Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be classified as an isolated conflict. Today’s clashes were not triggered by a single event, but rather are as a result of thousands of years of violent and at times restrained disagreements about the rights of Jews, Muslims and other ethnic groups to the disputed land known collectively today as Israel and the Palestinian Territories. This study examines the media coverage of one event during the conflict, i.e. the withdrawal by Israeli settlers from the Gaza area. The study tracks coverage over ten weeks in the South African media context, specifically the Mail & Guardian, Cape Times and the Sunday Times – a media setting in itself highly diverse and compelling. Using a qualitative framing analysis as the central methodology, the study focused on six core frames in analysing all articles/reports relating to the Gaza withdrawal. In addition, the editors of the respective newspapers were interviewed to complement the textual analysis. The methodological approach addressed how each story was packaged and presented, and then questioned why certain frames dominated and others did not. The study found that conflict (a combination of violent and non-violent) was the dominant frame chosen. Consequences and Attribution of Responsibility were the next two most prominent frames. Both these frames were found to apportion blame to a particular side in presenting the news reports and when providing comment. Whilst all three newspapers argued that they practiced a balanced coverage, it was this perceived “balance” in using several different frames of presentation that neglected a key “historical” frame. This lack of historical context was one of the key results of the other frames being so dominant. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die konflik tussen Israel en Palestina kan nie gesien word as ’n geïsoleerde konflik nie. Die huidige konflik is nie veroorsaak deur ’n enkele gebeurtenis nie, maar spruit uit die voortslepende geweld tussen Jode, Moslems en ander etniese groepe wat reeds duisende jare lank duur, as gevolg van betwiste aansprake op die grondgebied gesamentlik bekend as Israel en die Palestynse grondgebied. Dié studie ondersoek die mediadekking van een gebeurtenis in die konflik, naamlik die onttrekking van Israeli setlaars in die Gaza-gebied. Die studie volg mediadekking oor tien weke deur drie Suid-Afrikaanse publikasies, Mail & Guardian, Cape Times en Sunday Times. Met behulp van kwalitatiewe raming-analise as die sentrale metodologie, konsentreer dié studie op ses rame in die analise van artikels, wat verband hou met die onttrekking uit die Gasastrook. Die navorsing word aangevul met onderhoude met die redakteurs van die koerante. Die metodologie is toegespits op die manier waarop die stories verpak en aangebied word, en bevraagteken waarom sekere raamwerke oorheers en ander van minder belang is. Die studie bevind dat Konflik (’n samestelling van geweldadige en nie-geweldadige konflik) die oorheersende raam was waarbinne artikels in dié tydperk aangebied is. Die Gevolge- en Toeskrywing van Verantwoordelikheid-rame kom ná konflik die meeste voor. By albei raamwerke word bevind dat skuld aan die een of ander kant toegeskryf word in die aanbiedeing van nuusverslae en wanneer kommentaar gelewer word. Hoewel al drie koerante volhou dat hulle gebalanseerde dekking aanbied, word ’n belangrike “historiese” raam in dié aanbieding verontagsaam as gevolg van die gebruik van verskeie rame om balans te bewerkstellig. Die gebrek aan ’n historiese konteks is een van die vernaamste gevolge van die oorheersing van die ander rame.

Thesis (MPhil (Journalism))--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / The media plays a fundamental role in shaping societies’ opinions about topical issues. Most human beings depend upon either the print media (newspapers/magazines), television or radio as their sources of news. The advent of the internet since the 1990s revolutionised the media world and created an immediacy on the impact of news like no other previous medium could provide, as it had a combination of audio and visual material. The most effective demonstration of such immediacy would be that of the impact of the September 11 attacks in the USA in 2001. The aftermath of the media’s impact still resonates throughout the world today, especially its impact on those who follow the Islamic faith. This paper aims to explore the impact of the media on this newly derived concept of Islamophobia, especially post 9/11. It includes a case study of the Islamophobic Danish cartoon controversy that occurred in February 2006. This paper discusses the concept of Islamophobia and anti-Islamism, as well as how the events of 9/11 and its media coverage contributed towards the worsening of this sentiment across the globe. The conclusion reached is that instead of the media acting as a mediator between Western society and the global Muslim community and creating an atmosphere of each understanding the other, it acted negatively against Islam, the world’s fastest growing religion.

The prominent division in early America between the established eastern populations and communities in the West is evident when viewed through the lens of eighteenth-century Philadelphia newspapers, which themselves employed an East-West paradigm to interpret four events: the Paxton Boys Incident, Regulator Rebellion, Shays's Rebellion, and Constitutional Convention. Through the choices of what words to use to describe these clashes, through oversights, omissions, and misrepresentations, and sometimes through more direct tactics, Philadelphia newspapermen revealed a persistent cultural bias against and rivalry with western communities. This study illustrates how pervasive this contrast between East and West was in the minds of easterners; how central a feature of early American culture they considered it to be.

This study examines the discrimination against Japanese immigrants in U.S. naturalization law up to 1952 and how it was covered in the Oregonian newspaper, one of the oldest and most widely read newspapers on the West Coast. The anti-Japanese movement was much larger in California, but this paper focuses on the attitudes in Oregon, which at times echoed sentiments in California but at other times conveyed support for Japanese naturalization. Naturalization laws at the turn of the century were vague, leaving the task of defining who was white, and thus eligible for naturalization, to the courts. Japanese applicants were often denied, but until the federal government clarified which immigrants could or could not become citizens, the subject remained open to debate. "Ineligibility to naturalization" was often used as a code for "Japanese" in discriminatory land use laws and similar legislation at the state level in California and in other western states. This study highlights several factors which influenced Oregonian editorials on the subject. First, the fear of offending Japan and provoking war with that empire was a foremost concern of Oregonian editors. California's moves to use naturalization law to prevent Japanese immigrants from owning land were seen as dangerous because they damaged relations with Japan and could lead to war. The Oregonian went so far as to recommend Japanese naturalization during the First World War. However, war and foreign relations were federal issues, thus the second theme seen throughout Oregonian editorials was deference to federal authority on questions related to naturalization. While suggesting that naturalization for existing immigrants might be good policy, the Oregonian urged the federal government to settle the matter. Once the Supreme Court ruled against Asian naturalization in 1922 and 1923, the Oregonian dropped its push for such rights. Nativism was another theme that influenced opinions at this time, and before 1923 the Oregonian generally opposed extreme nativist positions, while at the same time advocating for limits to Japanese immigration and against mixed marriages. This paper does not deal with the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II because naturalization was not the issue for the anti-exclusion movement at the time. Citizenship did not give the Nisei, second generation Japanese American citizens, any protection against their wartime removal from the West Coast. This study returns to the issue of naturalization for Japanese immigrants after the war, as a number of Issei, first generation Japanese immigrants, still lived in the United States but were denied citizenship, even though most had been in the country for decades at that point. There was less opposition to Japanese naturalization after the war due to the noted loyalty of the Japanese during the war, the focus on human rights as an issue promoted by the new United Nations, and Cold War politics which demanded better relations with Japan and thus fairer treatment of Japanese living in the United States. The Oregonian editorials reflected the shift in public opinion throughout the country in favor of lifting the racial bar to citizenship. Japanese Americans in Oregon were active in the campaign to change U.S. naturalization law. The issue was more important to the Japanese American community than it was to the Oregonian editorial board by then, as other Cold War events took precedence on the front and op-ed pages of the newspaper.

The increase of mass shootings in the U.S. has amplified news reporting on mental illness as a possible factor in the shootings despite no evidence linking the two issues. Sources used to explain mental illness in stories that explore the motivations of mass shooters affect audience perception. Through a qualitative content analysis of local newspaper coverage of five U.S. mass shootings in 2015, journalists linked mental illness as a possible motive through sources who were not qualified to treat or diagnose mental illness. Journalists also ignored professional guidance from the Associated Press on mental illness reporting in the context of mass shootings. Additionally, journalists assumed the audience was knowledgeable of mental illness in general terms and specific diagnoses. These findings indicate coverage of mass shootings includes inaccurate information about shooters' motives, and it also continues to frame mental illness as dangerous.

This thesis is a case study applying George Lakoff’s theories regarding frames to a specific series of legislation dealing with immigration. First, literature is examined regarding changes in Congress and media and the relationship between the two. George Lakoff’s theories on framing are discussed, playing special attention to the familial models and biconceptualism. The case study regards immigration reform legislation that was attempted to pass through Congress in 2007, specifically the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 and the STRIVE Act. The application of Lakoff’s theories to this case study aids in further understanding the link between politics and communication and the importance of persuasion in a political setting. / Department of Political Science

Sociable robots are increasing in complexity, popularity, and visibility. With the rapid diffusion of digital technologies in contemporary cultures, there is often limited time for critical reflection. The purpose of this thesis is to critically dissect an evolving technology, social robotics, as it begins entering more and more modern contexts. Using an eclectic approach, this research examines social robotics discourse across The New York Times (from 1986 to 2010) and popular fiction. Specifically, this thesis analyzes the media promoted appeal of social robotics, how social robotics are being presented to a general and specific audience, and evaluates how popular discourse on social robotics might be changing perceptions of communication and humanity. This research serves as a starting point for ongoing research into how new technologies and discourse on new technologies change, and attempt to influence, people and culture. / Introduction and justification -- Lit. review of sociable robots : the past, the present and the future -- Methods for analysis -- Critical analysis of social robotics and social robotics discourse -- Discussion. / Department of Telecommunications

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Art in Journalism and Media Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2016 / This is a story of undocumented migrants’ journeys between Malawi and Johannesburg, exposing the challenges they face and the corruption that takes place along the borders. Modern migration between the two countries has taken place for close to two hundred years. In the past, migrants, most of whom worked in the mines, were protected by law and that eased their movements. These days, low skilled migrants do not qualify for work permits so they stay in the country illegally. The South African law qualifies such migrants as undesirable visitors and bans them from returning to the country for some time. This research project documents how such migrants return home and come back to South Africa even before their bans expire. The research exposes how the migrants are aided by corrupt officers at the borders. The story shows how some of the migrants utilised a weakness in the old Malawi identification and passport system to obtain new travel documents under false names and return to South Africa undetected. This research project adopted an ethnographic approach. The findings are presented in a longform narrative story, which forms the first part of this document. The story is accompanied by a method document, which provides the theoretical framework and explains the methodology. / GR2017

The research was premised on the notion that gender is a social construct that is inextricably linked with masculinity and violence. This view of gender was used in an attempt to understand how masculinity and violence are constructed in the tabloid newspaper, the Daily Sun. The research used a discourse analysis, specifically looking at the various subject positions that are afforded to both men and women in this publication and how such positions foreclose other ways of thinking about and understanding gendered violence. The data set consisted of 23 information rich articles that were selected through the use of a purposeful sampling strategy. Results suggest while the Daily Sun positions itself as a medium that aims to ‘educate’ men (particularly working class men) against committing gendered violence, the Daily Sun may serve to reinforce the system of patriarchy that it claims to want to dismantle. In particular, the report highlights the problematic nature and implications of providing individual psychological explanations for gendered violence without acknowledging the contextual issues that are at play.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Journalism and Media Studies, 2017 / This study investigates China’s media image in Zimbabwe. It does so through the lens of two leading newspapers: The Herald and NewsDay during the intense election campaign period of 2013. It deploys both quantitative and qualitative content analysis of newspaper articles drawn from The Herald and NewsDay in order to investigate the image of China in the Zimbabwean media. In terms of theoretical underpinnings, it draws from various media and communication theories. These include the broad area of image studies and framing theory to understand the media-constructed image of China before, during and after the 2013 electioneering period. These communication theories are tested and applied as a means of gaining insights into how the media shape images of China in Zimbabwe and in Africa generally. The findings of this study suggests that during this period the media image of China was projected in a more positive light in The Herald when compared to the negative images and depictions in the NewsDay. It shows that the economic consequence frame dominated the coverage of China thereby portraying the East Asian country as an economic partner, donor, economic saviour, development source and investor in Zimbabwe. The study also reveals that the construction of the media image of China is influenced by interplay of several factors such as the editorial slant of news producers, economic and political pressures influencing the polarised media environment in Zimbabwe. / XL2018