The commercial mainstream news media’s portrayal of the South African farmer in the 21st century: An exploratory study
| dc.contributor.advisor | Botma, Gabriel | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Botha, Isabeau | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-12-07T09:29:23Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2021-12-22T14:32:53Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-12-07T09:29:23Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2021-12-22T14:32:53Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2021-03 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2021. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The image of the South African farmer in the 21st century is arguably still rooted in a colonial construct. The portrayal of the farmer is especially relevant in relation to current media coverage surrounding fear and uncertainty about land expropriation in South Africa. The land reform crisis foregrounds issues pertaining to marginalised black farmers and stigmatised white farmers in response to the racialised hegemony of a superior colonial farmer identity. However, in a nascent democratic society still characterised by inequality and polarisation, it is inspiring that certain people’s perceptions about Others, namely farmers who do not fit the colonial farmer norm, might slowly be changing. The question is whether such transformative discourses about farmer identity are visible in South Africa’s commercial mainstream news media, who has the power to influence public perception. Academic research about the portrayal of the farmer in the mainstream media is still limited, especially in the South African context. This exploratory study aims to discover how farmers are represented in certain South African commercial mainstream news media, namely The Citizen, News24, Netwerk24, TimesLIVE, SowetanLIVE, City Press, Mail & Guardian and Independent Online (IOL). The theoretical point of departure is the conflict between stereotypical and nuanced representation, especially relating to the use of language in news selection and presentation. This study’s chosen theoretical framework is Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), with the Foucaultdian concept of representation as discourse as the basis for an exploration of how the combination of power/knowledge might influence the portrayal of farmers. This exploratory study used CDA to analyse the relationship between these publications’ portrayal of farmers on the one hand, and their own ideological preferences and their perceived audiences on the other. The concept of the critical discourse moment is employed to direct the sampling of this study, with land expropriation without compensation as the chosen moment. A CDA of news media coverage of farmers in the mentioned publications during 2018 found that the discourse of fear visible in land expropriation debates is countered by a discourse of collaboration, which challenges the colonial farmer construct as well as the Othering of farmers. Although examples were found of representations of certain groups that allude to continued power struggles based on divisions and presuppositions created through colonialism and apartheid, evidence was also found of stereotypes about both white and black farmers being contested. Farmers as well as other agricultural role players can arguably be powerful actors in new knowledge construction about farmers in the commercial mainstream South African news media. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die beeld van die Suid-Afrikaanse boer in die 21ste eeu is waarskynlik nog steeds geanker in ʼn koloniale konstruksie. Die uitbeelding van die boer is veral relevant in die lig van huidige mediadiskoerse rondom vrees en onsekerheid oor grondonteiening in Suid-Afrika. Die grondhervormingskrisis bring kwessies na vore oor gemarginaliseerde swart boere en gestigmatiseerde wit boere, in reaksie op die rasgebaseerde hegemonie van ʼn meerderwaardige koloniale boeridentiteit. In ʼn ontluikende demokratiese samelewing wat steeds deur ongelykheid en polarisasie gekenmerk word, is dit inspirerend dat die siening van sekere mense oor ander stadig kan verander. Die vraag is of daar sulke transformatiewe diskoerse oor boere-identiteit sigbaar is in Suid- Afrika se kommersiële hoofstroom-nuusmedia, wat die mag het om die siening van die publiek te beïnvloed. Akademiese navorsing oor die uitbeelding van die boer in die hoofstroommedia is steeds beperk, veral binne die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks. Hierdie verkennende studie ondersoek hoe boere in sekere Suid-Afrikaanse kommersiële hoofstroom-nuusmedia, naamlik The Citizen, News24, Netwerk24, TimesLIVE, SowetanLIVE, City Press, Mail & Guardian en Independent Online (IOL), verteenwoordig word. Die teoretiese vertrekpunt is die konflik tussen stereotipiese en genuanseerde voorstelling, veral met betrekking tot die gebruik van taal in nuusseleksie en -aanbieding. Hierdie studie se gekose teoretiese raamwerk is kritiese diskoersanalise, met die Foucaultdiaanse konsep van representasie as diskoers as die basis vir 'n verkenning van hoe die kombinasie van mag/kennis die uitbeelding van boere kan beinvloed. In hierdie studie is kritiese diskoersanalise gebruik om die verband tussen hierdie publikasies se uitbeelding van boere, en hul eie ideologiese voorkeure en hul waargenome gehoor, te ondersoek. Die konsep van die kritiese diskoersmoment word gebruik om die steekproefneming van hierdie studie te rig, met grondonteiening sonder vergoeding as die gekose moment. ʼn Kritiese diskoersanalise van nuusmedia-dekking oor boere in bogenoemde publikasies gedurende 2018 het bevind dat die diskoers van vrees in grondonteieningsdebatte teengewerk word deur ʼn diskoers van samewerking, wat die koloniale boerkonstruksie sowel as die Othering van boere uitdaag. Alhoewel daar voorbeelde gevind is van verteenwoordiging van sekere groepe wat sinspeel op voortgesette magstryde gebaseer op verdeeldheid en aannames wat deur kolonialisme en apartheid geskep is, is daar ook bewyse gevind van hoe stereotipes oor wit en swart boere verwerp word. Boere en ander landbou-rolspelers kan ongetwyfeld magtige akteurs wees in die konstruksie van nuwe kennis oor boere in die Suid-Afrikaanse kommersiele hoofstroom-nuusmedia. | af_ZA |
| dc.description.version | Masters | en_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | vi, 126 pages | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/123981 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Journalism | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Mass media and culture -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | South Africa -- Politics and government -- 1994- | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Nationalism -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Farm life in mass media -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Land tenure -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Land reform -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Sustainable agriculture -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | UCTD | |
| dc.title | The commercial mainstream news media’s portrayal of the South African farmer in the 21st century: An exploratory study | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |