Talking of Change: Constructing Social Identities in South African Media Debates

Author: Wasserman, Herman

Source: Social Identities, Volume 11, Number 1, January 2005 , pp. 75-85(11)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

Since the democratisation of South Africa in the 1990s, the media has undergone change in a number of areas. Apart from the changes related to ownership, editorial staff and content, the media's position within society at large and in relation to government has also generated much debate. On several occasions these debates have brought the media sector in conflict with the new government. This article argues that these debates have led to the emergence of a media discourse that also contributes to the construction of new social identities within post-apartheid South Africa. To illustrate this, the article will analyse some key statements on the role of the media in post-apartheid South Africa made by the South African president and the ruling party during 2002–2004. The question put forward in this article will be whether these statements can not only be read normatively, i.e. as a way of repositioning the media within a new democratic society, but also have bearing on the construction of post-apartheid identities.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504630500100688

Publication date: 2005-01-01

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