"Making the News": a case study of East Cape News (ECN)
- Authors: Davidow, Audrey Beth
- Date: 1999
- Subjects: Reporters and reporting Reporters and reporting -- South Africa Attribution of news News agencies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3424 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002877
- Description: To fully comprehend the complex process of news making, we must first understand that the events we read about everyday in the newspaper are not merely a reflection of the world in which we live. News does not just happen. Rather, it is a socially constructed product in which events are “made to mean” (Hall, 1978). Thus, the news plays a fundamental role in shaping our interpretations of reality - our perceptions of the world as we know it. Informed by a structuralist approach to news making, this research provides a detailed ethnographic study of the determinants that shape and produce news in the South African print media. I provide examples of the influence various factors, operating at all levels, exert within the news making process. The research focuses on the news production process at East Cape News Pty. Ltd. (ECN) a small news agency operating in the peripheral news region of South Africa’s Eastern Cape. It considers the journalistic routines and interests of the ECN reporters; how these reporters select events and turn them into news, how they interpret their significance and how they formulate them as news stories. The research also considers the second stage of selection ECN news must pass before it is read by the public - the “gates” of external newspapers. In this section, the study is primarily concerned with which ECN news stories succeed past the gates of national newspapers as these are the newpapers that play an influential role in shaping national perceptions of the marginalised Eastern Cape region. A province burdened with devastating rural poverty, unstable government, and little economic growth, the Eastern Cape warrants little coverage from the national, Johannesburg-based news market. As a result, little news of the Eastern Cape is published nationally, further perpetuating the region’s perceived insignificance on a national level. This point also demonstrates the fact that news both shapes, and is shaped by, our ideologies. News, therefore is ideological (Fishman, 1977). My findings reinforce many of the observations of other media researchers informed by a structuralist approach in the field of news making. However, some elements of news making emerge which appear to be unique in terms of other studies of news making. These elements are primarily a result of ECN’s informal organisational structures which allow the journalists a greater level of autonomy than a larger more bureaucratic organisation might. Thus, in addition to considering the structures that shape the news, I also discuss the role of human agency in making the news.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1999
- Authors: Davidow, Audrey Beth
- Date: 1999
- Subjects: Reporters and reporting Reporters and reporting -- South Africa Attribution of news News agencies -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3424 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002877
- Description: To fully comprehend the complex process of news making, we must first understand that the events we read about everyday in the newspaper are not merely a reflection of the world in which we live. News does not just happen. Rather, it is a socially constructed product in which events are “made to mean” (Hall, 1978). Thus, the news plays a fundamental role in shaping our interpretations of reality - our perceptions of the world as we know it. Informed by a structuralist approach to news making, this research provides a detailed ethnographic study of the determinants that shape and produce news in the South African print media. I provide examples of the influence various factors, operating at all levels, exert within the news making process. The research focuses on the news production process at East Cape News Pty. Ltd. (ECN) a small news agency operating in the peripheral news region of South Africa’s Eastern Cape. It considers the journalistic routines and interests of the ECN reporters; how these reporters select events and turn them into news, how they interpret their significance and how they formulate them as news stories. The research also considers the second stage of selection ECN news must pass before it is read by the public - the “gates” of external newspapers. In this section, the study is primarily concerned with which ECN news stories succeed past the gates of national newspapers as these are the newpapers that play an influential role in shaping national perceptions of the marginalised Eastern Cape region. A province burdened with devastating rural poverty, unstable government, and little economic growth, the Eastern Cape warrants little coverage from the national, Johannesburg-based news market. As a result, little news of the Eastern Cape is published nationally, further perpetuating the region’s perceived insignificance on a national level. This point also demonstrates the fact that news both shapes, and is shaped by, our ideologies. News, therefore is ideological (Fishman, 1977). My findings reinforce many of the observations of other media researchers informed by a structuralist approach in the field of news making. However, some elements of news making emerge which appear to be unique in terms of other studies of news making. These elements are primarily a result of ECN’s informal organisational structures which allow the journalists a greater level of autonomy than a larger more bureaucratic organisation might. Thus, in addition to considering the structures that shape the news, I also discuss the role of human agency in making the news.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 1999
#KeepItReal: discursive constructions of authenticity in South African consumer culture
- Authors: Plüg, Simóne Nikki
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Consumer behavior Consumers' preferences -- South Africa Brand choice -- South Africa Marketing -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64973 , vital:28641
- Description: Writers as diverse as Oscar Wilde (1915), Matthew Arnold (1960), Erich Fromm (1997) and a proliferation of contemporary self-help gurus, variously assert that it is preferable for people to focus on “being”, or to value “who you are”, instead of emphasising “having” or the material possessions you have acquired. These discourses assert that individuals content with “being” are happier and more fulfilled than those involved in the constant (and alienating) motion of acquiring material goods as representations of themselves (de Botton, 2004; Fromm, 1997; James, 2007). This thesis provides an in-depth critical exploration of one of these ideal “ways of being”: authenticity. It does not seek to discover what authenticity is in an empirical sense, nor to define what it should be in a normative sense, but to map the cultural work done by changing and often contradictory discourses of personal authenticity. More specifically, this study uses a qualitative research design, social constructionist theoretical framework, and discourse analytic method to critically discuss the discursive constructions of subject authenticity in South African brand culture. The sample consisted of (1.) ten marketing campaigns of several large, mainstream brands, which were popular in South Africa from 2015 to 2017, and (2.) fifteen smaller South African “craft” brands popular in the “artisanal” context. The analysis is presented in two distinct, but interrelated, sections (namely, Selling Stories and Crafting Authenticity), where the relevant discourses of authenticity for each data set are explored in depth. Through this analysis the thesis provides a critical discussion of the ways in which these discourses of authenticity work to produce and maintain, (or challenge and subvert), subject positions, ideologies, and power relations that structure contemporary South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Plüg, Simóne Nikki
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Consumer behavior Consumers' preferences -- South Africa Brand choice -- South Africa Marketing -- South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64973 , vital:28641
- Description: Writers as diverse as Oscar Wilde (1915), Matthew Arnold (1960), Erich Fromm (1997) and a proliferation of contemporary self-help gurus, variously assert that it is preferable for people to focus on “being”, or to value “who you are”, instead of emphasising “having” or the material possessions you have acquired. These discourses assert that individuals content with “being” are happier and more fulfilled than those involved in the constant (and alienating) motion of acquiring material goods as representations of themselves (de Botton, 2004; Fromm, 1997; James, 2007). This thesis provides an in-depth critical exploration of one of these ideal “ways of being”: authenticity. It does not seek to discover what authenticity is in an empirical sense, nor to define what it should be in a normative sense, but to map the cultural work done by changing and often contradictory discourses of personal authenticity. More specifically, this study uses a qualitative research design, social constructionist theoretical framework, and discourse analytic method to critically discuss the discursive constructions of subject authenticity in South African brand culture. The sample consisted of (1.) ten marketing campaigns of several large, mainstream brands, which were popular in South Africa from 2015 to 2017, and (2.) fifteen smaller South African “craft” brands popular in the “artisanal” context. The analysis is presented in two distinct, but interrelated, sections (namely, Selling Stories and Crafting Authenticity), where the relevant discourses of authenticity for each data set are explored in depth. Through this analysis the thesis provides a critical discussion of the ways in which these discourses of authenticity work to produce and maintain, (or challenge and subvert), subject positions, ideologies, and power relations that structure contemporary South African society.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
A critical discourse analysis of the Daily Nation and the Standard’s news coverage of the 2007/2008 Kenyan elections
- Authors: Bradfield, Sarah-Jane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Elections -- Kenya Nairobi (Kenya) -- Newspapers Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya Kenya -- Politics and government , Discourse analysis Daily Nation (Nairobi, Kenya) Standard (Nairobi, Kenya)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63437 , vital:28411
- Description: This study investigates the Daily Nation and Standard’s news coverage of Kenya’s 2007/2008 general election and the unprecedented eruptions of violence which followed. This research responds to the question which came about as Kenyan print journalists and editors considered their role in possibly contributing to the violence, which took on an ethnic dimension. Vernacular radio has been fingered for having escalated longstanding ethnic tensions, but the role of the press has not been fully understood. In the aftermath of the violence, print journalists and editors met over a series of Round Table events in Nairobi to consider whether their conduct during the election could have encouraged violence. Although ten years have passed since this incidence, much of what happened within the Kenyan print media during and after the 2007/2008 general election remains unexplored and, largely, unexplained today. Although the pre- and post-election phases spanned months, my research is confined to purposive samples from a four-week period from 3 December 2007 to 4 January 2008. These four weeks were selected as they are roughly representative of the three phases of the national election which are considered significant to this study, namely the pre-election phase, the election, and the post-election violence. The research is concerned with analysing and understanding the coverage in the two dailies, the Daily Nation and Standard, and comparing the discursive work of the two, particularly in relation to identity and ethnicity. This study draws on cultural studies, critical discourse analysis and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The critical discourse analysis explores the discourses articulated during and after the election, with a particular focus on issues of identity, ethnicity and incitement. Through this process the study found that both publications avoided references to ethnicity, despite this being an important factor in Kenyan politics and voter behaviour. In analysing these issues the study found that while the publications might claim to attempt to avoid fuelling tensions by not reporting on ethnicity, the disavowal comprised a silence which positioned the press in a collaborative role, in which it colluded with a powerful Kenyan state. Although a significant amount of time has gone by since the 2007/2008 elections, this study still considers the event significant in understanding the conduct of journalists during times of violence, and specifically for the future of journalism in Kenya.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Bradfield, Sarah-Jane
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Elections -- Kenya Nairobi (Kenya) -- Newspapers Mass media -- Political aspects -- Kenya Kenya -- Politics and government , Discourse analysis Daily Nation (Nairobi, Kenya) Standard (Nairobi, Kenya)
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63437 , vital:28411
- Description: This study investigates the Daily Nation and Standard’s news coverage of Kenya’s 2007/2008 general election and the unprecedented eruptions of violence which followed. This research responds to the question which came about as Kenyan print journalists and editors considered their role in possibly contributing to the violence, which took on an ethnic dimension. Vernacular radio has been fingered for having escalated longstanding ethnic tensions, but the role of the press has not been fully understood. In the aftermath of the violence, print journalists and editors met over a series of Round Table events in Nairobi to consider whether their conduct during the election could have encouraged violence. Although ten years have passed since this incidence, much of what happened within the Kenyan print media during and after the 2007/2008 general election remains unexplored and, largely, unexplained today. Although the pre- and post-election phases spanned months, my research is confined to purposive samples from a four-week period from 3 December 2007 to 4 January 2008. These four weeks were selected as they are roughly representative of the three phases of the national election which are considered significant to this study, namely the pre-election phase, the election, and the post-election violence. The research is concerned with analysing and understanding the coverage in the two dailies, the Daily Nation and Standard, and comparing the discursive work of the two, particularly in relation to identity and ethnicity. This study draws on cultural studies, critical discourse analysis and normative theories of the media to inform the research project. The critical discourse analysis explores the discourses articulated during and after the election, with a particular focus on issues of identity, ethnicity and incitement. Through this process the study found that both publications avoided references to ethnicity, despite this being an important factor in Kenyan politics and voter behaviour. In analysing these issues the study found that while the publications might claim to attempt to avoid fuelling tensions by not reporting on ethnicity, the disavowal comprised a silence which positioned the press in a collaborative role, in which it colluded with a powerful Kenyan state. Although a significant amount of time has gone by since the 2007/2008 elections, this study still considers the event significant in understanding the conduct of journalists during times of violence, and specifically for the future of journalism in Kenya.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
An examination of activism and ‘political listening’ during the year of student protest at the University of Cape Town from 9 March 2015 to 9 March 2016
- Mufamadi, Azwihangwisi Eugene
- Authors: Mufamadi, Azwihangwisi Eugene
- Date: 2022-10-04
- Subjects: Student movements South Africa Cape Town , Democracy South Africa , Listening Political aspects , Journalistic ethics , Journalism Political aspects , Communication in social action South Africa Cape Town , University of Cape Town , Cape Times Ltd.
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327144 , vital:61085 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327144
- Description: This study sets out to examine democratic participation in South Africa and the role that ‘political listening’ could play in making participation more equitable. It considers protest action on a South African university campus, which at times not only resulted in significant and swift concessions from the university leadership but also sparked national political action which got an equally swift response from the South African government. It considers the social movement, the RhodesMustFall movement (RMF), as one way in which students can organise themselves to get a better hearing from the University of Cape Town (UCT) management in their attempt to make a meaningful contribution to the university’s micro democracy. This study examines whether the interaction between the UCT management and RMF could be considered ‘political listening’, and the possible role of the Cape Times newspaper within this context of participation. Using data gathered through interviews, written communications, observation and newspaper articles, the study shows that in all of the interactions between RMF and the UCT management, both groups were seldom willing to forego their power to engage in genuine listening. Instead, the two parties guessed at what power the other party might have and acted to reduce that power. It is in this context of guessing at and figuring what power the other party has that listening occurs. Furthermore, the study shows that during the RMF protest, the UCT management viewed their responsibility for the institution mainly through the lens of Private Property Law which framed protest as something to be dealt with by restoring law and order. The study also details the role of the Cape Times newspaper in the interactions between RMF and the UCT management and considers if this role could be political listening. The study is exploratory and demonstrates how political listening could work more optimally in real-life instances. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-04
- Authors: Mufamadi, Azwihangwisi Eugene
- Date: 2022-10-04
- Subjects: Student movements South Africa Cape Town , Democracy South Africa , Listening Political aspects , Journalistic ethics , Journalism Political aspects , Communication in social action South Africa Cape Town , University of Cape Town , Cape Times Ltd.
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Doctoral theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/327144 , vital:61085 , DOI 10.21504/10962/327144
- Description: This study sets out to examine democratic participation in South Africa and the role that ‘political listening’ could play in making participation more equitable. It considers protest action on a South African university campus, which at times not only resulted in significant and swift concessions from the university leadership but also sparked national political action which got an equally swift response from the South African government. It considers the social movement, the RhodesMustFall movement (RMF), as one way in which students can organise themselves to get a better hearing from the University of Cape Town (UCT) management in their attempt to make a meaningful contribution to the university’s micro democracy. This study examines whether the interaction between the UCT management and RMF could be considered ‘political listening’, and the possible role of the Cape Times newspaper within this context of participation. Using data gathered through interviews, written communications, observation and newspaper articles, the study shows that in all of the interactions between RMF and the UCT management, both groups were seldom willing to forego their power to engage in genuine listening. Instead, the two parties guessed at what power the other party might have and acted to reduce that power. It is in this context of guessing at and figuring what power the other party has that listening occurs. Furthermore, the study shows that during the RMF protest, the UCT management viewed their responsibility for the institution mainly through the lens of Private Property Law which framed protest as something to be dealt with by restoring law and order. The study also details the role of the Cape Times newspaper in the interactions between RMF and the UCT management and considers if this role could be political listening. The study is exploratory and demonstrates how political listening could work more optimally in real-life instances. , Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2022
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2022-10-04
An investigation of the discursive construction of the Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union as nation in the Union Day coverage in The Citizen and Daily News newspapers from 2005 to 2011
- Authors: Dotto, Paul Casmir Kuhenga
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Newspapers -- Research -- Tanzania , Press and politics -- Tanzania , Tanzania -- Politics and government -- 1964- , Zanzibar -- Politics and government -- 1964- , Press , Daily News , The Citizen , Union Day , Nation building
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3412 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001843
- Description: This study is concerned with the constructions of the Tanzanian nation in the press. It has confined its focus, first, to the coverage from 2005 to 2011 on Union Day that marks the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar and the formation of the United Republic of Tanzania and, second, to two prominent Tanzanian newspapers, namely the state-owned Daily News, and the privately-owned The Citizen on Union Day. As the Union remains a contentious issue, the relevance of this research relates to the press’s considerable power to shape understandings and influence attitudes. The study works within a broad cultural and media studies framework and is informed by a constructionist approach to representation and to culture, and to nation in particular. It also draws of journalistic theories of agenda-setting and the normative roles of the press to probe the agendas set by the press on Union Day and to interrogate how the two newspapers construct and frame the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar as nation. The research responds to the question: ‘How has the Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union been represented in The Citizen and Daily News newspapers from 2005 to 2011?’ It employs quantitative and qualitative (thematic) content analysis to investigate the coverage in the editorials and feature articles of The Citizen and Daily News newspapers on Union Day (26 April) of 2005 to 2011. This study finds that the government-owned newspaper, Daily News, publishes more articles related to Union on Union Day than the privately-owned, The Citizen and collaborates more determinedly with the state in the process of constructing the nation. However, both newspapers adopt a collaborative role consistent with the development journalism tradition that endorses an informal partnership between media and the state in the process of development (Christians et al, 2009:201). Both publications tend to emphasise the hegemonic ideology pertaining to Union while giving limited attention to challenges to such constructions. While both newspapers do identify certain problems of the Union and thus exercise a monitorial role to varying extents, it is apparent that the press in Tanzania tends to be largely acritical, perhaps attributable to a long period under single party rule
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Dotto, Paul Casmir Kuhenga
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Newspapers -- Research -- Tanzania , Press and politics -- Tanzania , Tanzania -- Politics and government -- 1964- , Zanzibar -- Politics and government -- 1964- , Press , Daily News , The Citizen , Union Day , Nation building
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3412 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001843
- Description: This study is concerned with the constructions of the Tanzanian nation in the press. It has confined its focus, first, to the coverage from 2005 to 2011 on Union Day that marks the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar and the formation of the United Republic of Tanzania and, second, to two prominent Tanzanian newspapers, namely the state-owned Daily News, and the privately-owned The Citizen on Union Day. As the Union remains a contentious issue, the relevance of this research relates to the press’s considerable power to shape understandings and influence attitudes. The study works within a broad cultural and media studies framework and is informed by a constructionist approach to representation and to culture, and to nation in particular. It also draws of journalistic theories of agenda-setting and the normative roles of the press to probe the agendas set by the press on Union Day and to interrogate how the two newspapers construct and frame the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar as nation. The research responds to the question: ‘How has the Tanganyika-Zanzibar Union been represented in The Citizen and Daily News newspapers from 2005 to 2011?’ It employs quantitative and qualitative (thematic) content analysis to investigate the coverage in the editorials and feature articles of The Citizen and Daily News newspapers on Union Day (26 April) of 2005 to 2011. This study finds that the government-owned newspaper, Daily News, publishes more articles related to Union on Union Day than the privately-owned, The Citizen and collaborates more determinedly with the state in the process of constructing the nation. However, both newspapers adopt a collaborative role consistent with the development journalism tradition that endorses an informal partnership between media and the state in the process of development (Christians et al, 2009:201). Both publications tend to emphasise the hegemonic ideology pertaining to Union while giving limited attention to challenges to such constructions. While both newspapers do identify certain problems of the Union and thus exercise a monitorial role to varying extents, it is apparent that the press in Tanzania tends to be largely acritical, perhaps attributable to a long period under single party rule
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Cellphones and whistles: Exploring the communicative ecology and sociality of the Enkanini informal settlement in Makhanda
- Authors: Baloyi, Karabo
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Communication models , Cell phones Social aspects South Africa Makhanda , Cell phones Economic aspects South Africa Makhanda , Squatter settlements South Africa Makhanda , South Africa Social conditions 1994- , South Africa Economic conditions 1991- , South Africa Social life and customs , Communication Economic aspects South Africa Makhanda , Whistles South Africa Makhanda , Decolonization South Africa Makhanda , Communicative ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191046 , vital:45053
- Description: This thesis explores the communicative ecology in the Enkanini informal settlement in Makhanda, and in particular their use of mobile phones and whistles to build a sense of community. It makes the case for word-of-mouth as an integral part of the communicative ecology despite not being a technological device. It then examines the sociality that arises from the use of these devices, and how coloniality impacts on the participants’ everyday experiences. The research was conducted through telephonic in-depth interviews with participants. To corroborate some of the content drawn from interviews, I used Grocott’s Mail, Makhanda’s only independent newspaper as an archival source, as well as some of the participants’ Facebook profiles. This research argues that as a consequence of coloniality, Enkanini’s residents suffer socio-economic challenges, and thus are unable to use digital technologies as much as they might like to, to communicate with their neighbours. As a consequence, word-of-mouth is their main form of communication with one another. Whistles are the ‘low-tech’ device used for community-wide communication to alert residents of an emergency, or about a meeting or protest. My findings contest generalised claims of society moving towards a network sociality, where individuality and project-based communication is valued over more communal forms of living. They also demonstrate the ways in which coloniality shapes almost every aspect of marginalised people’s lives, making word of mouth the most significant form of communication, notwithstanding the apparent availability of digital technology. It also shows how a marginalised group uses the resources it has to pressure local government officials to provide them with the basis infrastructure they need for survival. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Baloyi, Karabo
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Communication models , Cell phones Social aspects South Africa Makhanda , Cell phones Economic aspects South Africa Makhanda , Squatter settlements South Africa Makhanda , South Africa Social conditions 1994- , South Africa Economic conditions 1991- , South Africa Social life and customs , Communication Economic aspects South Africa Makhanda , Whistles South Africa Makhanda , Decolonization South Africa Makhanda , Communicative ecology
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/191046 , vital:45053
- Description: This thesis explores the communicative ecology in the Enkanini informal settlement in Makhanda, and in particular their use of mobile phones and whistles to build a sense of community. It makes the case for word-of-mouth as an integral part of the communicative ecology despite not being a technological device. It then examines the sociality that arises from the use of these devices, and how coloniality impacts on the participants’ everyday experiences. The research was conducted through telephonic in-depth interviews with participants. To corroborate some of the content drawn from interviews, I used Grocott’s Mail, Makhanda’s only independent newspaper as an archival source, as well as some of the participants’ Facebook profiles. This research argues that as a consequence of coloniality, Enkanini’s residents suffer socio-economic challenges, and thus are unable to use digital technologies as much as they might like to, to communicate with their neighbours. As a consequence, word-of-mouth is their main form of communication with one another. Whistles are the ‘low-tech’ device used for community-wide communication to alert residents of an emergency, or about a meeting or protest. My findings contest generalised claims of society moving towards a network sociality, where individuality and project-based communication is valued over more communal forms of living. They also demonstrate the ways in which coloniality shapes almost every aspect of marginalised people’s lives, making word of mouth the most significant form of communication, notwithstanding the apparent availability of digital technology. It also shows how a marginalised group uses the resources it has to pressure local government officials to provide them with the basis infrastructure they need for survival. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Centralising a counter public: an ethnographic study of the interpretation of mainstream news media by young adults in Joza
- Authors: Ponono, Mvuzo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: African National Congress Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa Press and politics -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 21st century Zuma, Jacob -- Political and social views , Political corruption -- 21st century Elections -- South Africa Voting -- South Africa Misconduct in office -- South Africa Abuse of administrative power -- South Africa Young adults -- Political activity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Young adults -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65033 , vital:28655
- Description: 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Ponono, Mvuzo
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: African National Congress Mass media -- Political aspects -- South Africa Press and politics -- South Africa , South Africa -- Politics and government -- 21st century Zuma, Jacob -- Political and social views , Political corruption -- 21st century Elections -- South Africa Voting -- South Africa Misconduct in office -- South Africa Abuse of administrative power -- South Africa Young adults -- Political activity -- South Africa -- Grahamstown Young adults -- Politics and government
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/65033 , vital:28655
- Description: 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Communicating in/from the Cave: a communication for development/social change project aimed at enhancing communication, action and learning within the science cave, a learner-led Grade 10 science club in a public school in Makhanda
- Authors: Bombi, Thandi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Communication in science -- South Africa , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Communication in science -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student centered learning -- South Africa , Student centered learning-- South Africa -- Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96837 , vital:31330
- Description: This research seeks to design, execute and reflect on a process where the principles and techniques of Communication for Development and Social Change are applied to enhance, support and develop qualitative changes within a learner-led Grade 10 science club at a public school in Makhanda. It draws and reflects on an ethnographic action research (Tacchi et al 2003) cycle proposed to explore the club’s communicative ecology (Foth & Hearn 2007) and resources, and understand how these have the potential to encourage the expression of voice (Couldry 2010: 580) and participation (Carpentier, 2011) in the members of the club. The research then attempts to understand the kind of communication, action and learning that takes place as well as the ways in which the framework is able to support the club (or not). The research uses an ethnographic narrative, told from the perspective of the researcher informed by field notes, interviews and participant reflections written during the intervention. This narrative, alongside an analytical summery of the club’s complex communicative ecology, tells the story of a club building confidence within a closed group and using that to connect with a wider public, articulating its needs, resources and potential supporting stakeholders for the club’s future development. The club is able to share its achievements with a community of peers and uses the platform of Facebook, to communicate with and inspire other like-minded people with an interest in science and their community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Bombi, Thandi
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa , Communication in science -- South Africa , Science -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Communication in science -- South Africa -- Makhanda , Student centered learning -- South Africa , Student centered learning-- South Africa -- Makhanda
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/96837 , vital:31330
- Description: This research seeks to design, execute and reflect on a process where the principles and techniques of Communication for Development and Social Change are applied to enhance, support and develop qualitative changes within a learner-led Grade 10 science club at a public school in Makhanda. It draws and reflects on an ethnographic action research (Tacchi et al 2003) cycle proposed to explore the club’s communicative ecology (Foth & Hearn 2007) and resources, and understand how these have the potential to encourage the expression of voice (Couldry 2010: 580) and participation (Carpentier, 2011) in the members of the club. The research then attempts to understand the kind of communication, action and learning that takes place as well as the ways in which the framework is able to support the club (or not). The research uses an ethnographic narrative, told from the perspective of the researcher informed by field notes, interviews and participant reflections written during the intervention. This narrative, alongside an analytical summery of the club’s complex communicative ecology, tells the story of a club building confidence within a closed group and using that to connect with a wider public, articulating its needs, resources and potential supporting stakeholders for the club’s future development. The club is able to share its achievements with a community of peers and uses the platform of Facebook, to communicate with and inspire other like-minded people with an interest in science and their community.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Configuring convergence : southern African websites looking at American experience
- Authors: Berger, Guy
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:535 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008553 , ISBN 0-86810-379-9
- Description: I want the Web to win. Africa’s news sites on the Internet need to succeed and survive. They’re a small guarantee against global marginalisation, and a critical intersection across our continent’s domestic divides. But the outlook is not good. At a conference I went to in Berkeley in April 2001, a venture capitalist had this to say: "If I were to make a speech on when there’ll be investment in new media again, it would be a rather short topic." The alarming closures and retrenchments at news websites in the USA are sending scary signals to our fledgling efforts back here. Starting and growing media enterprises of any sort in African conditions has never been easy. Long starved of investment, our cyberpublishing now faces even greater pressures as old media – newspapers, radio and TV – try to make ends meet under mounting threats. Advertising is shrinking, local costs are rising and currency falls are fuelling the price of imported production factors. Consumers have less cash to spend. Governments are giving even greater problems in some cases. Will we still be here in the morning, and in what condition? This booklet suggests the way forward is for new media to converge with selected partners, old media and new.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
- Authors: Berger, Guy
- Date: 2001
- Language: English
- Type: text
- Identifier: vital:535 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008553 , ISBN 0-86810-379-9
- Description: I want the Web to win. Africa’s news sites on the Internet need to succeed and survive. They’re a small guarantee against global marginalisation, and a critical intersection across our continent’s domestic divides. But the outlook is not good. At a conference I went to in Berkeley in April 2001, a venture capitalist had this to say: "If I were to make a speech on when there’ll be investment in new media again, it would be a rather short topic." The alarming closures and retrenchments at news websites in the USA are sending scary signals to our fledgling efforts back here. Starting and growing media enterprises of any sort in African conditions has never been easy. Long starved of investment, our cyberpublishing now faces even greater pressures as old media – newspapers, radio and TV – try to make ends meet under mounting threats. Advertising is shrinking, local costs are rising and currency falls are fuelling the price of imported production factors. Consumers have less cash to spend. Governments are giving even greater problems in some cases. Will we still be here in the morning, and in what condition? This booklet suggests the way forward is for new media to converge with selected partners, old media and new.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2001
Constructions of nationhood in secession debates related to Mthwakazi Liberation Front in Bulawayo's Chronicle and Newsday newspapers in 2011
- Authors: Ndlovu, Mphathisi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Newspapers , Bulawayo , Matabeleland , Zimbabwe , Chronicle , Newsday , Secession , Devolution , Nationhood , Ndebele , Ethnic identity , Mthwakazi Liberation Front , Mthwakazi Liberation Front -- Zimbabwe , Mass media and nationalism -- Research -- Zimbabwe , Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) -- Newspapers , Matabeleland (Zimbabwe) -- History -- Autonomy and independence movements , Matabeleland (Zimbabwe) -- Social conditions , Zimbabwe -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3415 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001846
- Description: This study investigates the constructions of nationhood in two Bulawayo newspapers, the Chronicle and Newsday. Against the backdrop of the emergence of a secessionist movement, Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF), this research examines the discourses of nationhood in the secessionist debates raging in these two newspapers. This study is premised on a view that nationhood constructions cannot be understood outside the broader context in which these newspapers are embedded. Accordingly, it traces the roots and resurgence of Matabeleland separatist politics, exploring the political-historical forces that have shaped a distinctive Ndebele identity that poses a threat to the one, indivisible Zimbabwean national identity. Further, the study situates Matabeleland separatist politics within the broader African secessionist discourse challenging the post-colonial nation-building project on the continent. Informed by Hall’s (1992, 1996) constructivist approach to identity, it considers national identities as fragmented, multiple and constantly evolving. Thus, this study is framed within Hall’s (1997) constructivist approach to representation, as it examines the constructions of nationhood in and through language. The study uses qualitative research methods, as it examines the meanings of nationhood in key media texts. Informed by Foucault’s discourse theory, this research employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyse 12 articles from the two newspapers. The findings confirm that the representations of nationhood in the two newspapers are influenced by their position within the socio-political context. The state-owned Chronicle legitimates the unitary state discourse advocated by ZANU PF. On the other hand, Newsday’s representations are informed by the discourses of the opposition political parties and civil society that challenge the dominant nation-building project. Thus, within this paper, secession and devolution emerge as alternative imaginaries that contest the authoritarian discourse of nationhood
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
- Authors: Ndlovu, Mphathisi
- Date: 2013
- Subjects: Newspapers , Bulawayo , Matabeleland , Zimbabwe , Chronicle , Newsday , Secession , Devolution , Nationhood , Ndebele , Ethnic identity , Mthwakazi Liberation Front , Mthwakazi Liberation Front -- Zimbabwe , Mass media and nationalism -- Research -- Zimbabwe , Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) -- Newspapers , Matabeleland (Zimbabwe) -- History -- Autonomy and independence movements , Matabeleland (Zimbabwe) -- Social conditions , Zimbabwe -- Social conditions
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3415 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1001846
- Description: This study investigates the constructions of nationhood in two Bulawayo newspapers, the Chronicle and Newsday. Against the backdrop of the emergence of a secessionist movement, Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF), this research examines the discourses of nationhood in the secessionist debates raging in these two newspapers. This study is premised on a view that nationhood constructions cannot be understood outside the broader context in which these newspapers are embedded. Accordingly, it traces the roots and resurgence of Matabeleland separatist politics, exploring the political-historical forces that have shaped a distinctive Ndebele identity that poses a threat to the one, indivisible Zimbabwean national identity. Further, the study situates Matabeleland separatist politics within the broader African secessionist discourse challenging the post-colonial nation-building project on the continent. Informed by Hall’s (1992, 1996) constructivist approach to identity, it considers national identities as fragmented, multiple and constantly evolving. Thus, this study is framed within Hall’s (1997) constructivist approach to representation, as it examines the constructions of nationhood in and through language. The study uses qualitative research methods, as it examines the meanings of nationhood in key media texts. Informed by Foucault’s discourse theory, this research employs critical discourse analysis (CDA) to analyse 12 articles from the two newspapers. The findings confirm that the representations of nationhood in the two newspapers are influenced by their position within the socio-political context. The state-owned Chronicle legitimates the unitary state discourse advocated by ZANU PF. On the other hand, Newsday’s representations are informed by the discourses of the opposition political parties and civil society that challenge the dominant nation-building project. Thus, within this paper, secession and devolution emerge as alternative imaginaries that contest the authoritarian discourse of nationhood
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2013
Dangerous people and places : a community newspaper's constructions of crime
- Authors: Raymond, Leigh Alice
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) , Community newspapers -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Newspapers -- Objectivity , Mass media policy -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3527 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013091
- Description: 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
- Authors: Raymond, Leigh Alice
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Grocott's Mail (Grahamstown, South Africa) , Community newspapers -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Crime and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Newspapers -- Objectivity , Mass media policy -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Social responsibility of business -- South Africa -- Grahamstown , Police and the press -- South Africa -- Grahamstown
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:3527 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1013091
- Description: 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.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2014
Empire in Lusaka: hip-hop, young men and masculinity in an African city
- Authors: Mulolani, Happy
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Empire (Television program : 2015) -- Influence , Hip-hop -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Young men -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Young men -- Psychology -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Young men -- Social conditions -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Rap musicians -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Masculinity -- Zambia -- Lusaka
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92650 , vital:30736
- Description: This study examines young Zambian men who are aspiring hip hop artists in Lusaka and the meanings they make of the representations of masculinity in Empire, a popular US television drama. Broadcast locally via satellite on the South African cable network, DStv, Empire narrates the story of a family of powerful men as they battle for the control of Empire, a successful hip-hop label. Of significance is how the programme’s representations of masculinity resonate with the young men’s own ideas of masculinity within a highly patriarchal and conservative urban African space. The young male hip-hop artists encounter their everyday experiences in a context of a range of socio-economic challenges within the urban space of Lusaka which presents them with very limited economic opportunities and resources. Underpinned by a constructivist approach, this reception study explores how these young male artists encounter their everyday experiences in the city and how its structural constraints are navigated through hip-hop, a highly popular local cultural form. The male artists’ reactions to the programme are dependent on their socio-economic location and the types of skills and resources they draw on in order to traverse their everyday experience of city life which concurrently is perceived as exclusionary and as impacting on their livelihoods and aspirations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: Mulolani, Happy
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Empire (Television program : 2015) -- Influence , Hip-hop -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Young men -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Young men -- Psychology -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Young men -- Social conditions -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Rap musicians -- Zambia -- Lusaka , Masculinity -- Zambia -- Lusaka
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/92650 , vital:30736
- Description: This study examines young Zambian men who are aspiring hip hop artists in Lusaka and the meanings they make of the representations of masculinity in Empire, a popular US television drama. Broadcast locally via satellite on the South African cable network, DStv, Empire narrates the story of a family of powerful men as they battle for the control of Empire, a successful hip-hop label. Of significance is how the programme’s representations of masculinity resonate with the young men’s own ideas of masculinity within a highly patriarchal and conservative urban African space. The young male hip-hop artists encounter their everyday experiences in a context of a range of socio-economic challenges within the urban space of Lusaka which presents them with very limited economic opportunities and resources. Underpinned by a constructivist approach, this reception study explores how these young male artists encounter their everyday experiences in the city and how its structural constraints are navigated through hip-hop, a highly popular local cultural form. The male artists’ reactions to the programme are dependent on their socio-economic location and the types of skills and resources they draw on in order to traverse their everyday experience of city life which concurrently is perceived as exclusionary and as impacting on their livelihoods and aspirations.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Engaging with media as a knowledge resource for making sense of climate change: a case study of the farmers of Nyanga, Zimbabwe
- Authors: Mandikonza, Blessing
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Climatic changes in mass media , Knowledge, Sociology of , Farms, Small -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Crops and climate -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe , Agriculture -- Environmental aspects -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Agriculture and politics -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Agriculture -- Research -- Sociological aspects , Agricultural journalism -- Zimbabwe , Land reform -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63764 , vital:28486
- Description: This study explores how small-scale farmers in Nyanga, Zimbabwe engage with the media as a knowledge resource for achieving agricultural productivity, particularly in context of climate change. The study is contextualised by means of a literature review that maps out the history of agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe. It is argued that this history has been shaped by changes in both socio-economic context and climatic conditions. Both kinds of change impact on the degree to which small-scale farmers have access to knowledge that is of relevance to agricultural productivity. The study then examines the Zimbabwean media landscape, focusing on how history has shaped the way in which different media define their social purpose. This examination draws on Hallin and Mancini‟s „models‟ of media systems as well as Christian et al‟s traditions of media practice. It is concluded that, due to the high level of conflict that has characterised Zimbabwean history, aspects of both the polarised pluralist and democratic corporatist models are present in its media landscape. The collaborative, monitorial and radical approaches to media also exist in contestation with each other. Indeed, the media is characterised by profound contestation around the conceptualisation of social purpose. Furthermore, international media is of particular significance as a resource of knowledge within the local media landscape. The empirical component of the study explores the implications for the extent to which media are likely to serve as valuable knowledge resources for small-scale farmers. This exploration is pursued by means of a case study of the experiences of three farmers in Nyanga who were granted farms as part of the government‟s land-reform programme. In context of episodic biographical interviews, the participants share their experience of becoming farmers and of managing their farms. Attention is paid to the challenges they face with regards to producing successful crops, both in context of socio-economic and climatic conditions. The study looks at the way in which participants draw on the media as a knowledge resource to help them overcome these challenges. The participants understand international media to be a more credible knowledge resource, but also refer to the need for local media which can provides them with knowledge of local relevance. In this context they identify an absence of collaborative, developmental media that engages with the unique challenges that they face in producing crops. It is concluded that the value of media for the farmers of Nyanga as a knowledge resource for making sense of climate change would only be achieved through the establishment of locally produced, participatory media that foregrounds the use of indigenous language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
- Authors: Mandikonza, Blessing
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: Climatic changes in mass media , Knowledge, Sociology of , Farms, Small -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Crops and climate -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Agriculture -- Economic aspects -- Zimbabwe , Agriculture -- Environmental aspects -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Agriculture and politics -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga , Agriculture -- Research -- Sociological aspects , Agricultural journalism -- Zimbabwe , Land reform -- Zimbabwe -- Nyanga
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/63764 , vital:28486
- Description: This study explores how small-scale farmers in Nyanga, Zimbabwe engage with the media as a knowledge resource for achieving agricultural productivity, particularly in context of climate change. The study is contextualised by means of a literature review that maps out the history of agricultural productivity in Zimbabwe. It is argued that this history has been shaped by changes in both socio-economic context and climatic conditions. Both kinds of change impact on the degree to which small-scale farmers have access to knowledge that is of relevance to agricultural productivity. The study then examines the Zimbabwean media landscape, focusing on how history has shaped the way in which different media define their social purpose. This examination draws on Hallin and Mancini‟s „models‟ of media systems as well as Christian et al‟s traditions of media practice. It is concluded that, due to the high level of conflict that has characterised Zimbabwean history, aspects of both the polarised pluralist and democratic corporatist models are present in its media landscape. The collaborative, monitorial and radical approaches to media also exist in contestation with each other. Indeed, the media is characterised by profound contestation around the conceptualisation of social purpose. Furthermore, international media is of particular significance as a resource of knowledge within the local media landscape. The empirical component of the study explores the implications for the extent to which media are likely to serve as valuable knowledge resources for small-scale farmers. This exploration is pursued by means of a case study of the experiences of three farmers in Nyanga who were granted farms as part of the government‟s land-reform programme. In context of episodic biographical interviews, the participants share their experience of becoming farmers and of managing their farms. Attention is paid to the challenges they face with regards to producing successful crops, both in context of socio-economic and climatic conditions. The study looks at the way in which participants draw on the media as a knowledge resource to help them overcome these challenges. The participants understand international media to be a more credible knowledge resource, but also refer to the need for local media which can provides them with knowledge of local relevance. In this context they identify an absence of collaborative, developmental media that engages with the unique challenges that they face in producing crops. It is concluded that the value of media for the farmers of Nyanga as a knowledge resource for making sense of climate change would only be achieved through the establishment of locally produced, participatory media that foregrounds the use of indigenous language.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2018
Evaluating coverage of the environment: a comparative study of the observations of academics and journalists
- Authors: Koro, Emmanuel
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64888 , vital:28628
- Description: This study is a comparative analysis of the way that academics and journalists evaluate media coverage of news about the environment. The purpose is to gain insight into the kind of contributions that each of these groups can make to debates about the role that such coverage should play within processes of public deliberations about the environment. The dissertation begins by establishing theoretical terms of reference for assessing discussions of the journalistic coverage of the environment. It proposes that it is of value to consider the conceptualisation, within such discussions, of credible knowledge about the environment and, more particularly, to establish whether such conceptualisation is based within a positivist, interpretive, or critical realist paradigm. It is demonstrated that each of these epistemological traditions brings valuable perspectives to the discussion of journalism about the environment within such literature. It is, however, the positivist perspective that remains dominant, and this limits the extent to which the potential of the other two epistemological positions are fully realized. It is also demonstrated that there is a tendency, within this literature, to focus on the performance of individual journalists with minimal attention to the particularities of institutional and social context. It is proposed that this tendency results from the adherence to a positivist approach to the evaluation of journalism. The dissertation then describes the design and implementation of the empirical component of the study - dealing with decisions made about the overall methodological framing, the choice of method, the fieldwork plan and the approach to analysis. It is explained that the aim of the empirical component was to examine South African print journalists’ discussions of coverage of the environment in their own publications, and to compare such discussion to that which is represented in the academic literature. The dissertation then presents a summary of the themes that emerged from the analysis of the interview material that formed part of this empirical work. It is demonstrated that the evaluation of coverage of the environment, as articulated by the research participants, is informed by many of the assumptions and values that can be identified within academic literature. Such evaluation is, furthermore, similarly informed by a positivist, interpretive and critical treatment of knowledge - with, again, a tendency for the positivist position to dominate. One important difference is that the research participants include more references to institutional context. It is proposed, however, that the tendency to prioritise a positivist epistemological framing continues to place limitations on the extent to which the participants are able to fully articulate their knowledge about such context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
- Authors: Koro, Emmanuel
- Date: 2015
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64888 , vital:28628
- Description: This study is a comparative analysis of the way that academics and journalists evaluate media coverage of news about the environment. The purpose is to gain insight into the kind of contributions that each of these groups can make to debates about the role that such coverage should play within processes of public deliberations about the environment. The dissertation begins by establishing theoretical terms of reference for assessing discussions of the journalistic coverage of the environment. It proposes that it is of value to consider the conceptualisation, within such discussions, of credible knowledge about the environment and, more particularly, to establish whether such conceptualisation is based within a positivist, interpretive, or critical realist paradigm. It is demonstrated that each of these epistemological traditions brings valuable perspectives to the discussion of journalism about the environment within such literature. It is, however, the positivist perspective that remains dominant, and this limits the extent to which the potential of the other two epistemological positions are fully realized. It is also demonstrated that there is a tendency, within this literature, to focus on the performance of individual journalists with minimal attention to the particularities of institutional and social context. It is proposed that this tendency results from the adherence to a positivist approach to the evaluation of journalism. The dissertation then describes the design and implementation of the empirical component of the study - dealing with decisions made about the overall methodological framing, the choice of method, the fieldwork plan and the approach to analysis. It is explained that the aim of the empirical component was to examine South African print journalists’ discussions of coverage of the environment in their own publications, and to compare such discussion to that which is represented in the academic literature. The dissertation then presents a summary of the themes that emerged from the analysis of the interview material that formed part of this empirical work. It is demonstrated that the evaluation of coverage of the environment, as articulated by the research participants, is informed by many of the assumptions and values that can be identified within academic literature. Such evaluation is, furthermore, similarly informed by a positivist, interpretive and critical treatment of knowledge - with, again, a tendency for the positivist position to dominate. One important difference is that the research participants include more references to institutional context. It is proposed, however, that the tendency to prioritise a positivist epistemological framing continues to place limitations on the extent to which the participants are able to fully articulate their knowledge about such context.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2015
Exploring socialities on Black Twitter: an ethnographic study of everyday concerns of South African users in 2018 and 2019
- Authors: Adebayo, Binwe
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Twitter (Firm) , Social media South Africa , Social media and society South Africa , Black people and mass media South Africa , Language and the Internet South Africa , Mass media and culture South Africa , Race in mass media , Ethnicity in mass media , Mass media and minorities South Africa , Mass media Social aspects South Africa , Sex differences in mass media , Social media Political aspects South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , Finance In mass media , Intersectionality (Sociology) South Africa , Black Twitter
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140575 , vital:37900
- Description: In this thesis, I examine the phenomenon of Black Twitter, as it exists in South Africa. Drawing on its socio-cultural and linguistic elements, I analyse the kinds of socialities which are constituted on the platform. In the study, I do this by focusing on the key issues which drive the space by evaluating the key everyday concerns as expressed by its users. As such, the overarching lens focuses on three elements: Firstly, the idea of socialities and the way in which they manifest in online spaces; a focus on the everyday as an important site for social inquiry; and lastly the issue of ‘blackness’, in terms of the way it is used and understood in the South African Black Twitter context. Historically, the Black Twitter space has been linked almost exclusively to its broad base of African American users, who are significant both in terms of their numbers, and their impact on online social culture. However, in this study I engage with the ways in which Black Twitter has been adopted, co-opted and used by young South Africans. As a bona fide ‘member’ of South African Black Twitter, my approach to the study was cyberethnographic. Drawing on my access to the space, my knowledge of many of its members and dynamics, I engaged in participant observation as my primary methodology. My discussion focuses on three areas of everyday concerns, namely: gender and sexuality; race and politics; finances and the economy. These three areas emerge both as prominent sites of discussion, but also give the best insight into the ways in which young South Africans are grappling with these issues. My analysis focuses on how everyday concerns are handled on the platform, and I focus on the deployment of solidarity, formal language, platform-based language and the invocation of blackness. I argue in my conclusion that while the structure of the broad Black Twitter space reflects a leaning towards a digital public sphere, that the process and construction of Black Twitter’s ideas and content are approached via an incomplete, fluid convivial approach.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
- Authors: Adebayo, Binwe
- Date: 2020
- Subjects: Twitter (Firm) , Social media South Africa , Social media and society South Africa , Black people and mass media South Africa , Language and the Internet South Africa , Mass media and culture South Africa , Race in mass media , Ethnicity in mass media , Mass media and minorities South Africa , Mass media Social aspects South Africa , Sex differences in mass media , Social media Political aspects South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , Finance In mass media , Intersectionality (Sociology) South Africa , Black Twitter
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/140575 , vital:37900
- Description: In this thesis, I examine the phenomenon of Black Twitter, as it exists in South Africa. Drawing on its socio-cultural and linguistic elements, I analyse the kinds of socialities which are constituted on the platform. In the study, I do this by focusing on the key issues which drive the space by evaluating the key everyday concerns as expressed by its users. As such, the overarching lens focuses on three elements: Firstly, the idea of socialities and the way in which they manifest in online spaces; a focus on the everyday as an important site for social inquiry; and lastly the issue of ‘blackness’, in terms of the way it is used and understood in the South African Black Twitter context. Historically, the Black Twitter space has been linked almost exclusively to its broad base of African American users, who are significant both in terms of their numbers, and their impact on online social culture. However, in this study I engage with the ways in which Black Twitter has been adopted, co-opted and used by young South Africans. As a bona fide ‘member’ of South African Black Twitter, my approach to the study was cyberethnographic. Drawing on my access to the space, my knowledge of many of its members and dynamics, I engaged in participant observation as my primary methodology. My discussion focuses on three areas of everyday concerns, namely: gender and sexuality; race and politics; finances and the economy. These three areas emerge both as prominent sites of discussion, but also give the best insight into the ways in which young South Africans are grappling with these issues. My analysis focuses on how everyday concerns are handled on the platform, and I focus on the deployment of solidarity, formal language, platform-based language and the invocation of blackness. I argue in my conclusion that while the structure of the broad Black Twitter space reflects a leaning towards a digital public sphere, that the process and construction of Black Twitter’s ideas and content are approached via an incomplete, fluid convivial approach.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2020
Exploring the political economy of the broadcast and distribution of the Mzansi Super League in South Africa
- Authors: Pettitt, Stephen John
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Cricket Political aspects South Africa , Discrimination in sports South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , South Africa Economic conditions , Broadcasting South Africa , Cricket South Africa (Organization) , Television broadcasting of sports , Free-to-air broadcasting (FTA) South Africa , Mzansi Super League
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192308 , vital:45215
- Description: This thesis is a critical political economy analysis of the role played by the broadcast and distribution of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), a T20 cricket tournament in South Africa, in the transformation project of Cricket South Africa (CSA). The case study methodology is based on the four-leaf clover framework developed by Ruth Teer-Tomaselli. Cricket in South Africa is often viewed as a white and middle-class dominated sport, and CSA has been mandated to redress the historical racially segregated sport through a transformation agenda that focuses on changing the demographics of cricket. This paper investigates how the broadcast of a cricket tournament like the MSL on a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) can have a positive effect on transformation due to the increased access and wider distribution. The broadcast regulations acknowledge this, as is seen in the introduction of ICASA draft regulations seeking to make more sport available on PSBs. The South African sports broadcast landscape is dominated by MultiChoice’s SuperSport, which has acquired a monopoly on sports broadcasting. The South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) cannot compete, given its financial difficulties. A fall-out between CSA and SuperSport meant the SABC broadcast the MSL tournament, which lost CSA revenue but gained it a bigger audience. This thesis uses lived experiences and examples to illustrate that despite a financial loss, the wider media distribution of cricket will have positive effects on transformation that could counter the financial loss, especially if CSA creates new streams of income so that it relies less on broadcast revenue. In the current climate, however, compounded by internal financial and management issues, CSA cannot afford to forego the revenue from a private broadcaster and thus has no choice but to pursue a deal with a private broadcaster and lose out on the potential benefits of a wider audience. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Pettitt, Stephen John
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Cricket Political aspects South Africa , Discrimination in sports South Africa , South Africa Social conditions , South Africa Economic conditions , Broadcasting South Africa , Cricket South Africa (Organization) , Television broadcasting of sports , Free-to-air broadcasting (FTA) South Africa , Mzansi Super League
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192308 , vital:45215
- Description: This thesis is a critical political economy analysis of the role played by the broadcast and distribution of the Mzansi Super League (MSL), a T20 cricket tournament in South Africa, in the transformation project of Cricket South Africa (CSA). The case study methodology is based on the four-leaf clover framework developed by Ruth Teer-Tomaselli. Cricket in South Africa is often viewed as a white and middle-class dominated sport, and CSA has been mandated to redress the historical racially segregated sport through a transformation agenda that focuses on changing the demographics of cricket. This paper investigates how the broadcast of a cricket tournament like the MSL on a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB) can have a positive effect on transformation due to the increased access and wider distribution. The broadcast regulations acknowledge this, as is seen in the introduction of ICASA draft regulations seeking to make more sport available on PSBs. The South African sports broadcast landscape is dominated by MultiChoice’s SuperSport, which has acquired a monopoly on sports broadcasting. The South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) cannot compete, given its financial difficulties. A fall-out between CSA and SuperSport meant the SABC broadcast the MSL tournament, which lost CSA revenue but gained it a bigger audience. This thesis uses lived experiences and examples to illustrate that despite a financial loss, the wider media distribution of cricket will have positive effects on transformation that could counter the financial loss, especially if CSA creates new streams of income so that it relies less on broadcast revenue. In the current climate, however, compounded by internal financial and management issues, CSA cannot afford to forego the revenue from a private broadcaster and thus has no choice but to pursue a deal with a private broadcaster and lose out on the potential benefits of a wider audience. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Framing VBS: a textual analysis of Daily Maverick’s coverage of the VBS Mutual Bank heist in the years 2018-2020
- Authors: Nyulu, Siyamthanda Natascha
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: VBS Mutual Bank (South Africa) , Banks and banking Corrupt practices South Africa , Journalism, Commercial South Africa , Journalistic ethics South Africa , Frames (Sociology) , Journalism Social aspects South Africa , Daily Maverick
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425256 , vital:72223
- Description: This study investigates how Daily Maverick framed the VBS Mutual Bank scandal for its readers in the years 2018-2020. It utilises framing theory as the guiding theoretical framework in trying to understand how Daily Maverick portrayed the corruption case for its readers. This study also leans on social responsibility and normative theories of the press to analyse whether Daily Maverick fulfilled its role of facilitating dialogue between the elite and ordinary citizens of Limpopo affected by the corruption at the bank. Using a qualitative textual analysis, the thesis discusses how elite sources were quoted more than ordinary citizens who are affected the most by the corruption scandal. This allowed the elite to turn the VBS matter into a political spectacle whereas, because it is an example of failure in the financial sector, the heist caused further failures in municipalities already failing in Limpopo, North-West and Gauteng. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
- Authors: Nyulu, Siyamthanda Natascha
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: VBS Mutual Bank (South Africa) , Banks and banking Corrupt practices South Africa , Journalism, Commercial South Africa , Journalistic ethics South Africa , Frames (Sociology) , Journalism Social aspects South Africa , Daily Maverick
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425256 , vital:72223
- Description: This study investigates how Daily Maverick framed the VBS Mutual Bank scandal for its readers in the years 2018-2020. It utilises framing theory as the guiding theoretical framework in trying to understand how Daily Maverick portrayed the corruption case for its readers. This study also leans on social responsibility and normative theories of the press to analyse whether Daily Maverick fulfilled its role of facilitating dialogue between the elite and ordinary citizens of Limpopo affected by the corruption at the bank. Using a qualitative textual analysis, the thesis discusses how elite sources were quoted more than ordinary citizens who are affected the most by the corruption scandal. This allowed the elite to turn the VBS matter into a political spectacle whereas, because it is an example of failure in the financial sector, the heist caused further failures in municipalities already failing in Limpopo, North-West and Gauteng. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
From ‘cleanliness is next to Godliness’ to ‘without perfect health, there is nothing’: discourses of healthy lifestyle in the construction of young adult identities in urban South Africa
- Authors: De Jong, Michelle
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Health , Cleanliness , Social structure -- Health aspects , Health behavior , Social medicine
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64940 , vital:28638
- Description: This research explores popular constructions of “healthiness” as individual lifestyle choices in the context of contemporary South African consumer culture, and how these constructions relate to formations of subjectivity. This is a qualitative study conducted within a social constructionist, theoretical framework. Data was collected using in-depth, semi structured interviews and are analysed using a Foucauldian inspired version of discourse analysis. A critical stance is taken towards the assumption in these discourses that their version of healthiness is always and unquestionably positive. Special attention is paid to the lifestyle and marketing media discourses appropriated in understandings of personal health through self-management, and of the optimization of health in the pursuit of well-being. The ways in which different discourses of healthiness facilitate the construction of specific identities are considered in order to untangle some of the problems created by the moralism underpinning popular consumer health discourse. How constructions of healthiness and aspirant healthy lifestyles support, and are supported by, the ideologies and practices of neoliberal capitalism are also explored. From this perspective, healthiness as lifestyle consumption choices can be seen as an ideological apparatus that produces the subjects necessary to reproduce the social order (Althusser, 2001), functioning not only positively amongst the social classes with the leisure and economic resources to pursue these options, but also negatively as victim-blaming of those who are excluded. The argument here is not that health is bad or that people should not be bothered with activities aimed at promoting good health, but that in a context where the concept of health is idealised as always positive and beneficial, the potentially harmful consequences of some of the health discourses we make use of may be occluded. This idealisation of health or ‘healthism’ may also function to divert attention away from some of the challenges to health that are not the direct result of personal behaviours and are unlikely to be remedied through individually focussed interventions, for example, inequality and inadequate access to basic resources. Six discourses which were used to construct understandings of health are analysed. These include Happiness, Freedom, Control, Care, Balance and Goodness. The ways in which these discourses played a role in constructing the kinds of subject positions which were made available to participants, and the possible implications this has, are explored in depth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
- Authors: De Jong, Michelle
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Health , Cleanliness , Social structure -- Health aspects , Health behavior , Social medicine
- Language: English
- Type: text , Thesis , Doctoral , PhD
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/64940 , vital:28638
- Description: This research explores popular constructions of “healthiness” as individual lifestyle choices in the context of contemporary South African consumer culture, and how these constructions relate to formations of subjectivity. This is a qualitative study conducted within a social constructionist, theoretical framework. Data was collected using in-depth, semi structured interviews and are analysed using a Foucauldian inspired version of discourse analysis. A critical stance is taken towards the assumption in these discourses that their version of healthiness is always and unquestionably positive. Special attention is paid to the lifestyle and marketing media discourses appropriated in understandings of personal health through self-management, and of the optimization of health in the pursuit of well-being. The ways in which different discourses of healthiness facilitate the construction of specific identities are considered in order to untangle some of the problems created by the moralism underpinning popular consumer health discourse. How constructions of healthiness and aspirant healthy lifestyles support, and are supported by, the ideologies and practices of neoliberal capitalism are also explored. From this perspective, healthiness as lifestyle consumption choices can be seen as an ideological apparatus that produces the subjects necessary to reproduce the social order (Althusser, 2001), functioning not only positively amongst the social classes with the leisure and economic resources to pursue these options, but also negatively as victim-blaming of those who are excluded. The argument here is not that health is bad or that people should not be bothered with activities aimed at promoting good health, but that in a context where the concept of health is idealised as always positive and beneficial, the potentially harmful consequences of some of the health discourses we make use of may be occluded. This idealisation of health or ‘healthism’ may also function to divert attention away from some of the challenges to health that are not the direct result of personal behaviours and are unlikely to be remedied through individually focussed interventions, for example, inequality and inadequate access to basic resources. Six discourses which were used to construct understandings of health are analysed. These include Happiness, Freedom, Control, Care, Balance and Goodness. The ways in which these discourses played a role in constructing the kinds of subject positions which were made available to participants, and the possible implications this has, are explored in depth.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2019
Generation news: Consuming, sharing, and producing news across generations in five Johannesburg households
- Authors: Silber, Gerson Russel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Baby boom generation South Africa , Generation Y South Africa , Conflict of generations South Africa Johannesburg , Generations South Africa Johannesburg , Digital media South Africa , Social media and journalism South Africa , Digital media Social aspects South Africa , News audiences South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192342 , vital:45217
- Description: This study sets out to explore the meaning, extent, and impact of the generational divide, between so-called Baby Boomers and their Millennial offspring, on the way news is accessed, consumed, shared, and produced in five purposively selected households in the Johannesburg area. Aside from these widely-used generational identifiers, Baby Boomers and Millennials are also commonly referred to as Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives, respectively. However, in a world where smartphones have become commonplace, and internet connectivity via fixed broadband and mobile data is ubiquitous, it can be argued that digital technologies now serve as a link, or perhaps even a bridge, between younger and older generations living in the same household. The study aims to put this proposition to the test, by interrogating the role of news as a conduit for storytelling and information-sharing in environments where each occupant will typically be using their own devices, with a wide variety of personally-curated news sources and platforms at their fingertips. This fragmentation or individualisation of access to news stands in sharp contrast to the communal traditions of the pre-Internet era, during which families would gather around the TV set to watch the evening newscast, or share sections of the Sunday newspaper according to their age and interest. This research, which seeks to address a gap in the literature of research into intra-generational news consumption in family households in the digital era, identifies points of intersection as well as diversion in media usage habits. An example of the former is the prevalence of WhatsApp as a centralised "meeting-point" for the sharing of useful, hyper-localised information within the family group, and beyond that, as a cross-generational news and discussion platform in its own right. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the study explores strict and seemingly counterintuitive divides between the generations, with some Millennial respondents rejecting social media platforms as "pointless and invasive, and some Baby Boomer parents embracing the platforms as forums for free expression and networking. In line with the key research question, which seeks to identify and analyse news usage and consumption across the generations in a selection of family households, the study considers the ways in which families in the digital era are creating a culture of shared interests and the active sharing of news, breaching the boundaries of their private spaces in a microcosm of the Habermasian public sphere of discourse and opinion. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
- Authors: Silber, Gerson Russel
- Date: 2021-10-29
- Subjects: Baby boom generation South Africa , Generation Y South Africa , Conflict of generations South Africa Johannesburg , Generations South Africa Johannesburg , Digital media South Africa , Social media and journalism South Africa , Digital media Social aspects South Africa , News audiences South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192342 , vital:45217
- Description: This study sets out to explore the meaning, extent, and impact of the generational divide, between so-called Baby Boomers and their Millennial offspring, on the way news is accessed, consumed, shared, and produced in five purposively selected households in the Johannesburg area. Aside from these widely-used generational identifiers, Baby Boomers and Millennials are also commonly referred to as Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives, respectively. However, in a world where smartphones have become commonplace, and internet connectivity via fixed broadband and mobile data is ubiquitous, it can be argued that digital technologies now serve as a link, or perhaps even a bridge, between younger and older generations living in the same household. The study aims to put this proposition to the test, by interrogating the role of news as a conduit for storytelling and information-sharing in environments where each occupant will typically be using their own devices, with a wide variety of personally-curated news sources and platforms at their fingertips. This fragmentation or individualisation of access to news stands in sharp contrast to the communal traditions of the pre-Internet era, during which families would gather around the TV set to watch the evening newscast, or share sections of the Sunday newspaper according to their age and interest. This research, which seeks to address a gap in the literature of research into intra-generational news consumption in family households in the digital era, identifies points of intersection as well as diversion in media usage habits. An example of the former is the prevalence of WhatsApp as a centralised "meeting-point" for the sharing of useful, hyper-localised information within the family group, and beyond that, as a cross-generational news and discussion platform in its own right. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the study explores strict and seemingly counterintuitive divides between the generations, with some Millennial respondents rejecting social media platforms as "pointless and invasive, and some Baby Boomer parents embracing the platforms as forums for free expression and networking. In line with the key research question, which seeks to identify and analyse news usage and consumption across the generations in a selection of family households, the study considers the ways in which families in the digital era are creating a culture of shared interests and the active sharing of news, breaching the boundaries of their private spaces in a microcosm of the Habermasian public sphere of discourse and opinion. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2021
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2021-10-29
Giving a voice and holding to account: a critical civic and democratic discourse analysis of The Big Debate South Africa TV show’s opportunities for ‘Political Listening’
- Authors: Mgqoboka, Banathi
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Big Debate South Africa , Television talk shows South Africa , Citizenship in journalism South Africa , Democracy South Africa , Mass media and public opinion South Africa , Listening Political aspects South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425245 , vital:72222
- Description: The television studio debate genre was initially inspired by the 1960s television news coverage that captured the zeitgeist of American political campaigns and elections, which featured prominent political figures. The genre has since been adapted by broadcast networks around the world to facilitate politically-charged public discussions that allow ordinary people to pose significant questions and express their concerns or cynicism to the political elites in power. The Big Debate South Africa is a popular televised town hall debate show that began airing in 2009 on eMedia Investment’s eNCA and later on the SABC. During its ninth-season run, the show attracted an audience of up to 12 million. The programme is formatted to give South African citizens a voice to hold state leaders to account. Anthea Garman and Herman Wasserman’s (2014) research on citizenship and media in a democratic society, asserts that the media’s contribution to citizenship is often a way to encourage citizens to exercise their influence over political decisions and dialogue in an overt manner. Through observations and qualitative in-depth interviews, this tightly focused study analysed the third episode of The Big Debate South Africa’s ninth season, hosted by journalist and broadcaster Redi Tlhabi. It explored the show’s format and discourse to investigate how it creates opportunities for the practice of Susan Bickford’s (1996) conception of ‘political listening’ within the confines of hierarchical binary oppositions (‘Us and Them’ and ‘lay’/‘expert’). By deconstructing how civil society organisations, activists and citizens (‘lay’) interact with the political elites (‘experts’), this study chronicled how the show mediates these binary oppositions with an anticipation for them to collectively hear each other out. In examining the show’s structure as a participative civic political broadcast talk platform that promotes democratic deliberation, this study ultimately demonstrated the capacity of The Big Debate South Africa to pluralise democratic life in its practice of ‘political listening’. While the show advances equality and amplifies marginalised voices, this research also found that these significant practices seemingly only held temporary effects once the cameras shut down. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13
- Authors: Mgqoboka, Banathi
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Big Debate South Africa , Television talk shows South Africa , Citizenship in journalism South Africa , Democracy South Africa , Mass media and public opinion South Africa , Listening Political aspects South Africa
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/425245 , vital:72222
- Description: The television studio debate genre was initially inspired by the 1960s television news coverage that captured the zeitgeist of American political campaigns and elections, which featured prominent political figures. The genre has since been adapted by broadcast networks around the world to facilitate politically-charged public discussions that allow ordinary people to pose significant questions and express their concerns or cynicism to the political elites in power. The Big Debate South Africa is a popular televised town hall debate show that began airing in 2009 on eMedia Investment’s eNCA and later on the SABC. During its ninth-season run, the show attracted an audience of up to 12 million. The programme is formatted to give South African citizens a voice to hold state leaders to account. Anthea Garman and Herman Wasserman’s (2014) research on citizenship and media in a democratic society, asserts that the media’s contribution to citizenship is often a way to encourage citizens to exercise their influence over political decisions and dialogue in an overt manner. Through observations and qualitative in-depth interviews, this tightly focused study analysed the third episode of The Big Debate South Africa’s ninth season, hosted by journalist and broadcaster Redi Tlhabi. It explored the show’s format and discourse to investigate how it creates opportunities for the practice of Susan Bickford’s (1996) conception of ‘political listening’ within the confines of hierarchical binary oppositions (‘Us and Them’ and ‘lay’/‘expert’). By deconstructing how civil society organisations, activists and citizens (‘lay’) interact with the political elites (‘experts’), this study chronicled how the show mediates these binary oppositions with an anticipation for them to collectively hear each other out. In examining the show’s structure as a participative civic political broadcast talk platform that promotes democratic deliberation, this study ultimately demonstrated the capacity of The Big Debate South Africa to pluralise democratic life in its practice of ‘political listening’. While the show advances equality and amplifies marginalised voices, this research also found that these significant practices seemingly only held temporary effects once the cameras shut down. , Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Journalism and Media Studies, 2023
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2023-10-13