Tesis (MPhil) -- Universiteit van Stellenbosch, 2000. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: When rumours started circulating in 1998 that former president Nelson Mandela and
Mrs Graca Machel were about to get married, Mandela's spokesman at the time,
Parks Mankahlana, vehemently denied them. Mankahlana was the gatekeeper who
decided what information about Mandela' s impending marriage would be made
available to the rest of the world. The entire incident became somewhat of an
embarrassment for Mandela's office, resulting in the former president trying hard to
cover for Mankahlana at subsequent media conferences. In the end it became a case of
trying to unravel who had lied to whom, who had given whom instructions to say
what, and who had been in the know and at what stage, etc.
A similar incident ensued following an assassination attempt on former American
president Ronald Reagan in 1981. Initially his media office kept the gates firmly shut
by alleging he had been only slightly injured. Later it emerged he'd been much more
seriously injured than the White House had initially intimated.
Between 1996 and 1998 South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission
investigated human rights violations since 1960. The South African and foreign media
were faced with the challenge of presenting witness accounts of the numerous
attrocities in a palatable form.
Despite these attempts media managers at Cape Town's two English-language dailies
in particular detected a measure of reader resistance to "bad news" which made
readers feel" powerless", and they consequently had to adopt a careful approach. The
TRC could not be ignored, but the often gruesome details which came to light could
not willy nilly be stuffed down readers' throats. Gatekeeping had to be exercised with
the greatest circumspection and the news filters prudently regulated.
This study attempts to illustrate the concept of gatekeeping by analysing the coverage
the three Cape Town dailies, the Cape Argus, Cape Times and Die Burger, gave the
most sensational sessions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In June and
July 1998 about 10 men, each of them doctors or generals, gave evidence about their involvement in the stockpiling of chemical and biological weapons for South Africa's
arsenal. Reporters were confronted with a major challenge to comply with the
journalistic rigours set by this session.
This study concentrates on reports of the different version of events given by four
prominent witnesses, Dr Wouter Basson, former project leader of South Africa's
chemical and biological weapons programme, his commanding officer and former
surgeon general Lieutenant General Niel Knobel, General Lothar Neethling, former
head of the police's forensic laboratory, and Dr Jan Lourens, biomedical engineer and
the first witness to take the stand.
To illustrate the phenomenon of gatekeeping interviews were held with nine
journalists at the three newspapers to determine their views and perceptions, and the
effect of these on the phenomenon of gatekeeping. Aspiring media managers, media
managers, reporters and anyone performing a gatekeeping role may find the findings
of this study useful. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Toe gerugte in 1998 die rondte begin doen het dat oudpres. Nelson Mandela en mev.
Graca Machel trouplanne het, het Mandela se woordvoerder, Parks Mankahlana, dit
heftig ontken. Mankahlana was die hekwagter wat besluit het watter inligting oor
Mandela se trouplanne aan die wereld deurgelaat word. Die hele episode het op 'n
halwe verleentheid vir die president se kantoor uitgeloop met Mandela wat op
daaropvolgende mediakonferensies verwoed probeer skerm het vir Mankahlana en dit
'n geval geword het van wie het gelieg en wie het vir wie opdrag gegee om sus of so
te se en wie het wat in watter stadium geweet, ens.
'n Soortgelyke episode het hom afgespeel met 'n sluipmoordaanval op pres. Ronald
Reagan van Amerika in 1981. Aanvanklik het sy mediakantoor ook die hekke redelik
styftoe gehou deur te beweer hy is net lig beseer. Later het dit geblyk hy was veel
ern stiger beseer as wat die Wit Huis aanvanklik bereid was om te erken.
Suid-Afrika se Waarheids-en-versoeningskommissie het tussen 1996 en 1998
kragtens wet menseregteskendings sedert 1960 ondersoek. Die Suid-Afrikaanse en
buitelandse media het 'n stewige uitdaging op hande gehad om talle gruwels uit die
monde van getuies in verteerbare dosisse die wereld in te stuur.
'n Mate van lesersweerstand vir "slegte nuus" wat lesers "magteloos" laat voel het, is
nietemin deur mediabestuurders by veral Kaapstad se twee Engelstalige dagblaaie
bespeur en 'n versigtige aanslag moes gevolg word. Die WVK kon nie geignoreer
word nie, maar die dikwels bloederige besonderhede wat daar aan die lig gekom het,
kon nie blindelings in lesers se keel gate afgedruk word nie. Hekwagterskap moes met
groot omsigtigheid gepleeg word. Die nuusfilters moes delikaat reguleer word.
In hierdie studie word gepoog om hekwagterskap te illustreer by wyse van 'n
ontleding van die dekking wat die drie dagblaaie in Kaapstad, die Cape Argus, Cape
Times en Die Burger, verleen het aan een van die Waarheids-enversoeningskommissie
se opspraakwekkendste sittings. In Junie en Julie 1998 het
sowat tien mans, op een na almal dokters, doktore of generaals, getuig oor hul
betrokkenheid by die opbou van Suid-Afrika se chemiese en biologiese wapenarsenaal. Verslaggewers het voor 'n groot uitdaging te staan gekom om by te
bly met die joernalistieke eise wat tydens hierdie sitting gestel is.
In hierdie studie word gekonsentreer op beriggewing oor vier prominente getuies se
weergawes, naamlik dr. Wouter Basson, gewese projekleier van Suid-Afrika se
chemiese en biologiese wapenprogram, sy bevelvoerder, It.-genl. Niel Knobel,
voormalige geneesheer-generaal, genl. Lothar Neethling, oud-hoofvan die polisie se
forensiese laboratorium, en dr. Jan Lourens, biomediese ingenieur en die eerste een
wat sy plek in die getuiestoel ingeneem het.
Gesprekke is gevoer met nege joernaliste by die drie koerante ten einde hul
beskouings en persepsies te peil ter illustrasie van hekwagterskap en hoe dit
hekwagterskap beinvloed het. Aspirant-mediabestuurders, sowel as mediabestuurders,
verslaggewers - almal wat hekwagtersrolle vertolk - sal hierdie studie straks leersaam
vind ter verfyning van hul kundigheid.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/51786 |
| Date | 04 1900 |
| Creators | Ferreira, Jannie |
| Contributors | Claassen, Gearge, Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | af_ZA |
| Detected Language | Unknown |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 612 p., [4] p. of plates : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
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