6 - Shooting the Messenger: Mediating the Public and the Role of the Media in South Africa’s Xenophobic Violence
Corresponding Author(s) : Adrian Hadland
Africa Development,
Vol. 35 No. 3 (2010): Africa Development
Abstract
In the wake of the outbreak of xenophobic violence in South Africa in May 2008, in which sixty people died and tens of thousands were displaced, a fierce debate erupted on the role of the media. The focus of the criticism was South Africa’s newly-established tabloid press which is accused of fomenting violence and exacerbating tension by publishing inflammatory headlines and posters. But to what extent can the tabloid press really be blamed for aggravating the conflict? The scholarly literature on media effects suggests that direct causality is hard to prove. The accusation says much, however, about media-state- society relations in post-apartheid South Africa; it also raises questions about the state of the public sphere and the role of the media within it. Field work conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council in four South African informal settlement areas affected by the recent violence indicates that the tabloids certainly cannot be blamed directly for fanning the violence. But it does seem to confirm what thousands of protests in the past year have strongly hinted at: there has been a communications breakdown in South Africa at a local level between communities and the state, as well as within communities, which lies at the root of much of the anger and violence. By failing to respond to this breakdown and act on its liberal imperative of providing a “voice for the voiceless”, the media may be more complicit than it, or the literature, is willing to acknowledge.
Download Citation
Endnote/Zotero/Mendeley (RIS)BibTeX
- Alexander, N., 2008, ‘Has the Rainbow Vanished? The Meaning of National Unity in the New South Africa’, Address delivered for Difficult Dialogue Lecture Series, University of Cape Town, 13 August 2008.
- Anderson, B, 1983, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism, London: Verso.
- Anderson, C.A., Leonard, B., Edward, D.L., Rowell, H., James, D.J., Daniel, L., Neil, M.M. and Ellen, W., 2003, ‘The Influence of Media Violence on Youth’, in Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4(3), December: 81-110.
- Barratt, E., 2006, Part of the Story: 10 Years of the South African National Editors’ Forum, Johannesburg: Sanef.
- Bernstein, A., 2008, ‘Xenophobe Probe’, in Financial Mail, July 18, p 18. Bourdieu, P., 1998, Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Chimutengwende, C.C., 1978, The Press and Politics of Liberation in South Africa, London: Barbican Books.
- Curran, J., Michael, G. and Woollacott, J., 1982, ‘The Study of the Media: Theoretical Approaches’ in Gurevitch, Bennett, Curran and Woollacott, 1982, Culture, Society and the Media: 11-29, London: Methuen.
- Eron, L.D., Huesmann, L.R., Lefkowitz, M.M. and Walder, L.O., 1972, ‘Does Television Violence Cause ASggression?’, in American Psychologist, Vol 27(4), April, pp. 253-263.
- Estrada, F., 2001, ‘Juvenile Violence as a Social Problem’, in British Journal of Criminology, 41, pp. 639-655.
- Eveland, W. P., and McLeod, D.M., 1999, ‘The Effect of Social Desirability on Perceived Media Impact: Implications for Third-person Perceptions’, in International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 11(4), pp. 315-333.
- Feldman, O. and Kazuhisa, K., 1991,‘Use as Predictors of Political Behaviour: The Case of Japan’, in Political Psychology, 12(1), pp. 65-80.
- Felson, Richard B., 1996, ‘Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior’, in Annual Review of Sociology, 22, pp. 103-128.
- Glenn, I. and Angie, K., 2008, ‘Field Theory and Tabloids’, in Hadland, Louw, Sesanti and Wasserman (eds.), 2008, Power, Politics and Identity in the South African Media: 104- 123, Cape Town: HSRC Press.
- Gurevitch, M., Bennett, T., Curran, J. and Woollacott, J., 1982, Culture, Society and the Media, New York: Methuen.
- Habermas, J., 1989, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Hadland, A., 2007, The South African print media 1994-2004. An Application and Critique of Comparative Media Systems Theory, unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
- Hadland, A. ed., 2008, Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Developing Consensus, Moving to Action, Cape Town: HSRC.
- Hall, S., 1982, ‘The Rediscovery of “Ideology”: Return of the Repressed in Media Studies’, in Gurevitch, Michael et al. (eds.), Culture, Society and the Media: 56-112, New York: Methuen.
- Hallin, Daniel C. and Paolo Mancini, 2004, Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Harber, A., 2008, ‘Of Aliens and Mobs’, The Harbinger: http://www.theharbinger.co.za/wordpress/2008/06/13/of-aliens-and-mobs/.
- Herman, E.S. and Chomsky, N., 1989, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, New York: Pantheon Books.
- Hill, A., 2001, ‘Media Risks: The Social Amplification of Risk and the Media Violence Debate’, in Journal of Risk Research, 4.3, pp. 209-225.
- Human Sciences Research Council, 2008, Citizenship, Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Perceptions from South African Communities, Democracy and Governance Research Programme report, Cape Town: HSRC.
- Ismail, J. A. and Deane, J., 2008, ‘The 2007 General Election in Kenya and its Aftermath: The Role of Local Language Media’ in The International Journal of Press/Politics, 13, pp. 319- 327.
- Jacobs, S.H., 2004, Public Sphere, Power and Democratic Politics: Media and Policy Debates in Post-apartheid South Africa, unpublished PhD thesis, Birkbeck College, University of London.
- Johnston, A., 2005, ‘The African National Congress, the Print Media and the Development of Mediated Politics in South Africa’, in CriticalArts 19.1&2, pp. 12-35.
- Jones, N., Vanderhaeghen, Y. and Viney, D., 2008, ‘The Rise of the Daily Sun and Its Contribution to the Creation of Post-apartheid Identity’, in Power, Politics and Identity in the South African Media: 167-183, Cape Town: HSRC Press.
- Ka z, E., 2001, ‘Lazarsfeld’s Map of Media Effects’, in International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 13(3), pp. 270-279.
- Livingstone, S., 1980, ‘The Work of Elihu Katz: Conceptualising Media Effects in Context’, in Studies in Communication, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, pp. 119-141.
- McDonald, D.A. and Jacobs, S., 2005, Understanding Press Coverage of the Cross-Border Migration in Southern Africa since 2000, Cape Town: Institute for Democracy in South Africa and Southern African Research Centre, Queen’s University, Canada.
- Roshco, B., 1970, ‘Violence in the Media’ (Book Review) in The Public Opinion Quarterly, 34(2), Summer, p. 308-310.
- Simyn, A., 1979, ‘Violence in the Mass Media: A Case of Modelling’, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 48(3 Pt 2, June): 1081-2.
- Sutter, G., 2000, ‘“Nothing New Under the Sun”: Old Fears and New Media’ in International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 8(3), pp. 338-378.
References
Alexander, N., 2008, ‘Has the Rainbow Vanished? The Meaning of National Unity in the New South Africa’, Address delivered for Difficult Dialogue Lecture Series, University of Cape Town, 13 August 2008.
Anderson, B, 1983, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism, London: Verso.
Anderson, C.A., Leonard, B., Edward, D.L., Rowell, H., James, D.J., Daniel, L., Neil, M.M. and Ellen, W., 2003, ‘The Influence of Media Violence on Youth’, in Psychological Science in the Public Interest 4(3), December: 81-110.
Barratt, E., 2006, Part of the Story: 10 Years of the South African National Editors’ Forum, Johannesburg: Sanef.
Bernstein, A., 2008, ‘Xenophobe Probe’, in Financial Mail, July 18, p 18. Bourdieu, P., 1998, Practical Reason: On the Theory of Action, Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Chimutengwende, C.C., 1978, The Press and Politics of Liberation in South Africa, London: Barbican Books.
Curran, J., Michael, G. and Woollacott, J., 1982, ‘The Study of the Media: Theoretical Approaches’ in Gurevitch, Bennett, Curran and Woollacott, 1982, Culture, Society and the Media: 11-29, London: Methuen.
Eron, L.D., Huesmann, L.R., Lefkowitz, M.M. and Walder, L.O., 1972, ‘Does Television Violence Cause ASggression?’, in American Psychologist, Vol 27(4), April, pp. 253-263.
Estrada, F., 2001, ‘Juvenile Violence as a Social Problem’, in British Journal of Criminology, 41, pp. 639-655.
Eveland, W. P., and McLeod, D.M., 1999, ‘The Effect of Social Desirability on Perceived Media Impact: Implications for Third-person Perceptions’, in International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 11(4), pp. 315-333.
Feldman, O. and Kazuhisa, K., 1991,‘Use as Predictors of Political Behaviour: The Case of Japan’, in Political Psychology, 12(1), pp. 65-80.
Felson, Richard B., 1996, ‘Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior’, in Annual Review of Sociology, 22, pp. 103-128.
Glenn, I. and Angie, K., 2008, ‘Field Theory and Tabloids’, in Hadland, Louw, Sesanti and Wasserman (eds.), 2008, Power, Politics and Identity in the South African Media: 104- 123, Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Gurevitch, M., Bennett, T., Curran, J. and Woollacott, J., 1982, Culture, Society and the Media, New York: Methuen.
Habermas, J., 1989, The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere: An Inquiry into a Category of Bourgeois Society, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Hadland, A., 2007, The South African print media 1994-2004. An Application and Critique of Comparative Media Systems Theory, unpublished PhD dissertation, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
Hadland, A. ed., 2008, Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Developing Consensus, Moving to Action, Cape Town: HSRC.
Hall, S., 1982, ‘The Rediscovery of “Ideology”: Return of the Repressed in Media Studies’, in Gurevitch, Michael et al. (eds.), Culture, Society and the Media: 56-112, New York: Methuen.
Hallin, Daniel C. and Paolo Mancini, 2004, Comparing Media Systems: Three Models of Media and Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Harber, A., 2008, ‘Of Aliens and Mobs’, The Harbinger: http://www.theharbinger.co.za/wordpress/2008/06/13/of-aliens-and-mobs/.
Herman, E.S. and Chomsky, N., 1989, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, New York: Pantheon Books.
Hill, A., 2001, ‘Media Risks: The Social Amplification of Risk and the Media Violence Debate’, in Journal of Risk Research, 4.3, pp. 209-225.
Human Sciences Research Council, 2008, Citizenship, Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Perceptions from South African Communities, Democracy and Governance Research Programme report, Cape Town: HSRC.
Ismail, J. A. and Deane, J., 2008, ‘The 2007 General Election in Kenya and its Aftermath: The Role of Local Language Media’ in The International Journal of Press/Politics, 13, pp. 319- 327.
Jacobs, S.H., 2004, Public Sphere, Power and Democratic Politics: Media and Policy Debates in Post-apartheid South Africa, unpublished PhD thesis, Birkbeck College, University of London.
Johnston, A., 2005, ‘The African National Congress, the Print Media and the Development of Mediated Politics in South Africa’, in CriticalArts 19.1&2, pp. 12-35.
Jones, N., Vanderhaeghen, Y. and Viney, D., 2008, ‘The Rise of the Daily Sun and Its Contribution to the Creation of Post-apartheid Identity’, in Power, Politics and Identity in the South African Media: 167-183, Cape Town: HSRC Press.
Ka z, E., 2001, ‘Lazarsfeld’s Map of Media Effects’, in International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 13(3), pp. 270-279.
Livingstone, S., 1980, ‘The Work of Elihu Katz: Conceptualising Media Effects in Context’, in Studies in Communication, Norwood, NJ: Ablex, pp. 119-141.
McDonald, D.A. and Jacobs, S., 2005, Understanding Press Coverage of the Cross-Border Migration in Southern Africa since 2000, Cape Town: Institute for Democracy in South Africa and Southern African Research Centre, Queen’s University, Canada.
Roshco, B., 1970, ‘Violence in the Media’ (Book Review) in The Public Opinion Quarterly, 34(2), Summer, p. 308-310.
Simyn, A., 1979, ‘Violence in the Mass Media: A Case of Modelling’, Perceptual and Motor Skills, 48(3 Pt 2, June): 1081-2.
Sutter, G., 2000, ‘“Nothing New Under the Sun”: Old Fears and New Media’ in International Journal of Law and Information Technology, 8(3), pp. 338-378.