The “Lack of Listening” during South African Election News Coverage

Citation

Jones B (2023) The “Lack of Listening” during South African Election News Coverage. In: Routledge, pp. 172-187. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003429081-13

Abstract
When a society cannot see themselves, they cannot fully deliberate on issues that affect them. This chapter investigates the problematic news framing and media organisation in South Africa during general elections, using semiotic and narrative analysis on digital and television news broadcasts. A “top-down” organisation of South African media with a focus on elite voices means that the representation of society is biased towards authorities, ignoring the view from the ground. Journalists disengage with political leaders and citizens over time, relying on elite voices and fixating on the details of violence, which increases the distance between the audience, society, and politics. Simplistic representation leaves little room to explore deeper consequences and the ramifications for peace in the country are devastating. Africans are no longer agents in their own stories, merely background actors with a journalist or pundit doing the explaining, guiding, and unfolding. If audiences are only ever presented with pundits, prophets, and proclaimers, it becomes increasingly unlikely that they will independently assess the political landscape for themselves, thereby destabilising participatory democracy. A recommendation here is to diversify representation, foregrounding citizen voices.

Keywords
Media representation; South African democracy; Television news; African National Congress; Political Journalism

People

Dr Bernadine Jones

Lecturer in Journalism, Communications, Media and Culture