Browsing by Author "Hadland, Adrian"

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    The post-1990 demise of the alternative press
    (2006) Opatrny, Lukas; Glenn, Ian; Hadland, Adrian
    In this thesis, Lukas Opatrny studies the reasons for and implications of the demise of the South African alternative press, from the 1980s, after the end of apartheid. The concept of this press carried important democratic values, which contributed to media diversity, but when the 1990s ushered in the democratic era, theses 'alternative' ideals were lost along with the whole alternative press sector. ... A close analysis of [the] demise of Grassroots and the survival of the Weekly Mail/Mail & Guardian forms the basis of this study and serves to illuminate the conditions prevalent amongst the other alternative publications, which are examined more briefly.
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    The South African print media, 1994-2004 : an application and critique of comparative media systems theory
    (2007) Hadland, Adrian; Glenn, Ian
    Daniel C Hallin and Paolo Mancini's Comparing Media Systems (2004) has been hailed as an important contribution to understanding the inter-relationship between the media and political systems. The work was, however, based on a study of 18 stable, mature and highly developed democracies either in Europe or in North America. As an emerging democracy that has recently undergone dramatic change in both its political system and its media, South Africa's inclusion poses particular challenges to Hallin and Mancini's Three Models paradigm. This thesis focuses on the South African print media and tests both the paradigm's theoretical underpinnings as well as its four principle dimensions of analysis: political parallelism, state intervention, development of a mass market and journalistic professionalisation. A range of insights and a number of modifications are proposed. This thesis is based on interviews with South Africa's most senior media executives and editors, a comprehensive study of the relevant literature and 15 years of personal experience as a political analyst, columnist and parliamentary correspondent covering South Africa's transition from apartheid to democracy. The thesis sheds new light on the functioning and applicability of the Three Models comparative paradigm as well as on the development and future trajectory of South African print media journalism.
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    South African travel writing and bias
    (2009) Shaw, Cassandra; Glenn, Ian; Hadland, Adrian
    This thesis spotlights the travel and leisure magazine industry within South Africa. It contends that the travel writing genre is susceptible to a number of biases, both past and present, which ultimately affect the way its overall content is produced and presented to the public. This work was substantiated through a set of qualitative interviews with key professionals within the South African travel and leisure magazine industry, as well as through a theme- based content analysis of a number of local travel writing publications. This study adds to a rather extensive line of research written on the topic of travel writing regarding a number of older criticisms of bias including 'othering', escapism, and gendering. However, it also focuses on a number of more modem biases such as direct advertising, advertorial usage, as well as the acceptance of 'freebies' and barter agreements, none of which has been given much attention in previous research. The sheer existence of these and other biases within the modem South African travel and leisure magazine industry exhibits an absolute necessity of examination into such a topic, especially given the importance and overall influence that the travel writing industry has on a country's economic standing and overall image.
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    The world paper famine and the South African press 1938–1955
    (Taylor & Francis, 2005) Hadland, Adrian
    From the late 1930s the appearance of most of South Africa's newspapers underwent a dramatic transformation. Where previously the front page of a newspaper was only advertising, now news stories and photographs predominated. The style, design and content of local papers, from headline sizes and article lengths to the frequency of feature articles, comic strips and crossword puzzles, were all to change in the space of a few years. Writing styles became more concise, a greater variety of stories were used while photographs became widespread and of a far superior quality.