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

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

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

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

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

No description available.

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

The aim of this study is to present information to members of the South African press, academics in the field of journalism as well as individuals of the South African public who have a keen interest in printed communication in South Africa. The information presented discusses the practice of self-regulation in the South African press, through a study of the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA), the Press Ombudsman and the Press Appeals Panel that is a non-governmental organisation to regulate the press in South Africa. This study will include an analysis of the functions of the Press Ombudsman, the PCSA, the Press Appeals Panel, as well as the role of the constitution of the PSCA and the South African Press Code, which the PCSA uses as a guideline for publications that subscribe to it. Furthermore, a study into the complaints procedure and the determination of the outcome will be done in addition to the sanctions imposed on publications and journalists in breach of the Press Code as well as the acknowledgement given to individuals who have lodged a complaint to the Press Ombudsman, and the article or publication they have complained against had been in breach of the press code. In addition, this study will analyse the outcomes of selected complaints submitted to the PCSA as well as an analysis of submissions made to the PCSA task team and the Press Freedom Commission, an independent commission that was set up to research the regulations of the press. It was found that the PCSA strengthened the system of regulation with the help of the public. It is apparent that the organisation took into account many of the points raised in public submissions. Although the system is self-regulatory it is important to take note that it values and upholds the views of the public. Although though the sanctioning of wayward newspapers was not severe, it had become more defined in the amended code. A point of concern that did not improve over time is the time frame that the Press Ombudsman‟s Office took to resolve the disputes. The delays caused in some disputes were caused by loop holes in the press code and complaints procedure as well as defiant journalists. The PCSA is currently being restructured. As a society changes, the press industry needs to adapt to its needs. This means that the press code will have to constantly be developed to suit society‟s rapidly changing needs. The PCSA has attempted to meet those needs by constantly changing to ensure that the regulatory structure remains relevant.

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

No abstract available. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.