OpenUCT :: Browsing by Author "Chuma, Wallace"

Browsing by Author "Chuma, Wallace"

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Open Access
“According to social media…” Examining the influence of social media on political reporting within Zimbabwe’s mainstream media
(2019) Ndou, Delta Lau Milayo; Chuma, Wallace
The Internet’s liberative qualities have been hyped by a number of Zimbabwean scholars who argue, on the basis of the existence of online alternative media that carries political content, that democratisation can be technology-led. Given that the question of source selection is connected to the democratising potential of the Internet (Lecheler and Kruikemeier, 2016) by some scholars – this study interrogated the liberative potential of the Internet by tracing the social media sourcing patterns of four daily newspapers within Zimbabwe’s polarised mainstream media. Using a mixed methods approach which deployed Actor-Network theory as a preliminary methodological tool, this study collected and evaluated empirical data drawn from 146 social media sourced political stories published over a 30-month period and the responses from semi-structured interviews with purposively sampled participants – to account for the human and non-human actors in the news production network. A social constructivist analytical lens was then used to appreciate the contexts in which social media sourcing was being adopted in newsrooms, which revealed how unique circumstances had triggered unprecedented reliance on social media as a political news source. Those unique circumstances involved an escalation of factional fighting within the ruling ZANU PF that morphed into a propaganda war, which was waged through The Herald newspaper by one faction and through social media by the other faction. The public feud, which played out on social media, forced political reporters to gather story ideas from social media and overly rely on a few tech savvy elite sources. In these circumstances, social media’s influence on the political news agenda was overstated as it was conflated with the influence of a news event (ZANU PF factionalism) and the influence of social media users (high-ranking ZANU PF members) who could not be ignored. It is hoped that the findings of this study will contribute towards filling the lacuna in terms of scholarship demonstrating the influence of social media within Zimbabwe’s political narratives.
Open Access
An analysis of SABC coverage of political parties in the 2019 elections
(2021) Zulu, Nelly Teressa; Chuma, Wallace
This study critically analyses the coverage of the three main political parties (ANC, DA and EFF) in the 2019 elections by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The SABC has been one of the main sources of information for millions of citizens across the country and many South Africans rely on the SABC for news concerning election proceedings. Therefore, the study aims to observe the role of the SABC in society, and politics during the 2019 elections in South Africa. The objective of this dissertation is to investigate whether the SABC‘s coverage was fair on the three main political parties or not. This research chose to use framing and social responsibility theory as guidelines to reliable and convincing information. Data for this research was obtained through secondary data from the SABC online channel; the study used election reports and its visuals such as pictures, videos for analysis. The study further used videos from the beginning of 2019 election campaigns, until the last day of elections which was scheduled on the 10th of May 2019. According to the research findings, the SABC did not represent the real image of the political parties which may be regarded as unprofessional and may taint the quality of their work. The research shows that in the media there are deep-rooted social and cultural issues that need transformation. The studies notes that media reforms can be the solution to some of the issues discussed in this dissertation. During election period the media was seen as bias, giving more coverage to the ruling party and this conduct led many to conclude that the SABC was used as a mouthpiece of certain political parties. However, the study also observed that there are traditional news factors that influenced the news selection.
Open Access
Authenticity, Commodification of the Self, and Micro-Influencers: An in-depth analysis into the online identity construction of South African micro-influencers within the Western Cape
(2022) Bull, Joshua; Chuma, Wallace; Irwin, Ron
The aim of this paper was to engage with the ways in which micro-influencers within the Western Cape construct their online identities on Instagram. Theories of critical political economy of the media, self-branding, and the commodification of the self were applied to the context of micro-influencer identity construction as a means of understanding the mediated relationships between influencers, the brands they collaborate with, the platform Instagram, and the ways in which these relationships effect the construction of their online identities. This study made use of individual interviews with micro-influencers, as well as a micro-influencer focus group session in order uncover the main themes in relation to the influencers' perceptions of their online activity. A qualitative content analysis was also performed on content posted by the sample of micro-influencers that coded for the influencers' uses of platform affordances, photographic content, and their identity construction within their images based on concepts of gender representation in the media by Goffman (1979) and Gill (2000). Central to the micro-influencers' notions of success on the platform, and their perceptions of processes of identity construction, was the concept of authenticity. However, the authenticity referenced by the influencers, focused more on processes of fostering the perception of authenticity within the minds of their audience towards the self they perform online, as opposed to acting in accordance with one's true self. It was also found that their performative online identities were predicated on processes of the commodification of the self. In this sense, the construction of the influencers' profiles was dictated by processes of the commodification of the self, and the influencers understanding of how to create the perception of authenticity within the minds of their followers towards their online self.
Open Access
Becoming
(2020) Reynolds, Kimberly M; Chuma, Wallace
This thesis project accompanies the 2019 photographic portraiture series entitled Becoming. Using James Baldwin, Audre Lorde and Zora Neale Hurston as departure points, both the photo series and this academic explanative seeks to explore the question of what does it mean to become? Or in other words, what is the imperative to be who you are, to actualize within a space that demonstrates a regular investment in the destruction of bodies that are Black and queer. Through a set of five individual interviews, the questions of what does it mean to be who you are? why is it important? how do you become through your creative work? serve to create space for knowledge production, combatting what Spivak dubs as epistemic violence. Guided by the principles of post colonial life writing, African and Black feminist thought, Black queer theory, and art as an emancipatory tool, this thesis centers voices often theorized about yet rarely heard and argues that creative work more broadly offers a path for liberation. The published work of Becoming, both the photographs and interviews, can be found at http://www.becomingphotoseries.com/ and fulfils the creative media aspect of this dissertation/creative project.
Open Access
Desperately seeking depth: global and local narratives of the South African general elections on television news, 1994 - 2014
(2018) Jones, Bernadine; Evans, Martha; Chuma, Wallace
Eric Louw, Jesper Stömbäck, and W. Lance Bennett call the trend in late-20th century political journalism "mediatisation", where the televisualisation of Western elections favours episodic, dramatic, fragmented, and event-driven reporting. This "hype-ocracy" results in narrow and shallow frames that entertain rather than enlighten. This thesis, titled "Desperately Seeking Depth", examines this trend in both international and local news about South African elections. While scholarship of Western elections on TV news is blossoming, analyses of news coverage of South African elections is sparse. There is particularly little analysis of the visual dimensions of TV news coverage, which remains a methodological challenge for media and communication scholars. This thesis draws together a comprehensive analysis of South Africa's general elections on international and local television news over two decades. It develops an innovative, multimodal analysis method dedicated to television news and adds meaningful data to the overall study of South African media and politics, and international communication. It combines analysis of previous studies of each election with the original analysis of over 150 news broadcasts to uncover the news narratives about the South African general elections between 1994 and 2014. This thesis demonstrates the difference between global and local journalism about South African elections. Restricted by mediatised news values that favour episodic reporting, Western journalists present entangled, contradictory narratives over the years. The fixation on 1994's violent-turned-miracle election narrative ignored the complexities of the new democracy, while an increasingly detached approach in covering the 2009 and 2014 ANC victories left journalists perplexed and unable to explore deeper narratives. Meanwhile, South African channels become progressively more hesitant to investigate controversial topics or criticise the ruling party. Avoidance of important issues such as the 1994 election violence, the AIDS crisis in 2004, and Zuma's Nkandla fiasco in 2014 results in narrow reporting that limits the substantive information available during the election periods. All channels to some extent seek narratives that attempt to explain and explore South Africa's complex democracy, but these narratives are often contradictory. The decline in journalists' engagement with political leaders and citizens means that the full picture of the elections is reduced to a few easily digestible frames that confirm neoliberal news values. This thesis offers a new model for the analysis of TV news coverage of elections that can provide the basis for future studies. "Desperately Seeking Depth" ultimately uncovers a picture of news industry that, both locally and globally, works as an echo chamber of sound bites that focused on elite voices.
Open Access
‘Do I even belong?' Interrogating Afro-diasporic navigation of identity, race and space in the search for belonging
(2020) Moragia, Anita Mwango; Chuma, Wallace
The departure point for this creative project is based on my experience as an African living in diaspora. While I felt many things during my time ‘away' from the African continent, one constant was always this feeling of unbelonging, and this need to find belonging. As such, this project centers around the theme ‘finding belonging in diaspora'. Growing up in Kenya, I had never really come to terms with the politics of my Kenyanness not to mention my blackness. I had simply just been me. While in Kenya, the only real identifiers I had to contend with that carried heavy politics were my gender and my tribal affiliation. After leaving Kenya and arriving in Canada for school at the age of 16, for the first time in my life I felt black and I felt African. Both identities I felt did not belong in this Canadian space. Over the course of 9 years, I lived in both Canada and London and neither ever warmed me like home. In most, if not all the predominantly white spaces I frequented, I always felt too little of something and too much of something else. As such,, I found myself intentionally and unintentionally drawn to those like me, in colour, in language, and culture. It is only today I have realised that those intentional and unintentional unions I formed were a result of my search for belonging, which I came to find is common in the diaspora experience. Ann Hua, a black diaspora scholar, defines diaspora as a community of people who have been dispersed from their homeland to other locations because of genocide, slavery, migration, and war (Hua, 2013; 31). It's important to note that for many, induction into the Afro-diaspora is involuntary. As Hua notes, political unrest, genocide, war, and slavery has forced many to leave their homes and either seek asylum or become indentured laborers elsewhere. We have seen this throughout the eras, from the 15th-century trans-Atlantic slave trade, capturing of Africans, transporting them to the Americas and coercing them into slavery (Gates Jr., 2017), to the 20th-century dispersion of Rwandese nationals fleeing genocide§ (Guichaoua, André & Webster, Don E. 2015). The identity of diaspora comes in both anticipated and unanticipated ways. Fortunately, my induction into the Afro-diasporic community was a voluntary one and the bulk of this project interacts with voluntary Afro-diasporic migrants. During my time in Canada and London, I met many members of the Afro-diasporic community who ended up in these countries in a variety of different ways and for a variety of different reasons. The theme of ‘finding belonging' was omnipresent among my fellow Afro-diasporic community members and it would manifest itself in various ways. For instance, wanting to go to African restaurants to feel more ‘at-home', or wanting to visit African night clubs to listen to more music from ‘home'. Interestingly, I also began to see that this journey towards ‘finding belonging' also manifested in Afro-diasporic communities rejecting assimilation into their new societies and creating spaces of resistance, through organising protests or hosting discussions that centred around issues of race.
Open Access
Framing the 2017 cape Town "service delivery protests": A comparative study of mainstream and alternative media coverage
(2019) Magwagwa, Nolizwi; Chuma, Wallace
This study is set out to conduct a comparative analysis of mainstream and alternative media to understand how The Cape Times mainstream newspaper and GroundUp alternative online media outlet framed the 2017 “service delivery protests” in Cape Town, South Africa. Scholarly literature has demonstrated that the mainstream media marginalises the voices of certain communities and that the alternative media can fill this gap. Often, marginalised communities use protests to attract media coverage, as a way of reaching both the public and elected officials. Ultimately, numerous protest groups find it difficult to get the attention they desire, while news coverage of the social conflict is framed within a protests paradigm. The study analyses differences in the two media outlets’ coverage of social conflict, including the use of delegitimising devices such as the prominent use of official sources for quotes, while using dramatic frames that tend to ridicule protest action and portray them as violent. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in a multimethod approach. The data was found in the SA Media news clippings database, supplemented by searches on Google and the GroundUp search engines. Coverage of the protest in GroundUp was in line with the literature, which states that the horizontal nature, bottom-up and fluid traditions of alternative media may be a more appropriate conduit for protest communications and social movement (Van De Donk et al, 2004; Dahlberg, 2007). The key finding of this study was that the mainstream Cape Times deviated from the protest paradigm, using the protesters as sources in preference to officials. This finding is a departure from the reviewed literature, which indicated that the mainstream media has a habit of following the protest paradigm when covering protests events, marginalising and dehumanising protesters and relying on official sources (Mcleod & Hertog, 1999). It also links to previous scholarship that has established a strong connection between the commercialisation of the media and the robust representation of official sources in the media.
Open Access
From illegitimate disruption to failing state : how South African newspapers framed 'service delivery' protests in 2013
(2015) Pointer, Rebecca; Chuma, Wallace
This study unpacks the key frames and sources used by the South African print media in their coverage of the ‘service delivery protests’ in 2013. It explores how the frames are linked to each other, how the sources link to each other, and how the frames and sources correlate. The study focuses on print media sources as catalogued in the SA Media database, identifies the most prevalent frames and sources used, and using a hierarchical cluster analysis identifies how frames are related to each other, how sources are related to each other, and how frames and sources correlate. The study found that the most prevalent frames on ‘service delivery protests’ used by the South African print media in 2013 were the war/spectacle frame and the failed democracy frame, followed by the law/crime frame, all of which serve to delegitimise service delivery protests. Local government and police sources were most prevalent. The study suggests that there is still contestation about the kinds of spaces citizens should use for political engagement, and contestation about how power operates at local government level. The media also implies that the South African state is failing, and suggests remedies for these failings.
Open Access
How does mainstream print media frame service delivery protests? The application of the protest paradigm and propaganda model in the South African case
(2022) Makanda, Mfundo Xolo; Bosch, Tanja; Chuma, Wallace
This thesis examines how the South African mainstream print media frame service delivery protests in the country. Studies in countries such as the United States (U.S.), Brazil and Canada show that media coverage of social movements conforms to the protest paradigm by depicting protesters as violent, destructive, unreasonable and a threat to the national economy. This thesis builds on existing literature on the protest paradigm, framing theory, agenda setting and the propaganda model (PM) to analyse mainstream print media coverage of service delivery protests in South Africa. The thesis examines the inclusion of the voices of protesters and women in the press, use of terminology, diversity of news content and media coverage of the underlying causes of the protests. This was done to determine how media coverage of protests in South Africa fits within the global debate on mainstream media coverage of social movements. A sample of 603 news articles from 10 different English-language mainstream newspapers were analysed longitudinally using a quantitative content analysis. The selected time, spanned over a six-year period starting on 15 January 2016 and ending on 12 August 2021. The findings showed that the media tends to marginalise protesters or groups that are challenging the status quo and thus the coverage of service delivery protests conforms to the protest paradigm. The mainstream press foregrounds episodic frames such as violence and destruction when reporting on these protests. The thesis concludes by illustrating that extensive coverage of violence associated with service delivery protests has a potential to escalate conflict instead of contributing to peaceful resolution of service delivery problems. Because of the power that the mainstream media holds in a society, the thesis proposes that the South African mainstream press could focus instead on alternatives to violence by emphasising positive action taken by both conflicting parties to solve service delivery problems.
Open Access
Poor, black and female : an analysis of South African print media framing of people living with HIV/AIDS
(2005) Grant, Deirdre; Chuma, Wallace
Media coverage of HIV/AIDS issues inﬂuences how the public views the epidemic and people living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs). This dissertation investigates how two key lwge circulation English ianguage newspapers in South Africa frame PWAs. The research examines both the content of selected print media, Sunday Times and Daily Sun, and the context in which journalists work. In relation to the latter, the study adopts a critical political economy perspective of the media which argues that political and economic constraints on media organizations in tension with human agency by journalists and editors impacts on the content of newspapers and other mass media. This thesis examines HIV/AIDS coverage from the beginning of January until the end of April 2005 through the use of content analysis. Most previous research in relation to HIV/AIDS reporting in the print media has concentrated on the poiiticization of coverage during key moments in South Africa’s HIV/AIDS history. This period was deliberately chosen to be both contemporaneous and in order to examine the routine representations of PWAs during 'ordinary times', when HIV/AIDS was not high on the political agenda. Qualitative research in the form of semi-structured in-depth interviews was also conducted with ﬁve reporters and editors in order to explore in greater detail issues relating to HIV/AIDS reporting. This research found that the print media in South Africa frames the HIV/AIDS epidemic in a gendered and racialised way. From print media reports examined, the picture painted of PWAs is usually black, female and poor. Official sources continue to dominate coverage, but PWAs are gaining a voice in news reports. The language used in these reports is becoming more positive and empowering, but is still regularly stigmatizing.
Open Access
The reality of media freedom in Swaziland under the new constitutional dispensation
(2011) Hlatshwayo, Vuyisile Sikelela; Chuma, Wallace
The study concludes that there is still lack of media freedom in Swaziland under the new constitutional dispensation. Its significant finding is that the lack of media freedom is a consequence of constitutional, legal and extra-legal constraints.
Open Access
Singabantu - a journey to self determination
(2022) Mafu, Thubelihle; Chuma, Wallace
Zimbabwe, from pre-colonial times to date, has always been viewed as a divided nation. From the onset people were divided according to tribal lines with the Ndebele and Shona tribes dominating the narrative. History of the Ndebele people depicts them as settlers who came from the present-day South Africa and incorporated other tribes on the way to form a Ndebele nation. However, these so-called settlers settled in a place which is now known as present day Matabeleland. Colonialization exacerbated these divisions and although the natives somewhat united during the war of liberation, the divisions continued to manifest after independence. Gukurahundi, which saw to the killings of people in Matabeleland further aggravated the situation and to date there have been outcries that the people of Matabeleland who are predominantly Ndebele are marginalised. The project is based on a blog, Singabantu- A journey to self-determination that seeks to understand how activists view the Matabeleland question and this will ultimately contribute to the digital archiving of these stories that are not adequately covered in the mainstream media. The project seeks to understand perceptions of these activists 40 years after independence and how they envision an ideal Zimbabwe.
Open Access
A study of Radio Zimbabwe's messages and audiences in a time of crisis
(2015) Mudavanhu, Selina Linda; Chuma, Wallace
The political and economic crisis that beset Zimbabwe since the late 1990s forms the backdrop to this study which examines the discourses that occupied a position of dominance on the state radio station, Radio Zimbabwe, between March and April 2011. This study moves beyond an analysis of texts and also looks at how some women listeners, who were living in a rural community in Zimbabwe, engaged with the radio and the mainstream discourses in the context of everyday life. The analysis of Radio Zimbabwe broadcasts is informed by Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony (1971) as well as ideas from the propaganda model postulated by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky (1988). The audience study draws on some ideas by Carragee (1990) on the critical audience research perspective. This study also takes a poststructuralist approach to language, discourse and subjectivity. Available media scholarship on the post-2000 crisis in Zimbabwe has mostly focused on analysing how the print media represented the land question and the elections. Scholars have neglected to look at hegemonic and counter hegemonic discourses that were broadcast on the most pervasive medium in the country and on the continent, radio during this time. In radio studies in Africa and in Zimbabwe, the exploration of radio content is also largely missing. Also conspicuously absent in research that has been carried out in Zimbabwe and in Africa is an understanding of how audiences interact with mainstream meanings embedded in radio texts. In view of the above-mentioned gaps in literature, this study focuses on radio texts and radio listeners. The study combines a critical discourse analysis of Radio Zimbabwe content with a discourse analysis of narratives of 30 women listeners of the station that were interviewed. Two arguments are made in this thesis. The first is that in the face of waning support, immense opposition at home and abroad and an unrelenting economic crisis, the Zimbabwe African Nationalist Union- Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) government used the discourses on land, the liberation struggle, the father of the nation, Christianity and God to legitimise its continued stay in power. These discourses were also used to delegitimise political opponents inside and outside the country. The second argument that this thesis makes is that women's engagement with Radio Zimbabwe content and hegemonic meanings broadcast on the station is not straightforward and predictable. Though some women said they listened to the news, a programme embedded with dominant ideas, most of them said they did not remember what was contained in most bulletins. Most women recalled news items that were directly relevant to them. While Radio Zimbabwe content was predominantly political in nature, the programmes that women talked about as favourite programmes had nothing to do with politics. The majority of women in the study singled out Kwaziso/Ukhubingelelana and Chakafukidza Dzimba Matenga as programmes they enjoyed listening to. In terms of interacting with mainstream ideas, most of the time many of the women affirmed the dominant discourses. There were, however, instances when some women contested hegemonic ideas. Sometimes mainstream ideas were challenged because what the women heard on the radio and their lived realities were not congruent. Interestingly, there were also times when this disjuncture did not drive women to question what they heard on the station.
Open Access
The alternative press in Black and White: Analysing the representation of black voices in the Weekly Mail's political reporting
(2021) Mpemnyama, Zimasa; Chuma, Wallace
The alternative press refers to a group of anti-apartheid newspapers which proliferated in South Africa during the early 1980s until the early 1990s. What was ‘alternative' about these publications was how they actively pursued an anti-apartheid agenda in their news reporting. The Weekly Mail newspaper is regarded as one of the pioneers of this section of the press and is the focus of this study which examines the representation of black political voices in its political reporting. Recognising a gap in the literature on the alternative press pertaining to questions of race, gender, voice and sourcing patterns, this study utilises qualitative discourse analysis and content analysis to analyse the political reporting in the Weekly Mail to evaluate the representation of black voices in the newspaper. It asks the questions: how can we analyse the content emerging from the alternative press with regards to the representation of black voices? Who writes, who speaks and what does this say about race, power and black representation in the Weekly Mail? Would this esteemed newspaper reproduce some of the racial and gender stereotypes prevalent in mainstream newspapers, or would it shift its content to more progressive terrains? This study revealed that the Weekly Mail was centred around male voices, specifically, those of black male leaders of popular black organisations. The study further revealed an interesting division in the representations of black males, where older black males were constructed as respectable, rational and approachable, while younger black males who were sometimes referred to as “young lions” in the ANC Youth League, were constructed as unthinking, violent, politically naïve and were infantilised. The findings of this study further showed that the Weekly Mail framed black females in politics according to their roles as wives, mothers and maternal caregivers. There were inconsistencies in how white and black women were portrayed. While black women were put strictly in their motherhood boxes, white women were allowed space to think and speak more broadly about their political ideas and aspirations. These observations showed the ways which the Weekly Mail deployed subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) undertones of racial and gender biases in their representations of black political voices.
Open Access
The alternative press in Black and White: Analysing the representation of Black voices in the weekly mails political reporting
(2023) Mpemnyama, Zimasa; Chuma, Wallace
The alternative press refers to a group of anti-apartheid newspapers which proliferated in South Africa during the early 1980s until the early 1990s. What was ‘alternative' about these publications was how they actively pursued an anti-apartheid agenda in their news reporting. The Weekly Mail newspaper is regarded as one of the pioneers of this section of the press and is the focus of this study which examines the representation of black political voices in its political reporting. Recognising a gap in the literature on the alternative press pertaining to questions of race, gender, voice and sourcing patterns, this study utilises qualitative discourse analysis and content analysis to analyse the political reporting in the Weekly Mail to evaluate the representation of black voices in the newspaper. It asks the questions: how can we analyse the content emerging from the alternative press with regards to the representation of black voices? Who writes, who speaks and what does this say about race, power and black representation in the Weekly Mail? Would this esteemed newspaper reproduce some of the racial and gender stereotypes prevalent in mainstream newspapers, or would it shift its content to more progressive terrains? This study revealed that the Weekly Mail was centred around male voices, specifically, those of black male leaders of popular black organisations. The study further revealed an interesting division in the representations of black males, where older black males were constructed as respectable, rational and approachable, while younger black males who were sometimes referred to as “young lions” in the ANC Youth League, were constructed as unthinking, violent, politically naïve and were infantilised. The findings of this study further showed that the Weekly Mail framed black females in politics according to their roles as wives, mothers and maternal caregivers. There were inconsistencies in how white and black women were portrayed. While black women were put strictly in their motherhood boxes, white women were allowed space to think and speak more broadly about their political ideas and aspirations. These observations showed the ways which the Weekly Mail deployed subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) undertones of racial and gender biases in their representations of black political voices.
Open Access
The Decolonization of the Political Economy of New Media Institutions in Africa: A Case Study on the Pan-African Film Industry
(2020) Drew, Sarin Danielle; Chuma, Wallace
This study critically analyses an alternative political economy framework to observe the decolonization of new media institutions in Africa. This is because "critically analysing media organisations and media processes in society have come from political economy perspectives." (Jansen, 2003, p. 90). This thesis has a specific focus on the decolonization of the film industry as a case study on new media institutions that are shifting given the fourth industrial revolution. A quantitative methodology was employed to conduct focus groups and interviews with key African film industry actors, this focus group took place at the Durban Film Mart, a Pan-African market for film and television content. The paper critiques the Marxist approach to the political economy of media. This is done to understand the extent that Western political economy frameworks, like Marxism, are relevant in analyzing ownership and media concerning racialized subjects as well as feminist and queer collectives. This paper posits that an Africa, Queer, Muslim, or Feminist political economy framework would explain the relationship between the film industry, industry players, and its audiences better than Marxist assumptions. In this instance, African Feminist, Muslim and Queer approaches to the political economy theory provide a subaltern lens. This study has the intention to investigate new ways in which the decolonization of the political economy of the new Media can create an ideological non-state apparatus or a consciousness industry as denoted by the Frankfurt School. This ideological apparatus would characterize and reflect societal discourses, outside of the nation-state, while creating a sphere for public engagement and deliberation that is equitable and ontologically sound. By ontologically sound, I ask what are the different assumptions about human nature concerning the political economy that can be deduced from a new lens into African media. The answer is that Africa collectives formed outside of class barriers display agency that explains media activity in the twenty-first century. Western ontology and epistemologies assume 4 that colonization robbed Africa of self-determination and agency. This ontological assumption is false. The focus group at the Durban International Film Festival provided the tightest fit to validate my claims that ideologically decolonizing the film industry is garnering public engagement and industry engagement. What are the solutions to the issues of the digital divide and geopolitics of difference that characterise limitations within the burgeoning film industry? This paper investigates to what extent do organic intellectuals, entrepreneurs or youth drive the need for capital and ownership in the industry given that the landscape is shifting. The study found that there is an impetus for decolonizing the industry and that alternative political economy frameworks are more appropriate in analyzing the new media landscape.
Open Access
'The whole nation on one station'? National FM as a case study of radio for indigenous small linguistic communities in Zimbabwe
(2019) Ndawana, Tariro; Chuma, Wallace; Bosch, Tanja E.
This thesis is an institutional ethnography of National FM as the only PSB radio that broadcasts in all local languages. It examines the feasibility of having one radio station broadcasting in all the indigenous languages of Zimbabwe. Language rights are pivotal in human development and many countries have developed many ways that can be used to promote them. The media have also been used in preservation of language rights (AMARC, 2014). However, many minorities are deprived of their language rights. Previous research in Zimbabwe on small indigenous communities, have looked at general rights and the right to education. Available literature on radio has also studied content and concentrated on Radio Zimbabwe. This thesis explores both the promotion of language rights and the involvement of radio in the preservation of minority languages. It delves into the forces behind the production of local minority languages at National FM. The institutional ethnography encompassed the use of observation, in-depth interviews with sixteen participants and document analysis. It also used content analysis of all programmes that are Barwe, Chikunda, Doma and Hwesa which have the smallest number of speakers in the country (Hachipola, 1998; Magwa, 2008; Ndlovu, 2009). This study proves that National FM is not fully representing all the minority languages. The political economy of the station and sociology of journalism directly affect the production. National FM, like all PSB radio stations in the country has gone commercial. Management is now focusing on generating revenue than promoting language rights. National FM broadcasts in Shona and Ndebele instead of the minority languages. ZBC management consists of Shona and Ndebele speakers and decision making is done by people who are not minority language speakers. Content analysis of the four selected languages indicates that the languages which have been dominated are still marginalized as National FM broadcasts current affairs programmes only for the selected languages. These languages are given very little broadcast time and the programmes are not interactive.
Open Access
Trial by media : the megaspectacle and the competition of narratives : the framing of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial by News24
(2015) Johnson, Kim Alexa; Chuma, Wallace
In the early hours of 14 February 2013, the twittersphere erupted with the allegation that Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic and Paralympic athlete, had shot and killed his girlfriend of three months, Reeva Steenkamp. This story first appeared on the Beeld twitter account. This story was only confirmed by local print media such as the Cape Argus the following day, 15 February 2013, after his first court appearance during which he was charged with premeditated murder, a schedule 6 offence, according to South African law. The commencement of the bail application was postponed by Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair on 15 February 2013, so as to consider an application made by the media to be granted leave to broadcast the court proceedings live. In Magistrate Nair‟s judgement, that was handed down at noon the same day, he ruled against the media‟s broadcast application. However, he conceded that only the live audio of the bail application judgement could be broadcast ("Oscar faces murder…", 2013: 1). Additionally, the media was allowed to photograph the accused only in the presence of Magistrate Nair before the commencement of court proceedings, and once it had concluded for the day. This was the first formal assertion, and acknowledgement, of the role the media was to play in the „staging‟ of The Oscar Pistorius Murder Trial, with Pistorius cast as the protagonist and the media contingent as one of the antagonists of the narrative construction of this case. In an attempt to compensate for the lack of direct (live) media access to the proceedings, twitter was co-opted as the primary alternative news media platform. Journalists tweeted the live proceedings to their followers in order to provide mediated access to the proceedings. News24 lead the twitter reports by compiling a transcribed "live report" of the proceedings which would allow members of their audience an opportunity to follow a sequential account of the narrative. This was in addition to their usual journalistic reportage of the trial.
Open Access
Until lions learn to speak... placing the African oral tradition at the centre of power, knowledge, and media
(University of Cape Town, 2020) Kennedy-Kwofie, Nana Afua; Chuma, Wallace
The production of knowledge has become a matter of power rather than truth and can serve either serve as a tool of liberation or domination. This creative project seeks to explore the interaction of power, knowledge and media in Africa given its history with European colonialism. This period painted Africa as an uneducated and dark continent that had no history and no knowledge. This belief has led to assumptions about knowledge production which are embedded in racist conventions rather than the free and fair pursuit of complete knowledge. The processes of knowledge production are ranked in a hierarchy and in this system of classification, focus on the written word has dominated curriculums while other systems of knowledge production, specifically the oral tradition, have largely been undervalued and ignored. As such, what is a vibrant, complex and active tradition of African orality in the pursuit and preservation of knowledge has been relegated to the back rooms of academia and scholars are not allowed to access to a variety of methods that can be used to know and understand the world. In analysing the current climate of knowledge production and the role media plays in Africa one must examine several questions: How did the West become the centre of knowledge production? What value can be extracted from the African oral tradition in the pursuit of knowledge in the current system of knowledge production? What are the implications of this on Africans as producers of knowledge and Africa's media landscape? While this creative project does not answer these questions entirely, it opens conversations about how we understand and experience knowledge, media, and power in an African context. Guided by the frameworks of power and postcolonial theory and decolonisation, this creative project aims to offer a critical but open-ended analysis of the state of African knowledge production and media while centring the African oral tradition. This project also aims to begin the work of creating a collection of oral stories to highlight the wisdom and insight that comes from the African oral tradition and what it can offer. Ultimately, this project is a call to widen our epistemological landscapes by including African ways of knowing and media use.
Open Access
WWF's Earth Hour Campaign: ‘Global Village' or Eco-Imperialism?
(2020) Chao, Eileen; Chuma, Wallace
The rapid spread of digital information and communication technologies since the turn of the century has led to renewed debates about globalisation and the power of new media to connect users across national, political and cultural borders. Environmental campaigns like WWF's Earth Hour, which touts itself as “the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment,” often adopt a utopian view of globalisation that celebrates what Marshall McLuhan termed the ‘global village'. While this global ethos might be useful in engaging the publics in collective action, this article argues that the way Earth Hour and similar campaigns actively construct representations of a single global village overlooks the lived inequalities between and among peoples within this imagined community. This article explores this tension using a quantitative and qualitative mixed-methods approach that combines a semiotic analysis of the Earth Hour 2019 promotional video, social media analysis of the use of #Connect2Earth hashtag among South African Twitter users, and in-depth interviews with current and former WWF-South Africa employees. This strategic approach is designed to juxtapose socially constructed representations of Earth Hour with on-the-ground user engagement in South Africa, and then triangulating these findings with qualitative interviews. The dissertation aims to explore the research question: In what ways does WWF's Earth Hour embody Marshall McLuhan's ideal ‘global village' and in what ways might it engender a form of eco-imperialism? This research question is operationalised through three subquestions: What kind of environmentalism do global environmental campaigns like Earth Hour promote? How do audiences in South Africa engage with Earth Hour on social media? How do local WWF of ices adapt global environmental campaigns to suit local audiences? This research contributes to emerging scholarship, rooted in environmental justice and decolonial studies, that is critical of mainstream environmental movements not to discourage environmental consciousness but to ultimately reformulate it.