Browsing by Author "Griesel, Jenny"

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    An analysis of the policy governing broadcasting news in contemporary South Africa, using Hanberger’s model
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-12) Griesel, Jenny; Botma, Gabriel; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the South African constitutional democracy, the state is responsible for ensuring that people have access to information, in order to make informed decisions and participate in democratic life. This responsibility is enshrined in the Constitution through the right to access information and the freedom of the media. The state enables constitutional imperatives via legislation. The broadcasting news policy is implemented via a Chapter 9 organisation, namely the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). The operation of this organisation is also provided for in the Constitution.This study is a policy analysis of the policy governing electronic news in contemporary South Africa, with a specific focus on free-to-air national television. Using Hanberger’s model as a framework to steer the research, this study examines whether the current policy is achieving its aims. Normative theory provides the theoretical point of departure, as the study questions whether the policy is effectively contributing to an informed population in the country, in order to further democracy. Using a qualitative research approach, the research methodology included a content analysis of free-to-air television news bulletins on SABC3 and ETV, analysis of documents related to the policy, and interviews with stakeholders.The study found that the South African public is being under-serviced with television news that lacks both depth and a diversity of viewpoints, that television newsrooms are under-resourced, and that owing to gaps in the policy, television stations produce the bare minimum of news. Additionally, the study revealed that the implementing organisation ICASA is inadequately fulfilling its function in various ways and has lost sight of its purpose. Other findings were that the country lacks an essential, legal definition of news, that the policy is managed in a superficial manner, and that there is a clear need for the policy to be revised and updated to accommodate the many shifts which have occurred in the socio-economic landscape and in the media environment since the policy’s inception 25 years ago.