The study critically explored the language of reportage of the Zimbabwe Land Reform programme as presented in selected Shona and English newspapers in Zimbabwe. The study focused on Kwayedza, The Herald, The Daily News and The Daily Mirror. The objective was to find out whether or not the verbal and visual languages used in reporting the Land Reform programme left readers more knowledgeable about the programme, and then adopt a critical attitude towards the Land Reform exercise. The study used qualitative textual analysis to unpack the language frames used in representing Land Reform in the selected newspapers. Some relevant critical voices from readers were also enlisted in order to support or complicate interpretations of how Land Reform was portrayed in the selected stories. Kwayedza and The Herald unequivocally supported the Land Reform. This official stance was contested in Chapter Four in which The Daily News adopted an ideological position opposed to both the idea of the Land Reform and the confiscatory way the land was repossessed. The Daily News’ extremely negative criticism of the Land Reform was challenged and then modified in The Daily Mirror. The Daily Mirror criticised both the government’s extremely supportive view of the Land Reform. The Daily Mirror also openly criticised The Daily News for refusing to acknowledge the historical inevitability and necessity of the Land Reform. The Daily Mirror advanced a perspective that suggested that Land Reform programme should benefit the masses more than the elites. It was argued that in contexts of political change such as that of Zimbabwe, newspapers take a stance and support particular ideological interests. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The diploma thesis deals with the personality of Robert Maxwell, his biography, his taking effect on the British media and political scene. The thesis follows also Maxwell's book distribution, founding its first publishing house and several newspapers which he owned. The thesis contains information not only about the Robert Maxwell's personality but also about the historical context his times in Great Britain and focuses on the historical aspect of the media field, business and politics.

The study critically explored the language of reportage of the Zimbabwe Land Reform programme as presented in selected Shona and English newspapers in Zimbabwe. The study focused on Kwayedza, The Herald, The Daily News and The Daily Mirror. The objective was to find out whether or not the verbal and visual languages used in reporting the Land Reform programme left readers more knowledgeable about the programme, and then adopt a critical attitude towards the Land Reform exercise. The study used qualitative textual analysis to unpack the language frames used in representing Land Reform in the selected newspapers. Some relevant critical voices from readers were also enlisted in order to support or complicate interpretations of how Land Reform was portrayed in the selected stories. Kwayedza and The Herald unequivocally supported the Land Reform. This official stance was contested in Chapter Four in which The Daily News adopted an ideological position opposed to both the idea of the Land Reform and the confiscatory way the land was repossessed. The Daily News’ extremely negative criticism of the Land Reform was challenged and then modified in The Daily Mirror. The Daily Mirror criticised both the government’s extremely supportive view of the Land Reform. The Daily Mirror also openly criticised The Daily News for refusing to acknowledge the historical inevitability and necessity of the Land Reform. The Daily Mirror advanced a perspective that suggested that Land Reform programme should benefit the masses more than the elites. It was argued that in contexts of political change such as that of Zimbabwe, newspapers take a stance and support particular ideological interests. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil. (African Languages)

The primary focus of this thesis is on representations of Germany and Germans in the sports pages of English newspapers from the mid-1950s to the mid-1990s, when EURO 96 generated press coverage that prompted much comment and criticism, both in England and in Germany. Studies focusing on media representations from the mid 1990s onwards, such as those by Maguire, Poulton and Possamai (1999), Garland and Rowe (1999) and Garland (2004) have been helpful in deconstructing the language used by football journalists and in identifying negative national stereotyping. More recently, however, Ramsden (2007) and Young (2007) have developed our understanding of Anglo-German cultural relations and how they have changed since 1945. In the light of these recent developments this thesis seeks, firstly, to analyse the discourses embedded within the ‘Two World Wars and One World Cup’ meta-narrative which has characterized press coverage of Anglo-German football since international fixtures between the two countries were resumed in 1954 and, secondly, to contextualize them in the broader history of Anglo-German cultural relations and how they developed over the forty years or so that followed. Though drawing on some insights from both cultural and media studies the methodology employed is essential historical. This does not mean, however, that press reports and comment are regarded as unproblematic primary sources. Recent methodological approaches the history of sport, notably by Booth (2005) and Hill (2006), have pointed to the importance of viewing such sources as texts which are thus open to deconstruction. A complementary emphasis on historical context is nevertheless justified, principally because it is important to explain variations that have occurred over time. Though there were some similarities in the way that Anglo-German football was covered in 1954 and 1996 – and at various points in between - there are also striking differences which it is argued here are primarily explained by conditions prevailing at the particular historical junctures at which representations were generated. The relationship which existed between Britain and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s was significantly different to that which existed between Britain and re-unified Germany in the 1990s. This was an important contingent factor and helps to explain variations in the deployment of journalistic discourses over the years. Thus this thesis breaks new ground in that it emphasizes the historical contextualization of representations over a long period and seeks to counter any tendency to look backwards from the viewpoint of the mid 1990s. The discussion proceeds chronologically from the 1950s to the 1990s in order to demonstrate variations in the way that discourses were deployed over the years. Thus the representations generated provide a way of reading the state of underlying Anglo-German relations at any given point. One chapter is devoted to the 1966 World Cup Final on account of its significance in press discourses relating to Anglo-German football and in what is popularly referred to in England as the 'thirty/forty years of hurt' that followed. Whereas academic attention in relation to football-related representations has previously concentrated on the downmarket tabloid press, this study is equally concerned with quality and middlemarket titles. Thus The Times and the Daily Express are considered alongside the Daily Mirror and the Sun. Finally – and in contrast to previous accounts which have considered the English press in isolation – a chapter on German newspaper coverage (principally Bild, Die Welt and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) has been included to allow some comparisons to be made and to point to directions in which future research might be pursued.