Going back to the crossroads: Visions of a democratic media future at the dawn of the new South Africa

Abstract

The hostile standoff between the print media and the African National Congress (ANC) on the issue of the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal for the print media in 2010 seemingly depended on divergent views on the role of the media in society. The article traces the origins of this discursive conflict back to one of the earliest political debates on the issue of the role of the media in a new South Africa. It occurred in July 1992 as part of a media conference hosted in Johannesburg by the Nieman Institute (see Ecquid Novi 1992, 13(1): 93–121). The focus of the research is four speeches delivered at the conference by representatives of the main political stakeholders of the day.

In reference to a theoretical overview of a range of different theories of the press and journalism, similarities and differences between the visions and discursive strategies of the different political stakeholders at that sensitive stage in the negotiations for a new dispensation will be explored. By returning to an arguably seminal historical juncture, this article aims to 1) constructively contribute to the debate in a democracy which faces numerous challenges, and 2) explore alternative postmodern and postcolonial theoretical alternatives to the often hierarchical and static normative functionalist models of the press.

The article concluded that in 1992, the ANC had already adopted many of its critical perspectives in addressing the perceived shortcomings of the mainstream commercial media – such as ownership concentration, and unfair and unequal representation. But, interestingly, the ANC also had normative functionalist expectations of especially the development role of the media. In other words, the ANC regards the media as a possible tool in the creation of a harmonious, integrated, prosperous society.

At the same time the party faced resistance from the National Party, which proposed a neoliberal pluralist role for the media in a new South Africa. The suggestion is that the media sector in fact adopted the view of the NP almost wholesale. If this is accepted, the extent and depth of the conflict between the ANC and the print media in 2010 becomes clearer.

The article closes with a practical suggestion that both the ANC and the print media should reconsider the dominant discourse of professional journalism, in order to make consensus possible.

Keywords:

• ANC
• culture
• postcolonial
• print media
• professional journalism
• South Africa
• theories of the press
• tribunal