Journalism Hybridization in Postcolonial Societies: Paradigm Adaptation Tensions in Post-Apartheid South Africa

ABSTRACT

A news reporting scandal implicating South Africa’s Sunday Times in allegations of facilitating state capture during the regime of former president Jacob Zuma provoked debate over the proper journalistic practice, roles and guiding ethical values between journalists and press critics (e.g., academics). The majority of journalists defended the liberal normative news paradigm, while others joined hands with academics in questioning some of the norms’ adequacy in the post-apartheid socio-political and technological context. The study argues that what emerges here is neither traditional paradigm repair nor paradigm reconsideration but tensions over paradigm adaptation to modify conventional journalism norms to suit the South African context. In other words, the scandal reignited post-apartheid debates about the role of the news media and what professionalism means.

KEYWORDS:

• Metajournalistic discourse
• paradigm repair
• boundary work
• Sunday Times
• South Africa
• postcolonial societies

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers who critically read the manuscript and provided invaluable feedback. The author would also wish to thank Dr. Jisu Huh for critical guidance, feedback and encouragement in the project’s early stages. Special mention goes to my advisor Dr. Matt Carlson who helped guide the project by providing critical feedback throughout the process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).