Browsing by Subject "Media Studies"

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    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.
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    Children's discourse and software use in a Western Cape primary school
    (2008) Pallitt, Nicola; Walton
    Children's discourse and software use were studied during computer lab sessions in a primary school in Athlone, South Africa. Conversation analysis and multimodal discourse analysis are used to study variations in children's discourse as they used email, a search engine and numeracy software . The children's limited range of discursive roles suggest a 'schooled' use of the software, since most of their activities are framed within the Initiation, Response, Feedback (IRF) pattern dominant in 'conventional' classroom discourse. Observations suggest that software is used in socially situated ways, thus challenging assumptions about the 'digital divide' and the determining power of technology. Software use is nonetheless associated with variations in discourse, marked by different configurations of an IRF discourse structure. Computer labs are unconventional classrooms, but not necessarily in ways that fulfill the radical claims of those who imagine that computers are a straightforward channel that allows children direct access to 'content' or 'the curriculum'. Consequently, 'ordinary' software applications such as search engines, browsers and email acquire different meanings in this context of use, marked by the power differentials implicit in South African educational practices, resourcing, and local classroom discourse. Transcribed video recordings of children's interactions in the computer lab allow a nuanced analysis of the nature of the work of schooling and learning in this context. These recordings reveal social negotiation, institutional and other power relations, and a marked scarcity of resources for communication via this channel. The observations suggest that teachers and children engage in complex discursive interactions around school, learning, and play as they use computers. Power relations established through these discourses are significant features of the children's experiences. Notions of 'access' are central to discussions of social equity and ICTs. This study reformulates 'access' to draw attention to the importance of children's limited access to certain discursive roles, and to the complex patterns of conflict and collaboration in the use of semiotic and other communicative resources in the computer lab. This study argues that the 'rules' of particular genres curtail children's access to particular discursive roles. The institutional 'rules' of classroom discourse play a central role, as do the algorithmic rules of the software. The analysis presented in the study will help teachers to understand the linguistic and semiotic processes central to children's learning in such environments. Workplace and consumer applications take on a particular discursive character in classroom use. The communicative possibilities of these applications are limited unless the children are initiated into the social groupings and discursive practices associated with their use. Although children often display creativity in exploiting the affordances of different types of software, there is an additional tension between the discourses they are assumed to be accessing (such as knowledge as inquiry or mathematical register) and the interplay of discourses suggested by the children's actual software use.
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    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.
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    The digital divide in South Africa : identifying emerging inequalities in Internet access and online public spheres
    (2008) Reece, Cathryn
    This thesis is an investigation into the digital divide in South Africa. Its main aim is to present for the first time an analysis of South African Internet access and Internet users, in the context of existing digital divide theory. Four possible models of digital divides will be tested by assessing Internet access, Internet users and Internet user behaviour. The first part of this thesis sheds light on how changes over time in the number of people Internet access in South Africa can be understood. In an effort to evaluate four possible models from literature on digital divides, statistics on Internet access in South Africa are scrutinised in ways that have not yet been done in academic literature. Information on how Internet access may be increasing or decreasing within the population will also be assessed. This is so as to demonstrate how Internet access in South Africa may be experiencing a far more complex set of changes than access statistics alone may suggest. The second part of this thesis will investigate the Internet users who participate in debate and discussion on MyNews24, a South African "citizen journalism" portal on News24. The four possible models of the digital divide will be further evaluated based on the results of these findings. It is here where MyNews24 will also be evaluated as a possible online public sphere, which will demonstrate how inclusion of exclusion from public spaces such as MyNews24 may be of previously unrecognised consequence.The third and final part of this thesis will investigate how the digital divide is manifesting in the online commentary on MyNews24, and will demonstrate what kinds of interactions and conversations are talking place in this space. This will also demonstrate ways in which the digital divide may be affecting the nature of online debate in these possible online public spheres.
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    Discourses of health, sexuality and gender in the H360° HIV/AIDS education portal on MXit.
    (2012) Kramper, Mareike Annette
    The widespread adoption of mobile communication by South African teenagers is playing an increasing role in their formation of identities and construction of knowledge. This dissertation uses feminist critical discourse analysis as an explanatory framework in order to investigate what types of discourses around HIV/AIDS emerge from queries submitted to the mobile application H360°, which is an educational portal on MXit, South Africa’s most popular messaging platform. These queries are analysed in order to identify how gender and other power relationships inform young people’s discourse on MXit. This approach gives insights into how South African teenagers construct discourses about HIV/AIDS knowledge within an environment where unequal power relationships reflect gender, race and class divisions. In the face of such dynamics, attempts to halt the spread of the disease have so far proven ineffective.
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    Discursive practices around film and music piracy in selected newspaper articles and radio broadcasts in South Africa
    (2015) Musundwa, Sibongile C; Haupt, Adam
    This thesis analyses South African news media discourses on piracy to consider whether corporate interests or those of civil society are served by stories about copyright infringement and piracy awareness campaigns. This thesis employs critical discourse analysis to show that hegemonic interests are ultimately served by news coverage, made up of selected newspaper articles and radio broadcast over a ten year period, that frames a range of commercial and non-commercial copying activities as criminal acts. Two dominant frames are identified: piracy as an economic issue and piracy as a crime. The thesis shows how the harms of copyright infringement are conflated by ideologies of the 'pirate' as a violent criminal and 'piracy' as an activity against commerce. The thesis finds a fracturing boundary between the orders of discourse of corporate and civil interests and those of news media. Entertainment media, as one block, garners a way to construct and sustain alliances with news and information media (such as newspapers and news and talk radio), taking on an ideological form. When this type of consent is won, and thus elite interests served, the ability to ensure a richly sourced and diverse public domain and public sphere is compromised.
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    Everyday Entrepreneurs: Documenting African Entrepreneurial Journeys
    (2019) Mukuka, Chisanga; Evans, Martha
    In recent years, stories of African entrepreneurship have become popular online, highlighting the journeys, success and challenges that emerging entrepreneurs experience. However, many of these stories and platforms focus mainly on opportunity entrepreneurs and exclude necessity entrepreneurs who operate medium to small businesses, despite the fact that these entrepreneurs overwhelmingly outnumber their more affluent counterparts. Everyday Entrepreneurs is Media Creative Production undertaken with the aim of beginning to fill this gap by highlighting the narratives of some of the entrepreneurs that we encounter daily. The researcher created a web-based platform to showcase various entrepreneurial journeys. This was done by conducting qualitative interviews with seven small-to-medium business owners operating in Cape Town, South Africa, selected through a purposive sampling process. These interviews informed a series of profiles detailing the experiences of these entrepreneurs. The supporting research, as well as the motivations and experiences of the research are documented in the accompanying reflective essay.
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    Exploring the Use of Digital Communication Channels as a Means of Employee Communication and Internal Brand Strategy Within South African Corporate Companies
    (2023) Johnson, Michaela; Irwin, Ronald
    This research paper aims to understand how the digital acceleration, engendered by the COVID-19 pandemic, affected employee communication in the remote workplace. For brevity, focus is maintained on South African companies only. Particular emphasis is placed on digital communication channels' use to engage employees. With these two design principles, this study develops to sparse literature of South African companies' use of digital communication. Six medium to large companies that represent the key industries of South Africa have been sampled; mining, logistics, tourism, insurance and finance. The companies interviewed are the top South African businesses within in their respective industries. These companies include insurance companies Sanlam and Old Mutual, gold mining company Sibanye Stillwater, logistics company Imperial Logistics, tourism company Cape Town Tourism, and retail banking company Capitec Bank. The representatives selected in each company were based on the role they played in the implementation and operation of the digital communication channel within the organization. These roles ranged from heads of brand, heads of group strategy, and heads of communication. Qualitative interviews were preferred for data gathering and a grounded theory and thematic analysis approaches were used to analyse the data. The full sample of six companies were found to blend company-owned mobile communication and third party-owned software platforms to communicate in online spaces. Research additionally found remote communication strengthening organizational identity in most cases. This was arguably due to synchronous communication emphasizing employee wellness. Resistance to adoption of remote communication channels was offset with relevant training. Further study of this emergence of resistance led to identifying employees need to negotiate work- and home-identity in remote work environments. Studying this work/ home balance further led to a study of employee comfort. Findings in this area point to a proportional relationship between employee comfort and clear, direct and personalised communication. As a consequence of these findings, focus was then shifted to the nature of personalisation in internal branding, which again adds to a limited literature currently available. These shifting areas of focus are used to puzzle out how South African companies are attempting digital transformation. All of which builds to the conclusion that while South African companies might currently prefer enhancing their numerous platforms, conversion to a single protocol is likely, given these companies' openness to digital transformation.
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    Facebook's ‘white genocide' problem: a sociotechnical exploration of problematic information, shareability, and social correction in a South African context
    (2021) Barraclough, Jessica Ann; Wasserman, Hermanus
    A relatively small, but highly visible group of South Africans believe that farm attacks/murders (and other crimes against whites) constitute a targeted ‘white genocide'. Their beliefs have found support and corroboration in various online spaces, but especially within ‘alternative news' Facebook pages. This case study is used as an opportunity to apply a sociotechnical model of media effects to a very real disinformation problem that continues to inflame race relations in South Africa. Three pivotal questions are addressed, relating to (1) how Facebook users on farm attack/murder-focused pages engage with problematic information (fake news) and why; (2) the qualitative and affordance/format-related themes of posts with the highest share counts on these pages; and (3) the common themes of discourse used in defensive responses to social corrections of false information. Findings suggest that South Africa's ‘white genocide' problem is more deep-set than other more ephemeral ‘fake news' stories, especially due to stark racial and political dichotomies, reflected by the post comment sections herein. Group identities and cognitive biases work to sustain the disproportional media ‘spectacle' of gratuitous farm attacks/murders against white South Africans, and leverage Facebook's platform affordances to do so.
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    Framed: COP17 on South African television
    (2013) Meiring, Rouxnette; Glenn, Ian
    The media have a critical role to play in informing and changing public opinion on climate change, "the defining human development issue of our generation" (United Nations Development Programme for Human Development Report, 2008, 1). Developing countries are most likely to suffer the worst effects of climate change, yet few studies exist on climate change communication in the media in developing countries and in particular in Africa. Studies on climate change communication in the media focus mostly on the print media and on developed countries, yet in Africa, more people consume their news through television or radio. So far, no study has examined television news reports of a United Nations Conference of the Parties in Africa. This study examines the way four South African television news stations (three public and one private) framed climate change news over six weeks: two weeks before, during and after the 17th United Nations Conferences of the Parties in Durban (COP17) South Africa, 2011/11/07 – 2012/01/07. Coding words were used to identify climate change stories in the main newscasts on SABC 1, 2, 3 and e.tv each day. These were transcribed and in the cases of SABC1 and 2 broadcasts translated from three indigenous languages (Afrikaans, isiXhosa and isiZulu) into English. A quantitative, descriptive statistical analysis looked at the occurrence of four primary frames in these climate change stories, using binary coding questions to identify each frame. The results in the binary coding sheets were analysed by using spreadsheets. The coding questions were also used to identify and explore secondary and additional frames, which were then illustrated in graphs. Differences in framing between public and private television were also illustrated in graphs (for example local versus foreign stories, time devoted to stories, depth of stories and occurrence of climate change stories with a human angle). Secondly, a qualitative inductive analysis of text and visual material looked at links between frames (for example the link between extreme weather conditions and human action using cause and impact visuals, as well as the link between news image and source – the framing of the politician, the activist and the scientist.) This section also looked at emotionally anchoring images of hope and guilt and the role of banners, posters and maps in climate change stories on television. Though other studies claim that coverage of the summit was "almost invisible" (Finlay 2012, 16) this study shows very high coverage on especially SABC 1 (isiXhosa and isiZulu). The following hypotheses were confirmed: the political/economic frame will dominate on all stations during COP17 but the ecological frame will be highest on at least some stations in the weeks after COP17. The ethics frame will be dominated by the secondary "Inequality/Justice" frame while the "Religion" frame will be of minimal importance. When activists set the agenda, the motivational frame will hardly feature. Climate change scepticism will receive little attention on South African television. Local (South African and African) stories will be more prominent on public television than on private television.
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    Inequality in digital personas - e-portfolio curricula, cultural repertoires and social media
    (2018) Noakes, Travis; Walton, Marion; Cronje, Johannes
    Digital and electronic learning portfolios (e-portfolios) are playing a growing role in supporting admission to tertiary study and employment by visual creatives. Despite the growing importance of digital portfolios, we know very little about how professionals or students use theirs. This thesis contributes to knowledge by describing how South African high school students curated varied e-portfolio styles while developing disciplinary personas as visual artists. The study documents the technological and material inequalities between these students at two schools in Cape Town. By contrast to many celebratory accounts of contemporary new media literacies, it provides cautionary case studies of how young people’s privileged or marginalized circumstances shape their digital portfolios as well. A four-year longitudinal action research project (2009-2013) enabled the recording and analysis of students’ development as visual artists via e-portfolios at an independent (2009-2012) and a government school (2012-2013). Each school represented one of the two types of secondary schooling recognised by the South African government. All student e-portfolios were analysed along with producers’ dissimilar contexts. Teachers often promoted highbrow cultural norms entrenched by white, English medium schooling. The predominance of such norms could disadvantage socially marginalized youths and those developing repertoires in creative industry, crafts or fan art. Furthermore, major technological inequalities caused further exclusion. Differences in connectivity and infrastructure between the two research sites and individuals’ home environments were apparent. While the project supported the development of new literacies, the intervention nonetheless inadvertently reproduced the symbolic advantages of privileged youths. Important distinctions existed between participants’ use of media technologies. Resourceintensive communications proved gatekeepers to under-resourced students and stopped them fully articulating their abilities in their e-portfolios. Non-connected students had the most limited exposure to developing a digital hexis while remediating artworks, presenting personas and benefiting from online affinity spaces. By contrast, well-connected students created comprehensive showcases curating links to their productions in varied affinity groups. Male teens from affluent homes were better positioned to negotiate their classroom identities, as well as their entrepreneurial and other personas. Cultural capital acquired in their homes, such as media production skills, needed to resonate with the broader ethos of the school in its class and cultural dimensions. By contrast, certain creative industry, fan art and craft productions seemed precluded by assimilationist assumptions. At the same time, young women grappled with the risks and benefits of online visibility. An important side effect of validating media produced outside school is that privileged teens may amplify their symbolic advantages by easily adding distinctive personas. Under-resourced students must contend with the dual challenges of media ecologies as gatekeepers and an exclusionary cultural environment. Black teens from working class homes were faced with many hidden infrastructural and cultural challenges that contributed to their individual achievements falling short of similarly motivated peers. Equitable digital portfolio education must address both infrastructural inequality and decolonisation.
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    Make-believe : claiming the real in contemporary fiction cinema
    (2008) Van der Vliet, Emma; Marx, Lesley
    This thesis examines the ways in which certain contemporary fiction cinema posits its narratives as real. Looking at a broad overview of realist movements through the history of cinema, it draws out the codes and conventions which filmmakers have employed and suggests that realist cinema is typically characterised by its focus on creating a sense of presence and immediacy. It describes how a strand of selfreflexivity can be traced throughout the history of realist cinema and asserts that this tendency has become increasingly predominant in a more sceptical postmodern climate. The study focuses on the interplay between the cinematography and the setting (to create a sense of locatedness and contextual specificity) in Matthieu Kassovitz's La Haine (1995), on Lars Von Trier's quest for a "naked" film stripped of its cosmetic trappings, and his pursuit of the "genuine" moment within that (in The Idiots, 1998), on Mike Leigh's use of improvisation and byplay to encourage a sense of authenticity in performance in Secrets and Lies (1996), and on Richard Linklater's reworking of the romance genre for a postmodern audience in Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004).
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    Mediating identity, 'mobile-ising' culture : the social impact of MXIt in the relational lives of teens
    (2011) Van der Linde, Keith; Bosch, Tanja E
    The primary aim of the study was to examine the mediating role that MXit plays in the identity formation of 16-18 year old adolescents. Little is known about the social impact of MXit on adolescents’ identities when this usage is so deeply embedded in the relational exchanges of teens’ everyday experiences. Nine focus groups, four group interviews and two one on one interviews were employed across six schools located in four socioeconomically divergent Cape Town suburbs demarcated using middle to upper-income (Milnerton and Newlands) and lower-income (Khayelitsha and Cloetesville) operational definitions.
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    The megatext : towards a literary theory of the media
    (2005) Iqani, Mehitabel
    The Megatext: Towards a Literary Theory of the Media argues for a new conception of the media landscape; one that manages to critically engage the mass dimensions of the contemporary phenomenon of media without losing the value of particular socio-economic and cultorological approaches that have been established in the field thus far. Initially, the thesis reviews current approaches to media studies, including structural, sociological and philosophical approaches. Then, through a technique of descriptive observation gleaned from practical experience in the media field, a current snapshot of the contemporary media landscape is offered, with key defining characteristics outlined, which are used to categorise various instances of media into what is termed "the media matrix". Thereafter, with the aim of developing a theoretical approach that is conceptually large enough to assess the media as a broadly textual phenomenon, literary theories of textuality and inter-textuality are discussed in the framework of contemporary media production and consumption patterns and applied to the common media text. Once it has been established that the myriad of media texts that exist are indeed connected in a variety of inter-textual ways. an in-depth discussion of the various contextual, or supra-textual, realities that unite media into the megatext are discussed. This discussion largely deals with issues of authorship and readership and also draws on literary theories dealing with the same. Finally, the thesis concludes by offering a definition of the megatext, a definition that it is argued could form the basis for further theoretical, textual and literary explorations of the contemporary phenomenon of mass media.
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    Multi-Triangulation Using Qualitative and Crossover Methods to Investigate The Role of Media in Fossil Energy Politics
    (2023) Muranda, Andy; Ndlovu, Musawenkosi
    This research addresses a gap in the continuum of media studies as they relate to energy and politics, which have always been entwined. With each new source of energy or technology, a new form of social dynamics emerges. This study explores the role of media, during the Pennsylvania coal strike of 1902 and the ensuing shifts in political power. Its main hypothesis is – if media helps to shape politics, then its coverage of the 1902 Pennsylvania coal strike, had a hand in delivering democracy to a working proletariat. Using a variety of instruments, and a qualitative-cross over approach, media's role in the 1902 coal strike is explored. Four levels of triangulation, including 3 methods of research are used to analyse 2 datasets. Critical discourse analysis, which maps text, discursive practice and social elements, makes up 2 of the methods; namely transitivity for linguistic texts and a multimodal analysis for the visual text. The 3rd method is a thematic analysis of the global news articles that appeared circa 1902. Each research question entails its own process of triangulation. The terrain of media ideology is probed by triangulating 3 texts: an editorial article, a letter to the editor and a cartoon. They all tackle the 1st research question: • What were the ideologies revealed in visual or lexical patterns, that shaped the discursive composition of reality within media reports during the 1902 coal strike? Then, the 2nd dataset triangulates 3 locations to address the 2nd research question: • What role did media play in the global spread of social democracy? It was found that media discourse unveiled a new ideology within the discursive climate, which influenced society. Ultimately, it shifted the power base. It was also found that media acted globally, triggering wider power contestations. This study will show how media drew on ideology (implicitly or explicitly) to construct meaning around fossil energy politics. It also reveals how global media coverage eased information flows, during the initial wave of democracy and how Timothy Mitchell's conception – ‘carbon democracy' was made possible. Unveiling media's role, helps to unpack its potential in ushering in any new configurations of political power and energy justice, especially as an uptick in renewables is now on record.
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    Myths of rebellion : Afrikaner and countercultural discourse
    (2010) Nel, Rossouw; Botha, Martin
    This study examines tendencies of cultural rebellion by focusing on entertainment that engages with Afrikaner tradition. Examples from music, student films and autobiographies are used to illustrate that artists reclaim signifiers of their cultural heritage in performances of rebellion. New myths are appearing that seem to fulfill a young generation's need for a history outside of apartheid. It is suggested that these myths assist Afrikaners who feel alienated in post-apartheid South Africa to foster a sense of legitimacy and belonging. It will argue that countercultural thinking plays a major role in the discourse of rebellion. Research is conducted within the framework of communication and cultural studies. Popular texts are considered to constitute discourses that formulate and reproduce ideologies. An analysis of Afrikaner and countercultural discourse is conducted by means of texts. The creative output of rebellious Afrikaners is used to illustrate the manifestation of countercultural ideology in entertainment. Examples of the work of Andre P. Brink, Fokofpolisiekar, Karen Zoid, Koos Kombuis, Johan Nel, Bok van Blerk, Anton Kannemeyer and Jack Parow are analysed in order to highlight common features. Despite being positioned on different sides of the political spectrum, countercultural and Afrikaner ideology share similar values. Research on their history demonstrates that oppositional identity formation and the need for distinction were central to their development. This study also shows that rebellion and distinction are central to the development of trends in popular culture. The findings of this research provide some guidance to those interested in maintaining the relevance of Afrikaans language and culture. The discussion of the inner workings of style, taste and popularity may also have implications for strategies in the creative arts. Afrikaner cultural rebellion as a case study is thus relevant in terms of its success in the field of entertainment and as the product of a society in transition.
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    Of sunsets, savages, and soccer framing Africa during the final days of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
    (2012) Jones, Bernadine; Glenn, Ian; Evans, Martha
    Representation is fluid;symbolism changes between eras and between news channels. From the negativity of Afro-pessimism and threatening connotations of tribes and rampant warfare, to the notion of untouched wilderness, abundant natural resources, and financial miracles in recent years, Africa has many representations within the media. Sadly, many Africans argue, Western media practitioners tend to present "fatalistic and selectively crude" (Kromah, 2002) representations of Africa, portraying a large and diverse continent as homogeneous (Hammett, 2010), if they represent African realities at all (Golan, 2008). With the FIFA 2010 World Cup held for the first time on the African continent, the Western media spotlight was fixed firmly on South Africa for over a month of continuous, rolling reporting on Western and non-Western news channels. Did this journalism re-engender old stereotypes, symbolism, and language? This study scrutinises five rolling news channels to analyse that very issue, and adds depth and empirical evidence to an under-researched area.
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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 power of peers: mobile youth culture, homophily and informal learning among a group of South African youth
    (2016) Carew, Joanne; Walton, Marion
    Popular notions of "net generations" and "digital natives" have already been subject to sustained academic critique. This dissertation builds on such critiques by documenting the local practices and distinctive mobile literacies of a group of young people in South Africa. These young people (ages 13-17, n=18) were asked how they were learning about and using ICTs. The sample lived in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, and were members of a non-profit youth development organisation, Ikamva Youth, participating in beginner coding classes. This study explored what they had already learned about ICTs from their networks of close interpersonal relationships (n=133) and asked them how they felt about their own ICT knowledge, as well as the ICT skills of those around them. Unlike their wealthier counterparts, such young people do not have ubiquitous Internet connectivity, ease of access to consumer electronics or many opportunities to learn about computers in particular. Yet, rather than being stuck on the wrong side of a 'digital divide' or waiting passively for government to fulfil broken promises about digital literacy in schools, they were actively pursuing knowledge about ICTs and mobiles in particular. They demonstrated distinctive 'mobile-centric' repertoires, fostered through learning about ICTs from their strong ties. This gave rise to a distinctive mobile youth culture, shaped by race, class, and gender dynamics. Gendered biases and preoccupations, peer networks and technicities were particularly important. While this allows many creative and strategic appropriations of mobile technology, it also means that largely homophilous informal learning networks in part set the bounds of their learning. When most of what you're learning comes from your friends, it really matters who those friends are. Unsurprisingly, gaps in their digital literacies were apparent. In particular, their ability to fully participate in modern digital publics is curtailed. It remains essential to provide formal opportunities for young people to learn about ICTs at school, but also informally via a larger network of interpersonal relationships and communities of practice such as Ikamva Youth. Mobile technology presents many opportunities and suggests new approaches to digital literacy. Nonetheless, it seems likely that, given difficulties in accessing high status ICTs and bridging capital in particular, access and knowledge gaps will continue to disadvantage such young people.
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    Radio convergence: young people's radio listening habits in Cape Town - a comparative study
    (2016) Ngomani, Noluyolo; Bosch, Tanja E
    The purpose of this study is to explore young people's radio listening habits in a time of radio convergence in South Africa. This study explores how the radio listening practices of youth studying and living in a township, for example Khayelitsha, differ from the practices of those who attend school in an urban area, for example Rondebosch, and acknowledging the University of Cape Town as a 'grey area' where diverse youth come together, by comparing Humanities and Science students. Drawing on Bourdieu's theories of capital, the study argues that various issues related to Internet access in South Africa, including communicative ecology, the historical background, and 'cultural capital' (Bourdieu, 1986; 1990), make the radio listening experience different for different groups, and strongly influence young people's radio listening habits. This argument is contextualized in relation to radio convergence which is seen through the use of social networking sites by radio stations, young people and people at large, and focusing especially on the growth of online-only radio with evidence of it being accessible to those that have access to the Internet. Furthermore, this study used both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the uses and gratifications as well as the social and individualistic act of radio listening, and the phenomenon of online-only radio. This study analyses the online radio stations Assembly Radio, CliffCentral and Ballz Visual Radio as case studies to show the dynamics of this medium, specifically highlighting programming, revenue, access to stations, and the reasoning behind their conception. In conclusion, the study argues that radio convergence should not be viewed as an erosion of the nature of traditional radio, but rather argues for convergence as an extension of the medium.