Die bydrae van José Ortega y Gasset tot die massakommunikasieteorie: die onderliggende aannames en begrippe van sy generasieteorie

SUMMARY

Vrye Weekblad was closed down on 28 May 1993. This signalled the end of an important era of the Afrikaans press. Political changes and financial problems contributed to the closure of VWB. VWB has since been revived in the form of a fortnightly news magazine. The first edition with the same name, Vrye Weekblad, was published on 24 June 1993. Editorial policy is similar to that of its predecessor.

This article reflects on and assesses the significance that can be attached to the publication and closure of an alternative Afrikaans weekly. VWB's original launch, development, editorial policy and the problems it encountered are sketched against the background of South African society and the press industry. In conclusion, the role played by VWB as a newspaper is assessed.     

Rand Daily Mail: die dood in perspektief

SUMMARY

The closure of the Rand Daily Mail on April 30, 1985 focused the attention of South Africans on the state of the South African press. This (mainly white) press is examined in the article. It is found that if one uses Merill & Lowenstein's EPS curve of stages of media development in South Africa, the white press is already in the Modern phase, with saturated mass publications, decreasing readership of the mass press and an increasing commitment to specialization and diversification. The black publications are in the Transitional phase, moving from the Elite phase to the Popular phase, with a great potential for mass publications due mainly to increasing literacy and rising levels of income. Readership among Blacks has increased by some 250 per cent between 1962 and 1977. Conclusions drawn from these findings seem to indicate that the Rand Daily Mail had not taken adequate account of the realities of the media market and had positioned itself in a no-man's-land between a sophisticated white market and a developing black one. It had proved itself second best against both its main white and black rivals, namely Citizen and Sowetan. It is recommended that, due to the press's economic difficulties and the need for a diversity of views in a reforming constitutional system on the road to greater democracy, government subsidization of the press be considered seriously as an option for the future.     

South African news in international radio broadcasting: a comparative analysis

SUMMARY

This is a comparative content analysis, over a five year period from 1987 to 1991, of the coverage of South African news in international radio broadcasting, specifically Voice of America, Radio Moscow and Radio RSA. This study takes as its point of departure the premise that different ideologies produce differing concepts of news, and this in turn will produce differing images of South Africa in that news. As there is no suitable theory to explain the findings of this study, a triadic model of international radio broadcasting news has been constructed, based on a Three World's taxonomy. This study establishes the importance of South Africa to international radio news, the topics covered, and determines the trends and differences in that coverage over the study period. These findings are discussed in terms of ideologically determined news values.     

On seduction (and flirting) in the twenty-first century: A communication-theoretical perspective

Abstract

This paper draws on a mathematics audit of a South African newspaper to make a quantitative assessment of numerical accuracy in that local paper. It attempts to answer three research questions: how often do news reports in a daily newspaper include a quantitative element? How often do mathematical errors occur in those reports? What types of mathematical errors occur in those reports? Twelve consecutive weekday editions of the Cape Times, a daily newspaper based in Cape Town, South Africa, were examined to measure the frequency of quantitative elements in news reports, the frequency of mathematical errors in those reports containing quantitative elements, and the types of errors that occur. The data revealed that a large proportion of news reports include a quantitative element, supporting the hypothesis that journalists need to be mathematically literate. News reports with a quantitative element had a high rate of numerical errors, mostly due to a lack of ability in or attention to basic arithmetic. The findings raise questions about the numerical competency of South African journalists and concerns about the ability of the South African media to perform their normative role within a developing democracy.     

The Press Freedom Commission in South Africa and the regulation of journalists online: Lessons from Britain and Australia

Abstract

The last few years have seen several attempts to strengthen press regulation in various parts of the world, while the difficulty of controlling online publication is arguably only increasing. In this article the focus is on recent suggestions for a new system of co-regulation of the press in South Africa, in order to see how online journalism is viewed and treated by regulators. In comparison, the article refers to suggestions in this regard by the Leveson Inquiry in Britain and two Australian press and media reviews. Reference is made to Flew and Swift (2013), who apply six main theories in three overlapping categories in debates on the role of journalism and its relationship to the state: fourth estate/market liberal; social responsibility/critical pluralist and dominant interest/radical. A literature review and a qualitative approach were used to identify and compare key debates in various reports from Australia, Britain and South Africa. While suggestions in Britain and Australia favoured an inclusive approach to the regulation of print and online journalism, the South African Press Freedom Commission rejected the idea, due to principle and practical objections. It also became clear that the key problem in the three countries lay in the inability to establish consensus between divergent perspectives on dominant interest and social responsibility, and the entrenched values of the fourth estate/market liberalism.     

Rethinking media diversity policy on the community press in South Africa

ABSTRACT

It has been well acknowledged by historians of South African media that the country had a vibrant grassroots community press under apartheid, which declined with the advent of democracy. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has supported media diversity in its media policy and has also criticised the supposedly anti-transformative nature of mainstream agenda-setting press. It has called for a range of measures to counteract this problem, including media diversity and intensified support for community media. However, apart from the establishment of the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), in its practices in government, the ANC has adopted a market-driven approach to the development of the sector, leaving questions of market structure to the Competition Commission and Tribunal. Evidence from the community press suggests that this approach, which amounts to an adaptation to neoliberalism, but with a public service top-up, is inadequate to the task of realising diversity. As a result, the community press is facing deep crisis. The article will then consider why the ANC has adopted an incoherent, even contradictory approach to press diversity, and what policy measures are needed to encourage the sorts of vibrant community press that a democratic South Africa needs.     

Meeting with the mass media: Tendencies of Japanese politicians

Abstract

This paper attempts to characterize aspects of the relationship between members of the parliament (Diet) and reporters in Japan. It focuses on the question of the degree of contact between the political elite and a particular mass medium, based on the results of a questionnaire that was distributed to Diet members. The findings show that most of the Diet members have a very great degree of contact with representatives of the printed media. Further, a correlation exists between frequency of meetings with local newspaper reporters—as opposed to the national mass media (newspapers and television)—and the number of times a politician has been elected to the Diet.

This research is part of a broader study being conducted in Japan on the relationship between politicians and the press.     

FRAMING OF JACOB ZUMA AND POLYGAMY IN DIE BURGER (2008–2013)

ABSTRACT

The traditional practice of polygamy, whereby a person is married to more than one spouse at the same time, entered the public discourse in South Africa primarily through President Jacob Zuma's weddings in 2008, 2010 and 2012. This article aims to reflect the discussion of Zuma's polygamy in particularly the Afrikaans communities of South Africa from 2008 to 2013, as the Afrikaans language newspaper Die Burger targets this segment of the broader society. Drawing on framing theory, three major themes emerged from this analysis. First, writers in Die Burger want Jacob Zuma to be a modern head of state instead of a traditional man. Second, they believe that the particular cultural right to practise polygamy violates women's human rights. Third, they see Jacob Zuma and polygamy not as a private but as a public issue, since taxpayers are supporting his family financially.     

Web-based communication: the need for more valuable on-line information

Abstract

Numerous studies about the Internet have already been conducted or are in the process of being conducted. However, after several years there still is no clear understanding of what form Web-based or on-line communication should take to make it really valuable to the consumer.

The contribution of this article is its attempt to address the current contents of Web-based communication and to provide some ideas with regard to the shortcomings in this regard. It addresses the impact of the Internet on the South African society, the Internet as a new communication medium as well as its effect on organisational communication. It also argues that an on-line presence is no longer enough and that online customers want more value in terms of their online experience.

Although Web-based communication has become an integral part of many organisational practices, traditional communication channels or media will not necessarily become obsolete. The Internet is a new communication medium with much potential and can eliminate problems associated with traditional media and channels.

Web-based communication has become a powerful new means of communication in South Africa. Information has become more accessible, more affordable as well as more manageable to both individuals and organisations and has in the process also empowered South African society with more knowledge. However, new technologies are not only concerned with the availability of new communication channels, but also with the development of new credible communication messages for successful communication.

Web-based communication is a more complex task and requires a much more skillful approach to be successful than is the general belief among communication practitioners. After the initial rush to obtain an on-line organisational presence, organisations are currently concerned with the effective integration of the Internet into their traditional marketing communication mix. Marketers, public relations practitioners and advertisers today benefit from the advantages of Web-based communication in conjunction with traditional media. However, even though it is clear that the Internet has an impact on organisational communication (integration), it is less obvious what form on-line information should take to make it really valuable to the consumer.     

Subversive semiotics and ironic anchorage on Vrye Weekblad covers: A visual analysis

Abstract

The apartheid-era Afrikaans press's compliance with apartheid politics and ideology is commonly recognised. This article investigates the newspaper Vrye Weekblad as an exception in this regard. A reading is made of four selected Vrye Weekblad front covers, through a qualitative visual semiotic analysis based on a Barthesian model, in order to describe the covers’ subversive and anti-apartheid tendencies. This analysis reveals that the subversive tendencies at work on the covers represent an open assault on the ruling National Party's (NP) norms and values, especially in terms of the bastions of apartheid Afrikaner nationalism, such as traditional reformed Christian beliefs, symbols of Afrikaner patriotism, concepts of racial purity and white ethnic superiority. The myths present on these covers, while functioning to undermine dominant ideologies, also naturalise an ideology of Vrye Weekblad's own, by creating alternative myths of a critical disposition towards the NP government. The subversive encoding of these covers stems from an ironic tension in anchorage between the conventional connotations associated with the cover images and their accompanying text, which undermine the dominant meanings of the images. This article seeks to contribute a theorisation of this ironic anchorage as a mode of encodification within the broader context of mythical representational practices. The author proposes that as these Vrye Weekblad covers were published under much the same uncertain circumstances as are experienced today with the African National Congress's (ANC) looming Protection of Information Bill and Media Appeals Tribunal, one might see the same occurrence of subversion through ironic anchorage in the contemporary South African media.     

Suid-Afrikaanse "alternatiewe" rolprente en die Suid-Afrikaanse sosio-politieke werklikheid. 'n Historiese,teoretiese en analitiese verkenning (Deel 1)

SUMMARY

The "alternative" film originated in South Africa because people or groups outside the apartheid establishment were unable to communicate through existing mass media structures, and their own communication channel had to be established.

The key question addressed in this article is whether the "alternative" South African film actually succeeds in making a contribution, on an intercultural level of communication, to the socio-political reality of South African society, and to what extent the film as communication medium succeeds in establishing positive intercultural communication? A study of four films is undertaken, according to Pieter J. Fourie's theoretical model (1983), whereby the content and shaping aspects of film images are examined from a contextual as well as an analytical point of view.

The value of the "alternative" film lies in the fact that the South African reality is seen from the perspective of the "black" or "coloured" person. For many years "whites", on account of their ethnocentric attitude and the absolutization of their values and norms, were never really aware of other race groups' values and norms, and were not interested in how these people experienced reality. In this regard the "alternative" film has a dual function significant to intercultural communication: on the one hand it offers self-expression – an important principle and starting point for intercultural communication – to people outside the apartheid establishment, and on the other hand, it gives whites within this establishment the opportunity to become acquainted with the worlds of other cultural and ideological groups.

If the South African film wants to present a model for reality, it will have to take into account the complexity of multicultural diversity without absolutizing certain people's cultural values and ideological perspectives. Communication should rather take the form of "dialogue".     

Communication technology and development: can South Africa afford the information explosion?

ABSTRACT

Weare living in a world where the availability of information can make you, or the lack of it can break you. The 'information explosion', as it is sometimes called, has already changed our lives. How this affects us, and changes our environment, our economy and our lives is a fascinating issue. But does it affect everyone? Is there a possibility that some communities can be left in the dark without the availability of these masses of information?

In South Africa some major changes are taking place at the moment. It could be argued that while South Africa tries to erase the remains of apartheid and rebuild the country, the rest of the world has 'quietly' moved into the information age. A development problem in South Africa concerns the disparities among the different communities. There is still a significant difference between the information-rich, a small minority, and the information-poor, the majority of the population.

This article first describes the situation in South Africa with regard to Internet availability and accessibility and secondly gives a broad overview of the theoretical assumptions underlying computer-mediated communication from a communication sciences perspective. In conclusion, specific questions on the topic for future research in communication sciences are proposed in general and applied to conditions in South Africa as a developing country.     

The struggle for press self-regulation in contemporary South Africa: Charting a course between an industry charade and a government doormat

Abstract

Self-regulation is widely seen as a way to balance media freedom with restraint. In South African press history, this balance has been the subject of contestation under apartheid. While the first 12 years after democracy were relatively uncontentious, concerns were raised in 2007 by proposals for statutory regulation proposals by the ruling party. The performance of the Press Council was an important component in the subsequent power-play around these proposals. This article assesses how independent performance of the system helped persuade the rulers to temporarily suspend their proposals and utilise the existing channels. However, the persistence of a narrow reactive practice of self-regulation provided space for the resumption of contestation in July 2010.     

Yesterday,AIDS and structural violence in South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article is based on a reading of the South African film Yesterday, which deals with the topic of ? AIDS. In the discourse analysis of the film text, the role of signs – verbal, visual and aural – in constructing meaning is examined, as well as the effect of different filming techniques. The film is then related to the broader South African socio-political context. The writer considers how representative Yesterday is of the AIDS situation in South Africa, a question which necessitates going beyond the film text and considering actual events in South Africa, past and present, as well as referring to other relevant examples of AIDS-related discourse.     

Reactions to globalisation by the television industry in post-apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the different ways in which the South African television industry has reacted to globalisation forces during the post-apartheid era that started in the early 1990s. Of particular interest is how the local television industry initially planned political and economic reforms aimed at bringing the industry more in line with global trends, but then later reacted mainly to protect the local television production industry against foreign competition and to protect local viewers against perceived cultural imperialism impacts of foreign programs. These protective actions were however not as successful as was intended with regard to promoting local television content production. The paper discusses the underlying dynamics of the globalisation and the various localisation processes that occurred (varying chronologically from primary, to secondary, to tertiary localisation), as well as the ways in which television industries in other parts of the world have reacted to similar global forces. It is contended that the local South African television production industry stands to benefit most in future if broadcasting policy makers respond more pro-actively to opportunities offered by global technological forces operating upon the industry. This is in agreement with the thrust of the latest broadcasting policy process of the Department of Communication. It is concluded that a recent joint initiative by the country's two major broadcasters in which an increased number of both locally produced and other “African” programs are being broadcast via satellite to prospective geo-cultural markets in the rest of Africa, holds promise for the future viability of the South African television industry.     

Decoding Western Festive Season Symbols and Rituals in Marketing Messages: A Bottom of the Pyramid Consumer Study in South Africa

Abstract

This study explored the communication of marketing messages containing traditional, Western festive season symbols and rituals. Specifically, the research sought to understand the decoding of such messages portraying festive season symbols (like Santa Claus and Christmas trees) and rituals, by Afrocentric bottom of the pyramid (BOP) consumers. This qualitative study involved interviews with thirty-one participants in two metropolitan areas in South Africa. The study used a combination of semi-structured interview questions and treatments of two South African television advertisements and two newspaper advertisements depicting Western festive season symbols and rituals. The study revealed a broadly positive sentiment towards the festive season, where festive season activities allow participants to implement their Afrocentric cultural values of unity and collective responsibility. Findings also show that Afrocentric cultural values do affect the decoding of these marketing messages. There was also a variety of responses to marketing messages displaying the symbols of Christmas trees and Santa Claus, which were not common in BOP consumer households. The key recommendation highlighted by this study is that marketing messages communicated to South African BOP consumers should also consider Afrocentric values of unity and collective responsibility.     

Citizenship,nation-building and diversity: What is the role of the media in all this?

Abstract

This article explores concepts and discourses regarding citizenship, nation-building and civic solidarity in particular with regard to diverse societies. Attention is given to diverging viewpoints on nation-building and different models on how civic solidarity could be achieved in heterogeneous societies. A distinction is made between Jacobinistic and syncretistic approaches to nation-building and citizenship, as well as between constitutional patriotism, liberal nationalism and deep diversity as models for achieving feelings of belonging, patriotism and social cohesion in heterogeneous societies. Nation-building in Africa and South Africa – and the implications thereof for sub-national groups – are furthermore considered. The role of the media in nation-building, on the one hand, and the accommodation of diversity, on the other, are also considered. The article ends with conclusions and recommendations on the role of the media in promoting discourses on diversity.     

Churnalism and Hype in Science Communication: Comparing University Press Releases and Journalistic Articles in South Africa

Abstract

Against the background of a fast-changing media environment and increasing competition in the science arena, we explored how media outlets use science- based press releases issued by research-intensive universities in South Africa. We compared 40 science-related media articles to related institutional press releases. We found that most press releases are re-published with minimal journalistic input and no crediting of the original source, with indications of hype present in a third of the media articles. This could be a reason for concern because press releases issued by research institutions are written to serve the interests of the institution and not to reflect on science. When media outlets re- publish these press releases without editorial input, it means that the critical or investigative role of the media is lost. Given concerns about the long-term implications of churnalism and hype in science media coverage, we ask whether PR-driven communication of science, as practiced by university media offices, among others, serves the long-term interests of science and society. We suggest that universities should consider the options and benefits of moving towards a new science communication paradigm focused less on reputation-building and more on constructive public engagement and helpful dialogue with society.     

Press-party parallelism: The Star's editorial position on the 1922 Miner's Strike

SUMMARY

Against the background of a theory about press-party parallelism the author of this article argues that the Johannesburg based newspaper, THE STAR, supported the use of political violence when this newspaper supported the government of the day. As an example he illustrates how THE STAR vigorously defended the strong steps taken by the Smuts Government against revolutionaries in 1922. This was at a time when THE STAR was associated with colonial control and mining interests. During the mine worker strikes in 1913, 1914 and 1922 THE STAR supported the government's use of military measures to suppress revolt, and identified ‘communists’ and ‘agitators’ as the primary force behind the strikes. Today the same newspaper opposes the government's arguments for strong measures against revolutionaries. According to the author the implications of his historical evidence are disquieting: they suggest that on occasion newspapers are so tightly linked to a political party and other interests that truth, balance and fairness are of secondary interest.     

Embedded journalism – more than a conflictreporting issue

Abstract

One of the outstanding features of the recent war in Iraq was the prominent media coverage given to so-called embedded journalists, that is, reporters travelling with, and under, the protection of coalition forces. This practice was severely criticised for compromising the independence of journalists. Editors nevertheless defended it on practical grounds. In this article it is argued that embedded journalism is part and parcel of the way South African media operate, albeit in a somewhat different form from what is prevalent in Iraq and that it includes far more than issues relating to conflict reporting. The issue of conflict of interests while gathering news is well documented and routinely addressed in handbooks on media ethics as well as ethical codes. But the South African media usually tend to shun open discussion of this and other ethical issues. Whatever the reason, the lack of debate on these and other media ethical issues prevents media users from seeing journalism for what it is: a value-laden activity more often than not determined by commercial considerations. These issues are addressed within the South African context and some pertinent questions are posed on the political and commercial embeddedness of journalists, that is, how conflict of interest permeates South African media. It is concluded that owners, managers and individual journalists all have some responsibility for the embeddedness of South African journalists. Given the focus on profits, it is suggested that the way forward would be for journalists to start speaking out and applying their specific ethical codes.