An Assessment of the Public Interest and Ideas of the Public in South Africa and the Adoption ofUbuntuJournalism

Gazing past the glass ceiling: Indian and South African female journalists’ perceptions of their role and power in the newsroom

“…Therefore, the themes or repertoires identified are only to be understood as a broad range of women’s experiences in newsrooms and ones which may vary. While we are fully aware that interviews can only generate partial understanding about the perceptions and views expressed by the interviewees, and that to have validity, such data would have to be augmented by observations, Rodny-Gumede (2015: 209) argues that it is important to ascertain perceptions around gender equality in the journalistic profession. Whether such perceptions reflect the full reality or not, they can inform us about the gap between statistics in gender transformation on the one hand, and the power that female journalists themselves experience and feel they possess on the other hand (Rodny-Gumede, 2015c: 209).…”

“…In relation to journalism and the news media specifically, Wahl-Jorgensen (2004: 350) argues that studies in this area need to be international, comparative, empirical and normative. While there have been a slew of scholarly works studying journalism practices in India and South Africa (Daniels, 2014; Lowe Morna, 2018; Made and Lowe Morna, 2009; Rajan, 2007; Rao, 2009; Rao and Wasserman, 2016; Rodny-Gumede, 2015a, 2015d; Thussu, 2009; Wasserman, 2010, 2013), there are far fewer scholarly work that specifically study experiences of female journalists. What we have had until now are mostly anecdotal evidence from local media reports and quotidian discussions on women’s rights websites, personal blogs and other online forums in the workplace and beyond (Steiner, 2017).…”

Expanding comparative media systems analysis from transitional to postcolonial societies

“…Research shows that South African journalists, while broadly subscribing to a liberal model of the media and ideals of journalism as entrenched in ideas of objectivity, however contested, fairness, balance and accuracy are not central to journalism, are also are acutely aware of the legal, political, cultural and socio-economic contexts in which journalism is practiced. In this regard, the widely quoted ideas and ideals of the ‘Western’ normative liberal model of the news media is not necessarily enforced, neither desired (Fourie, 2011; Rodny-Gumede, 2015b, 2015c). This ties in with ideas around identity and identity formation, where postcolonial theory has emphasised cultural hybridization and an anti-essentialist notion of identity (Bhabha, 1994; Said, 1979; Spivak, 1988).…”

“…And, in this regard, South African journalists cite a professional identity that cannot be divorced from one’s own political loyalties, religion, culture, race or ethnicity (Rodny-Gumede, 2015b). Equally, this applies to the audience and comparative media systems analysis as applied to contexts other than the postcolony often assumes a homogenous audience which simply does not exist in the postcolony, instead the audience need to be considered from a diverse set of perspectives, where culture, political and religious contexts and expressions play important roles (Rodny-Gumede, 2015b, 2015c).…”

A teaching philosophy of journalism education in the global South: A South African case study

“…It has also been argued that an African theory of journalism must be developed (Nyamnjoh, 2005) and that journalism training and curricula in Africa need to become more African and Africanized (Motsaathebe, 2011) in such a way that journalism training can reflect theory of journalism based on African values and moral philosophy and African culture (Kasoma, 1994;Sesanti, 2009). In this regard, the concept of ubuntu and communitarianism (Blankenberg, 1999;Christians, 2004;Metz, 2015;Nyamnjoh, 2005;Rodny-Gumede, 2015a;Wasserman and De Beer, 2006) has often been quoted as a philosophy that could underpin journalism theory as well as praxis. The idea that journalism studies should become more African by drawing on African philosophies talks directly to local contexts of how journalism is practiced in South Africa and needs to have its own place in the curricula.…”