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The South African media's framing of the introduction of Mandarin into the South African school curriculumFrank, Richard James January 2016 (has links)
A research project submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts,
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. / This research report examines the way the media framed the introduction of Mandarin to the South
African school curriculum, and the relationship between frame sponsors and the frames employed by
the media.
The dramatic growth of Chinese investment and its related social and political influence in Africa has
been greeted by a mixed response. The media has often characterised the relationship in a binary way,
as either Chinese imperialism or a developmental relationship. To improve China’s image, the
Chinese government has embarked upon a policy of soft power, which extends into influencing
educational language policy, to encourage more people to learn Mandarin and understand Chinese
culture. To explore the media articulation of the China-South Africa relationship media framing
theory was employed.
The frame analysis was conducted by analysing the content of 50 articles published in the South
African press between March and October 2015. The analysis found three mega-frames: imperialism,
globalisation and nationalism. The imperialism and globalisation frames are consistent with other
academic and media literature that considers the China-Africa relationship as either colonial or a
natural outcome of global market dynamics.
The role of frame sponsors and their influence on the framing process was also explored. The majority
of frame sponsors were official government, trade union and academic sources, suggesting an elite
contestation. Notably absent were Chinese frame sponsors and the views of teachers, parents or
learners. Government frame sponsors promoted the globalisation mega-frame while trade union
sources promoted the imperialism and nationalism frames.
The results suggest that the South African media articulates the China-South Africa relationship using
the binary of colonial predator or developmental partner, where a more nuanced reading may prove
more fruitful in understanding the dynamics of their relationship. / MT2017
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Saving the Sowetan : the public interest and commercial imperatives in journalism practiceCowling, Lesley January 2015 (has links)
This thesis examines the complex ways in which notions of the public interest and commercial imperatives intertwine in journalism practice. It does this through a study of the 2004 takeover and relaunch of the Sowetan newspaper, the highest circulation daily in South Africa throughout the 1990s and an institution of black public life. The ‘public interest’ and ‘the commercial’ are recurring ideas in journalism scholarship and practice, and the relaunch appeared to be a challenge to reconcile the Sowetan’s commercial challenges with its historical responsibility to a ‘nation-building’ public. However, the research shows that the public/commercial aspects of journalism were inextricably entangled with Sowetan’s organisational culture, which was the matrix through which its journalism practice was expressed. Conflict in the organisation over the changes was not simply a contest between commercial realities and the public interest, with journalists defending a responsibility to the public and managers pushing commercial solutions, but a conflict between the culture of Sowetan “insiders”, steeped in the legacy of the newspaper, and “outsiders”, employed by the new owners to effect change. Another conclusion of the research is that commercial “realities” – often conceptualised as counter to the public interest – are highly mutable. Basic conditions, such as a dependence on advertising, exist. However, media managers must choose from a range of strategies to be commercially viable, which requires risk-taking, innovation and, often, guesswork. In such situations, the ‘wall’ between media managers and senior editors is porous, as all executives must manage the relationship between business and editorial imperatives. Executives tend to overlook culture as a factor in changing organisations, but I argue that journalism could benefit from engaging with management theory and organisational psychology, which offer ways to understand the specific dynamics of the organisation. Finally, I argue that the case of the Sowetan throws into question the idea that there may be a broadly universal journalism culture. The attachment of Sowetan journalists to their particular values and practice suggests that forms of journalism evolve in certain contexts to diverge from the ‘professional’ Anglo-American modes. These ‘journalisms’ use similar terms – such as the ‘public interest’ – but operationalise them quite differently. The responsibility to the public is imagined in very different ways, but remains a significant attachment for journalists.
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