24 research outputs found
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Media, race and capital: a decolonial analysis of representation of miners' strikes in South Africa
This article explores media representation of a strike at Lonmin Platinum Mine in Marikana in August 2012, in which the police gunned down 34 miners. Data was collected from randomly selected articles from South African English-language print media. My main argument is that the South African print media provided
coverage of the strike that privileged mining interests and generally ignored the concerns and voices of the miners. Using a combination of decolonial and neo-Marxist critical political economy of the media theoretical approaches, I suggest the media in South Africa operates in a global 'colonial matrix of power' that (re)produce dominant discourses and ideologies that favour elite interests. The article concludes with some remarks on
the need for media in South Africa to adopt a different ethical and normative framework that gives voice to silenced and marginalised voices.
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Social movements, media practices and radical democracy in South Africa
Social movements in South Africa, as elsewhere, are combining traditional mobilisation methods with use of new media technologies to mobilize, create networks and lobby for social justice. While there exists some research that analyses how these social movements are using new media technologies, less sustained analysis has been made of the discursive struggles that confront these movements in their mobilisation strategies. This paper examines discursive practices of one such movement, the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, a community-driven social movement formed in 2000 to respond to housing crisis in urban Western Cape and lack of service delivery in the areas of water and electricity. Through the lens of radical democracy and critical participation theories, the paper argues that while the material on the websites, social media platforms and print media project counter-hegemonic ideologies, the discursive and institutional practices of the social movements do not manifest radical democratic principles and genuine participation. These discursive struggles and tensions highlight the importance of recognising power dynamics within media practices of social movements in the country. The paper ends by outlining for discursive opportunities and possibilities of subversion by social movements in South Africa.
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Public servant or censor?: the South African broadcasting corporation in the era of political television advertising
Political television advertising is becoming an important feature of democratic elections and essential to election campaign strategies. In this article we take a close look at the role the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is playing in the new era of political television advertising ushered in in 2009. We focus our analysis on the banning by the SABC of election advertisements by two major opposition political parties before the 2014 elections. The country's regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) upheld the decision of the SABC when the two parties filed complaints. The banning of the advertisements and Icasa's decision are assessed on two important principles for public broadcasting editorial
independence and public accountability. We argue in this article that the action by the public broadcaster undermines freedom of expression and the credibility of both the SABC and Icasa, especially when contextualised within other controversial editorial decisions taken by the broadcaster over the years. Further, we argue that laws governing political advertising in South Africa are constitutionally problematic and contain contradictions in how they should be applied and implemented by both broadcasters and
Icasa. We conclude by arguing for a review of these laws.
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Conversation on policies: healthy livestock act as security against hunger
The role of cattle and other domesticated animals in promoting food security should take on an increasingly important position on the policy agenda argue Sarah Chiumbu, Safiyya Goga and Vasu Reddy, reporting on a new project that focuses on the social and human dimensions of primary animal health care for small-scale farming communities in South Africa.
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Small-scale livestock farming and primary animal healthcare in South Africa: challenges and policy implications
HSRC Policy Brief, MarchKey findings of a pilot study confirm that an improved understanding of the challenges facing small-scale livestock farmers in the area of primary animal healthcare (PAHC) may contribute to the better-focused development of policies and programmes
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The longer walk to freedom: making sense of our attitudes towards race
Twenty years since the formal end of apartheid, South Africa still has a considerable distance to travel to become a country of true social cohesion.
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The longer walk to freedom: making sense of race relations
There is much unfinished business in post-apartheid South Africa. Over the past year, a series of racist and bigoted outbursts on social media have generated widespread public debate about the state of race relations and social cohesion in the country. An HSRC team considers the trends in attitudes towards race relations, issues of trust, feelings of marginalisation and optimism.