the letter writers did adjust their typification of the Self, no fundamental review of their typification of the Other (black South Africans) took place. Letter writers managed to free themselves of the baggage of apartheid after De Klerk gave up power in 1990 and declared white South Africa ready for negotiations for a new democratic South Africa. Together with giving up power, letter writers also freed themselves from the aspect of Christian-nationalism which was one of the fundamental building blocks of Afrikanerskap. The Afrikaner of 2004 seems to be a white minority, proud of their language and culture, and fighting for their right to speak and hear Afrikaans. However, no major revision of the Other has taken place. The study will show that letter writers have adjusted their perception of blacks in so far as it became practically relevant to do so for survival in the new South Africa. Very few, if any, fundamental changes took place in terms of the perception of racial or cultural superiority.
Communication Science
M.A. (Communication)

Global research shows that media owners tend to influence the editorial direction of their newspapers. Such influence generally tends to be in line with the media owner’s economic and / or political interests. Naturally, this is a challenge because media is regarded as the fourth estate and is supposed to be an objective yet effective channel for the citizenry to make informed decisions about their world. The study seeks to find out if the owners of four daily newspapers in South Africa, based on their political proximity; may have influenced their newspapers to be biased in favour or against any of the three biggest political parties contesting the 2016 Local Government Elections. This study is an exploratory and descriptive content analysis based on an Agenda Setting theoretic framework – supported by framing analysis and game framing. Findings reveal the correlation between the media owner’s interests and the biased reporting within their respective newspaper. This suggests that although media may not be directly or explicitly forced to adopt a specific ideology, it can be argued that political relations with media owners can influence editorial decisions. Therefore, it can be inferred that media owners of The New Age, The Citizen and The Star influenced editorial content of their newspapers during the 2016 local government elections. Given the findings of this study and the elections scheduled for 2019 in South Africa, it is important for more political communication studies to be conducted in order to establish guidelines for unbiased news reporting across all media – including newspapers. Alternatively, to compel media owners to declare their bias towards and against specific political parties in each news content, upfront. Particularly important during election period, is the need for each media (including newspapers) to have an independent editor – potentially one from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to ensure that each piece of content produced is validated as bias or impartial.
Communication Science
M.A. (Communication Science)

PhD, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand,2011
This is a theoretical conceptual post-modern1 study which aims to elucidate the ANC’s democratic project through the prism of its relationship to the media. In turn, it aims to scrutinize events that have already occurred post-liberation in order to explore whether the free space of the media is steadily being impinged upon, and eroded and explore further, what ‘turns’ journalists made when under pressure from political forces. Whilst recognising that interlocking imperatives inform freedom and independence of the press, this study’s main focus is a political one. However, the issue of ownership is intrinsic to research on media ‘freedom’, particularly the concentration of ownership of the media and so, how commercial imperatives impact2 will be examined. Several theorists have been referred to in order to begin putting together a conceptual theoretical framework with which to clarify and account for the emergent pattern of discourse by the ANC on the media. The conceptual framework adumbrated here and employed in the analysis of the relationship of the ANC with the media draws heavily from Zizek, Mouffe and Butler, in particular. The concept of ‘resignifications’ comes from Butler, those of ‘Master signifier’ and ‘social fantasy’ from Zizek, and the conception of radical democracy from Mouffe. Use is made of these theoretical tools in order to account for the compulsion that characterizes certain discursive interventions on the media, which are always in some respect ‘inappropriate’ or in ‘excess’ of expectations. 1 Post-modern thinking has been influenced by Jacques Derrida, Michael Foucault, Jurgen Habermas, Soren Kierkegaard, Jean-Francois Lyotard and is characterised by fluidity, undecidability, openness, irony, parody as well a recognition of the world as a field of infinite interplay (McGrath, A: 1993: p456-60) 2 John Keane (1991) in The Media and Democracy is particularly useful in questioning how the concept of freedom of the press originated, but also how deregulation and commercial imperatives impact on the notions of democracy and freedom. Anton Harber wrote in a newspaper piece, Two fat ladies make a meal of it (2003: Business Day) that concentration of ownership - following the global trend – presents a danger to democracy, ‘leading to a homogenized and tepid media’.

Text in English
This thesis investigates whether or not the press reported unethically on South Africa’s 2014 General Elections in the weekly national newspapers the City Press, Sunday Times and the Mail & Guardian. This study was undertaken on the basis of the ongoing contention between the press and the state which has resulted in polarised positions between both institutions amid accusations of press bias. It has given voice to measures to regulate the press through a Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT) and proposed state regulation. This could negatively impact free speech, public interest and ultimately democracy. This researcher contends that this will not be in the best interest of South Africa. Through this study, it is argued that an ethical press that executes a libertarian duty to society, integrating a watchdog role over the state, while simultaneously overseeing its social responsibility to society, upholds the welfare of society and democracy and should therefore not be regulated by the state. The elections thus forms an important platform for the press to demonstrate unbiased ethical reportage to the state in the wake of being regulated and prove its fundamental role in society’s interest and democracy. Therefore, to determine whether the election coverage was ethical or unethical, the problem investigated whether the press, that is, the print medium in the form of the newspaper, reported truthfully, in a balanced manner and independently for South Africa’s 2014 General Elections, upholding its watchdog and social responsibility roles. This was done through a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) of the front-page news reports of the aforementioned national newspapers for the cross sectional time-frame of 13 April to 11 May, 2014. This study argues that language is the most important channel of communication for the exchange of ideas and can be used as an instrument to calculatedly manipulate message and reinforce a particular viewpoint. Hence, it contends that CDA can effectively be utilised as a conceptual framework for language analysis to determine unethical press coverage by journalists. The study identifies and applies two significant theoretical models that is, the Libertarian and Social Responsibility models for the elections which further serves as a form of triangulation to verify the results of the CDA. The study challenges the conventions of a distinct libertarian or a social responsibility model for the press, arguing that both models are not mutually exclusive for the elections. The analysis shows that the press apply both social responsibility and libertarian roles simultaneously in election reporting. It further maps out the incorporation of the developmental journalism model where the press upholds the best interests of both the electorate and the state ethically, without the requirement of a state-regulated media.
Communication Science
M.A. (Communication Science)

This study explored how social media are setting the agenda of the traditional media and re-defining the role of the journalists. Content analysis was done to analyse the coverage of Jacob Zuma stories in newspapers and on Facebook, from the 1st of February until the 30th of June 2018.The sample for the study was drawn from three local newspapers, the Citizen, the Sowetan, the NewAge (AfroVoice), as well as the Facebook page called #Zumamustfall. This was done to determine if newspapers which are traditional media were being influenced by social media in what stories to report on. Results from the study showed that social media are influential in building an agenda for the traditional media and in particular, with the Zuma story. In the same vein, it emerged that traditional and social media set the agenda for each other. Based on these findings the research recommends that other social media sites including Twitter be used in similar research to determine their effects on agenda setting of traditional media (newspapers).
Communication Science
M.A. (Communication Science)