The global media landscape has undergone fundamental changes. South Africa is one of the countries that has been part of the global media revolution, and it is therefore not surprising that the broadcasting and the telecommunications industry in South Africa finds itself in the midst of critical and rapid changes. From a technological and legislative viewpoint, the industry is grappling with the meaning and implications of the convergence of broadcasting (Sentech Annual Report, 2002). Sentech Limited is used as a case study for this dissertation. The present study examines the nature of Sentech's transformation as a service arm within the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to a fully-fledged, profit driven, state-owned enterprise. The advent of technological convergence and the introduction of new digital technologies afford Sentech exciting new opportunities to expand in the communications arena. The first chapter entails the methods of data collection used, as well as the analysis of data collected from the interviews and surveys. It is worth reviewing the challenges that Sentech faces as it operates independently of SABC, as well as how its transition into a digital oriented enterprise has developed and necessitated the possible access to information. Chapter two discusses and outlines Sentech's history and its structure. The two issues raised guide the reader towards a better understanding of the 'old Sentech', and its transformation to a 'renewed entity'. The history surveys Sentech's establishment from the initial stages when it was a mere division of SABC, focused on technological aspects of analogue terrestrial signal distribution. The new technological revolution introduced and transformed Sentech into a digital transmitter. The 'new Sentech's outfitted with new technological platforms for distribution and transmission. For instance, IP Wireless mobile broadband and other new technological structures contributed to reshaping Sentech into a digitally oriented transmitter. The design of the company tracks different developments in which Sentech has engaged over the past ten years, and are dealt with the following sections. The third chapter deals with Sentech's transformation as an outcome of the liberalization wherein the effects of this process need to be looked at including the role of the government, market structure, issues of competition with Orbicom and Telkom, the new competitive strategies and ICASA's role as a regulator. The fourth chapter covers the concepts and theories that may help inform the discussion in the dissertation. Three theories will be used in the discussion to help to analyze and evaluate the data collected. The theories are very important as they motivate this study. They are concerned with the concept of political economy. Political economy signifies "the production, distribution, and consumption of the more general interest in the process of control and survival in social life" (Mosco, 1996: 17). These will exemplify the opportunities that Sentech faced as an independent commercial enterprise. Furthermore, the section explains technological components. Sentech is a signal distributor, which underwent transformation. Concepts such as 'convergence' produce a vivid explanation of how Sentech was allowed to undertake an aggressive business transformation, from being traditional signal distribution to international telephony and multimedia service. Chapter five entails the performance of Sentech. This part discusses the revenue, public interest on matters relating to access and some of the key challenges. There is also a discussion on globalization, digitization and convergence which Sentech has engaged in. The last chapter will be concerned with a conclusion and will recommend a way forward. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

Botswana is considered an exemplary democracy in Africa. It is imperative to assess how an enviable democracy could flourish when the most widely available mass media was not independent. The fact is, despite the fact that media has been at the heart of development in Botswana, it has often been ignored in local academic and popular discussions about democracy and governance. A 1994 seminar on the media in a democracy organized by the Mmegi Publishing Trust (Leepile, 1994), was one of the very few forums where the role of the media in Botswana was given any attention. Even then, most the presentations were not substantive, mainly providing basic information about media institutions in Botswana and laws that protect and threaten freedom of the media. Botswana's contemporary state - media nexus can only be understood within the context of a long history of media dependence and domination by neighbouring South Africa (Zaffiro, 1991) assisted by British colonisation. To appreciate the challenges of cultural production at Botswana Television (BTV) required a study of the problematic encounter between the quest for creative and professional freedom within BTV on the one hand,·and the authoritarian gaze of state power on the other hand. BTV operated under an ill-defined broadcasting model, of a state bureaucratic arm, attempting to fulfil the ethos of public service broadcasting. Through the lens of the Newsroom, in-house productions, commissioning and procurement of foreign and local content, the study shows the subtle ways in which state ownership of the media compromises freedom of expression and freedom of information in Botswana. Yet, Botswana continued to enjoy that status of Africa's exemplar of democracy. Good governance indicators consistently gave media in Botswana cursory attention, thereby reinforcing state authoritarianism in Botswana. With a media dominated by state power, Botswana still emerged as exemplary. This complicated the quest for the ideal communication environment towards democratization in the Third World, particularly in a globalizing context. In situations such as that of Botswana, where the institutions that should protect the media from government control are either absent or weak, universal ideals on media freedom are often not enough. Media practitioners are more likely to find support in the local discourses, repertoires and cultures that call upon all, regardless of status, to tolerate opposition. A local tradition of the kgotla in particular, often heralded as Botswana's indigenous form of democracy, is placed in this chapter, at the heart of much of the freedom, limited as it may be, that BTV enjoyed. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

When the Media Wars broke out in Australian universities in the mid-1990s, journalism educator Keith Winschuttle accused cultural studies of teaching theory that contradicted the realist and empirical worldview of journalism practice. He labeled cultural studies as a form of linguistic idealism. His own worldview is decidedly empiricist.The thesis brings to Windschuttle's empiricist-idealist dualism a type of transcendental argument that uses Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor's understanding of modernity as a paradox between the Enlightenment and Romantic traditions. Taylor was an instrumental member of the New Left movement (beginning in 1956) while he was a student at Oxford. Together with Stuart Hall, he edited a journal that became a precursor to New Left Review. While at Oxford, Taylor went to Paris to study with Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Upon his return he brought back a copy of Marx's 1844 Manuscripts, which he translated into English for his colleagues. Taylor was instrumental in introducing Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology there. Hall mentions in recent interviews his debt to Taylor for their discussions on Marx and Hegel. Taylor's approach to post-Marxism and his critique of positivist social science derives significantly from his reading of Merleau-Ponty, whose Phenomenology of Perception (1962) rejects both empiricism and intellectualism (idealism) for their sharing a Cartesian model of subjectivity. British Cultural Studies began (Hall says in 1956) with a rejection of the economism of classical Marxism, and sought a more plausible theory of agency than what Marxism offered at that time. The correspondence between the debates in early cultural studies and Taylor's extensive writing on this matter, together with his overall critique of modernity, appear too close to be coincidental. Furthermore, these debates were driven by an attempt to steer between the Enlightenment and Romantic traditions, thus embracing in their own intellectual practices Marx's (and Hegel's) dialectical method. Drawing upon the correspondences between Taylor's and cultural studies' attempts to resolve the paradoxes of modernity, it becomes clear that Windschuttle's dualism can be absorbed within the problematic of cultural studies. Furthermore, drawing on Taylor's use of the humanist Marx, Hegel and Merleau-Ponty, Windschuttle's empiricist paradigm can be shown to fail to provide a plausible (and therefore ethical) model of agency. A study of TayIor's philosophical anthropology provides the basis by which this failure can be addressed. Taylor's philosophy is equally useful in addressing this lacuna in postmodern cultural studies. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

In South Africa there are general studies that aim to understand HIV prevalence and specific surveys for target groups. However there is a gap in research that relates particularly to university students active participation in HIV/AIDS prevention messaging. This study explores the use of the Communication for Social Change (CFSC) theory with students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban. The study takes the form of a survey, using researcher administered questions with 400 students at the Westville and Howard College campus to understand their perceptions of the 'Abstinence, Be faithful and Condomise' prevention strategy. Two focus groups were conducted at both campuses to further analyse the survey findings, with a particular reference to the use of dialogue to actively engage students in discussions about HIV/AIDS prevention messages. The study traces the origin of CFSC through a review of the development communication theories (which include modernization theory, dependency theory, development support communication and another development). The survey revealed that students were not supportive of programmes with a top-down flow of communication. Students at both campuses welcomed the role that dialogue could play to encourage student participation in the design of a new HIV/AIDS prevention message. Some of the findings from the survey showed that 91% of students at both campuses motivated in favour of students as active participants in HIV/AIDS communication processes. The findings from the focus group also revealed that students did not find the ABC message effective, and strongly promoted a revision of this message which should include 'accountability' and 'responsibility' as part of the HIV/AIDS prevention strategy. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

The 1994 democratic elections, which were the first of their kind in South Africa, served as a significant turning point for the country as they marked the end of an oppressive regime and the beginning of a long sought after dispensation; democracy. The change in dispensation was not only limited to the political sphere but naturally filtered through to every aspect of South African life including the broadcasting industry. In fact, leading up to the elections, a number of negotiations had begun centered around the necessary restructuring of the national broadcaster; the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). In regard to this moment in history, Raymond Louw (1993: 01) mentions that, there had "never been a time in South Africa when debate about media, its conduct, structures, ownership and control hard] been so intense". The negotiations were deemed important for a number of reasons. Firstly the media, by virtue of their perceived power and ability to influence the general public, are a highly contested domain. It was therefore essential for a consensus to be reached on how the SABC, for example, would be managed during this time so that no parties would be left at a disadvantage. Secondly, the SABC had earned a reputation as the Nationalist government propaganda machine and therefore had to be freed of this undemocratic burden. The paper is thus a case study of the SABC and the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). Issues of ownership, control, regulation and the role of public service broadcasting will be discussed primarily from a political economic perspective. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

This research is an investigation into the political economy of sports broadcasting within a South African context, using the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 (CWC2003) as a case study. The staging of this global event, hosted by South Africa, is the focal point of many the world's largest sports media institutions and the production, packaging and distribution of the event is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. There are also many economic spin-offs generated by a media event of this magnitude in the form of ad spend and media merchandising which add to the monetary value of the Cricket World Cup as a mediated commodity. This dissertation looks at the political economy of the media in relation to the rapid globalization of the economics of sport and the role that technology has played in this development. In particular, the research will focus on the South African television broadcasting environment while at the same time acknowledging the trends and impact that global forces in sports economics have had on broadcasting. The research pays particular attention to the question of national identity and the role that sport broadcasting on television plays in building a spirit of national unity. This unifying tool has raised debates by the government regarding access to sporting events that are deemed to be of 'national interest'. In light of this, the dissertation looks at the role that public service broadcasting now plays in broadcasting sport to the greater population in South Africa. Finally, the dissertation looks at the case study of the cricket World Cup 2003 held in South Africa against which to apply the theories of political economy, globalization, and national interest. The dissertation looks at the audiences and spectators at the center of a dynamic relationship between Sports bodies, commercial agents, broadcasters and advertisers. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The issue of branding with regard to public health communication is the topic of this thesis. The case study investigated is that of the loveLife Lifestyle brand introduced to South Africa in 1999 by the US-based Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation. loveLife brought together the collective efforts of a consortium of NGOs concerned with adolescent reproductive health in South Africa with the primary objective of reducing the rate of new HIV infections, sexually transmitted infections and teenage pregnancy through promoting a healthy lifestyle approach using traditional commercial marketing techniques. This study draws upon the Circuit of Culture to explore the manner in which the meaning of the loveLife lifestyle brand discourse is constructed, produced, distributed and consumed through using a semiotic approach. To achieve this the study explores the meanings represented by loveLife through examining the images and texts from the television and radio programmes, outdoor media; print publications and public relations produced by loveLife. The manner in which these meanings were produced by loveLife as articulated in various policy documents. It explores how young people aged 12-17 from different socio-economic backgrounds consume and make meaning of the loveLife brand and use these in everyday life to express meaning about themselves in their social interaction and how carcereal networks of power comprising parents, religious groups and AIDS organizations have sought to regulate the meaning and social identities that arise from the representation of the brand. The study concludes that the representation of the loveLife lifestyle brand has given rise to a brand identity that positions adolescent sexuality as something that is cool and that everyone is engaged in. This representation has been the result of a deliberate brand strategy by loveLife that has sought to encourage more open discussions between parents and youth on issues relating to sex and sexuality. The unintentional consequence arising from this representation is that in their consumption of the meanings of loveLife, loveLife's interpersonal facilities are decoded by others in the community as being spaces that encourage sexual interaction by young people. Young people who attend these facilities are by implication decoded as being sexually active. This undermines the intention of the producers of creating spaces where young people can engage and interact in a variety of recreational activities including learning about sexual and reproductive health. An additional unintentional consequence of the representation is that stakeholders who exert power over young people such as parents and religious leaders have actively sought to regulate the meaning of the brand either through using formal channels of protest such as the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa or through preventing their youth from participating in loveLife's interpersonal programme. This study proposes that the quality of media messages be measured in relation to the meanings that consumers and those that interact with them decode. This includes exploring the social identities that these meanings give rise to and manner in which these find meaning through everyday interaction and the extent to which these meanings correlate with those intended by the producers of the message. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

South Africa is a country interconnected with Africa and also more connected with the world.South African national television news evidently is also more global or 'glocalised' (Robertson, 1996) today in comparison to the period during apartheid. This research incorporates an analytic-empirical, social constructivist approach, and interprets news as a specific construction of reality, a "social artifact" (Hjarvard, 2002: 91) of the context in which it is produced (Venter, 2001: 197). This definition allows for the analysis of existing aspects in news items to determine exactly what makes news reality global, 'glocal' or cosmopolitan.The methodology uses a comparative content analysis of three non-sequential weeks selected during September, October, and November 2006, of SABC 3 and e-TV national television news, focusing only on the first fifteen minutes of bulletins, and examining only foreign news. Foreign news includes foreign news locally and news with a South African connection abroad (Sreberny-Mohammadi etal, 1985). The current research analyses the influence of globalisation on each broadcaster - economically, politically, culturally, and technologically - and examines the mediation of global, 'glocal', and moderate cosmopolitan perspectives in news items. Findings reveal that globalisation does influence SABC 3 and e-TV in similar ways with slight differences, and while national or international perspectives are more prominent, global, 'glocal', and moderate cosmopolitan outlooks are still present, and e-TV represents these slightly more than SABC 3. Conclusively, SABC 3 and e-TV construct its news audience as citizens of the nation and citizens of the world, by representing a 'sliding scale' (Wallis and Baran, 1990) from national to international and global perspectives. This present study demonstrates how SABC 3 and e-TV mediate "allegiances to the outer circle" (Bowden, 2003: 242-243) - regional, international, and global - by examining the relevance of extending beyond a South African perspective in news broadcasts. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

This thesis articulates theoretical views on science fiction in relation to our world as viewed from a postmodern perspective. Inherent herein, is the exploration of the ambivalent nature of the theme of the apocalyptic and its pervasive influence in contemporary science fiction texts, in particular the selected canonical works of Arthur C. Clarke and contemporary film. The pertinent idea inherent in these texts is its concerns regarding the future of humanity. The social anxieties of our postmodern age are foregrounded thereby bridging the intersection of apocalyptic narrative with the concept of the postmodern. Of particular significance is the presentation of social degeneration, the collapse of civilized society through advanced technologies as well as the ending and transcendence of human time. This study sheds important light on the need and search for meaning in a world plunged by chaos and incoherence. This is imbued in the way science fiction texts mirror and develop such concerns in our postmodern period. In an attempt to construct meaning it thereby renders an exploratory examination of our postmodern world in relation to its dreams, visions and anxieties. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2005.

Thesis (M.A.)--George Mason University, 2008. / Vita: p. 61. Thesis director: Susan Lawrence. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in English. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed June 30, 2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-60). Also issued in print.