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This book takes television news seriously. Over the course of nine chapters, Elections and TV News in South Africa shows how six democratic South African general elections, 1994-2019, were represented on both local and international news broadcasts. It reveals the shifting narratives about South African democracy, coupled with changing and challenging political journalism practices. The book is organised in three parts: the first contains a history of South African democracy and an overview of the South African media environment. The second part is a visual analysis of the South African elections on television news, exploring portrayals of violence, security, power, and populism, and how these fit into normative news values and the ruling party's tightening grip on the media. The final part is a conclusion, a call to action, and a suggestion to improve political journalistic practice.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Contextualising Election Reporting.- Chapter 2. Political Parties Over 25 Years.- Chapter 3. Story of South Africa's Democracy, 1994-2019.- Chapter 4. South Africa's TV News Landscape.- Chapter 5. News Values and Frames of Elections.- Chapter 6. The ANC Has No Clothes.- Chapter 7. Power and Populism.- Chapter 8. Visuals and Violence. Chapter 9. Desperately Seeking Depth./
About the author
Bernadine Jones is Lecturer in Journalism at the University of Stirling, UK. She was the Next Generation in Social Science Fellow at the University of Cape Town where she completed her PhD, and has published on visual analysis methodology, African representation in news, and political journalism during elections. She is proudly South African.
