The Press and Apartheid

Race Talk in the South African Media

“…141 To the colonists on the "frontier", the terms "philanthropist or negrophilist had the same loaded meaning as the modern 'nigger lover'". 142 In a scathing attack in the March 1851 edition of The Colonial Intelligencer or Aborigines' Friend, a British philanthropic magazine, The Graham's Town Journal is called that "eminently Anti-Kaffir paper".…”

“…From an early stage, then, the English press was identified with the humanitarian views of white liberals in South Africa, while the Dutch (and later Afrikaans) press presented the more conservative views of that language group. 157 This basic differentiation was strengthened during apartheid when the English press in general adopted an anti-apartheid stance while the Afrikaans press mostly supported the NP government (see Chapter 5). The history of the independent colonial press indicates that publishers had specific political and commercial aims from the start.…”

“…388 According to Hachten and Giffard, the structure of the conservative-liberal English press towards the end of apartheid originated after the South African War. 389 While some of the major English newspapers already started publishing during the colonial era, the post-war period provided fresh impetus and opportunities. Over time ownership concentration occurred, and by 1968 the Argus Group (founded in 1866) was "the largest newspaper group in Africa, with interests throughout Southern Africa", writes Potter.…”

“…86 Because the English press was identified early on with the humanitarian view of white liberals in South Africa, the more conservative Dutch press viewed the terms "free press" and "independent press" as "organs hostile to their philosophy and way of life". 87 The black press, as the following chapters will show, developed through different stages from their missionary beginnings and displayed different ideological positions amongst them. The 20 th century saw the rise of publications aimed at the racial categories of Coloured and Indian populations.…”

“…345 Afterwards, when Beeld emerged as the leader in the morning market and Perskor was charged with fraud and fined R20 000, the two groups eventually agreed to formally "divide the market between them" in the "general interest of the Transvaal Afrikaners", 346 as the official perspective had it. This episode, however, was "a major setback for Perskor", 347 and the agreement masked an often-fierce battle for what Muller calls "the soul of the 'real' Afrikaner". 348 On the one hand the Afrikaner press infighting was based on traditional geographical divisions between North and South, but "the aspirations of class groupings" 349 was always a factor and become more visible as the apartheid era progressed.…”