Browsing by Author "Spies, Mia-Ann"

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    'n Ondersoek na die rolbelewenis van Afrikaanse joernaliste wat oor politiek verslag doen by Netwerk24, Maroela Media, eNuus en KykNET Verslag
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2018-03) Spies, Mia-Ann; Jordaan, Marenet; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: It is the media’s responsibility to inform citizens about issues that affect them. Thanks to political journalists assuming a classic “watchdog” role incidents of corruption, abuse of power and state capture in South Africa are increasingly being exposed. However, the relationship between the media and government, a relationship that has led to ongoing debate, can impact this kind of reporting – especially in the case of the Afrikaans mainstream news media. This study investigates the current state of political reporting in Afrikaans by identifying how Afrikaans journalists describe their role in society and how they regard their relationship with the government, as well as their responsibilities towards their audiences. In order to investigate the role perceptions of Afrikaans journalists, the researcher relied on the combination of three normative ethical theories of the press: Social responsibility theory, libertarian theory and the developmental theory. A qualitative research design was applied in order to determine to what extent Afrikaans journalists apply each of these ethical frameworks in their reporting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with journalists from four Afrikaans mainstream media institutions – Netwerk24, Maroela Media, eNuus and KykNET Verslag. The data was analysed by means of thematic analysis. The findings show that Afrikaans political journalists assume that they have a social responsibility but give preference to the so-called watchdog role by monitoring government and exposing corruption, especially among politicians. However, the participants do not experience the role as exclusive, as they also regard the well-being of society in their reporting, and thus, to a lesser extent, also regard themselves as developmental journalists. By investigating journalists’ personal impressions and experiences, the study emphasises the importance of journalists’ own role perception, and sheds light on the Afrikaans media landscape.