An Assessment of the Public Interest and Ideas of the Public in South Africa and the Adoption of Ubuntu Journalism

Abstract

Media theory and in particular normative conceptualizations of the role of the news media have been decidedly underpinned by Western epistemologies and thought. Scholars argue that this makes them ill-suited to meet the demands of young democracies and transitional societies, particularly in postcolonial societies in the global South. In South Africa, the current ANC government has accused the South African news media of not catering to the vast majority of the population and for being averse to the policy agenda of government. This has triggered a debate about whether or not the media should report in what is perceived as the national interest as opposed to the public interest. In the light of increasing polarization between government and sectors of the news media and amid calls for an Africanization of journalism, I ask a select group of South African journalists whether entrenching a public service ethos through ubuntu as a framework for journalism could open up the news media to a broader audience as well as a wider set of interests and concerns.