Research rationale

This research study examines the representation of the nationalisation of mines debate by the South African corporate media. It is conducted in light of the assumption that structural factors of the media influence the representation of ideologically laden discourses. Furthermore, and linked to this assumption, I argue that the corporate media represents and portrays ideologically contested discourses from a neo-liberal perspective. Essentially, this neo-liberal representation more often than not simply equates to negative representation of anti-capitalist developmental discourses. This notion of bias and valorisation of neo-liberalism in the South African context often leads to accusations of racism as highlighted above, since the corporate media is firmly rooted in the colonial Western system while on the other hand social forces aligned to the government are located in the progressive anti-colonial liberation movement. I have chosen to conduct a research study that will assess the corporate media’s treatment of ideologically laden discourses because of the long-standing accusations by various social actors that the corporate media is biased against and hostile to anti-capitalist initiatives. It has been argued that the media is unable to impartially portray progressive developmental policy discourses due to being structurally captured by market forces whose primary motive is to advance capitalist accumulation. Indeed, it would appear that the corporate media openly supports forces of

market capitalism while being hostile to a left-leaning socialist agenda as well as forces aligned to the ANC. As highlighted above, because of its inherent ideological contestation, the nationalisation debate presents the research study with an opportunity to test some of these assertions. It is against this backdrop that the media has been accused of bias and taking sides with market forces and neglecting the needs of the poor and working-class majority.

Fundamelly, this media bias is largely manifested through silences and omissions on key ideological issues.

1.6.1 The significance of the research study – contributions to the field of study

In light of this, what makes this research study significant and ground-breaking is its bold utilisation of Marxist critical political economy to elucidate the complex question of class contradictions in the South African corporate media. Fundamentally, the thesis applies the Marxist dialectical method as a tool of analysis to unpack the essence of control of the means of production of consciousness inherent in the commercial press (Nixon, 2012). This approach assists the research study to locate issues of knowledge production in the context of news (Nixon, 2012). In a nutshell, the knowledge production notion from a Marxist perspective denotes the role of humans in producing their own history and knowledge towards social change. These are uncharted waters for the South African media, and the research study opens a window of opportunity to explore this approach. Indeed, many scholars have written extensively about the South African media landscape from numerous angles using various theories. However, the South African media landscape cannot be fully understood without deeper analysis of the race and gender contradictions characterising its ownership and control.

Therefore, beyond the application of the Marxist-inclined critical political economy of media as a tool of analysis, one unique feature of this research study is its contribution to existing scholarly conversations by fusing together the critical political economy of communication, social production of news and decolonial theories in its endeavour to unpack power relations and other aspects of the corporate media. While the critical political economy of communication is fundamental in comprehending the process of social change, and an important part of the social transformation journey (Mosco, 1996; Duncan, 2009), theories on the social production of news assist in understanding the process of news making, and the role of journalists in influencing the economic base (Tuchman, 1976; Schudson, 1989). To this end, decolonial theories are essential in eliminating the tendency of elevating Western European modes of thinking as universal (Quijano, 2000). As Mignolo and Wannamaker (2011: 6) posit,

“decoloniality aims at altering the principles and assumptions of knowledge creation, transformation and dissemination”. Indeed, this multipronged theoretical approach is crucial in understanding the corporate media in the post-colonial apartheid epoch. Certainly, for a young democracy in transition, such as South Africa, which is grappling with fundamental transformational issues coupled with deeper social challenges such as poverty and unemployment, this knowledge is even more crucial as a contribution to the field.

Fundamentally, another ground-breaking aspect of this research study is its utilisation of the Marxist media approaches in conversation with decolonial theories through decolonial Marxism. Tension abounds between the two theoretical strands – for example, the rejection by decolonial scholars of the Eurocentric notion of the evolution of modes of production from pre-capitalist to capitalist societies (Quijano, 2000; Grosfoguel 2002); the Marxist paradigm of infrastructure and superstructure (Quijano, 2000); and the characterisation of the contemporary world order as “capitalist” (Grosfoguel, 2011). The thesis navigates these deftly with the view to gain further insights on the role of the corporate media in young democracies in transition. Essentia lly, using the decoloniality framework to analyse the corporate media opens new avenues for scholars informed by their geopolitical location in the often marginalised South (Monzó and McLaren, 2014). It is important, though, to appreciate that this geopolitical location does not automatically make this contribution superior to those located in the West;

however, decolonial Marxism approaches enable this research study to get closer to class and related issues such as structural racism from the vantage point of the colonised (Monzó and McLaren, 2014). Indeed, the decolonial perspective serves to empower the research study to disentangle issues of power models that persist beyond post-colonialism (Walsh, 2007) within corporate media which is an integral part of the broader society. Therefore, analysing the nationalisation debate using these theories in tandem brings into life new debates and angles by discursively linking the state, society and market theories in the representation of ideological discourses in the corporate media. It is this approach that enables the research study to validate its assumptions and thus make bold recommendations such as the need for a truly publicly owned, uncommodified alternative media that prioritises the use value of media instead of its surplus value, as is currently the case. Primarily, this must include the expansion and accessibility to the public media (Nixon, 2012). Whereas the primary focus of the research study is on the representation of the nationalisation of mines debate in the corporate press, the findings and conclusions can be broadly applied to the representation of the broader

developmental policy discourse. In the final analysis, this thesis presents a complexity of issues around the representation of ideological discourses. Most importantly, this thesis demonstrates the impact of structural factors which undermine the role of underprivileged social forces, thus ensuring the triumph of neo-liberalism and ongoing capitalist hegemony in society.

1.6.2 The South African corporate media and neo-liberalism

The corporate media has played a central role in legitimising neo-liberal policies in the post-apartheid epoch (Kariithi and Kareithi, 2007). For example, in its coverage of the COSATU anti-privatisation strike in 2002, the corporate media is purported to have supported a neo-liberal economic policy stance while being critical of COSATU and its allies such as the SACP, which it “deemed as stumbling blocks to the desirable and inevitable neoliberal shift” (Kariithi and Kareithi, 2007: 473–4). In this case negative media discourses are associated with anti-capitalist organisations supporting COSATU such as the SACP, the Anti-Privatisation Forum and the Landless Peoples Movement (Kariithi and Kareithi, 2007). Indeed, the market-driven South African corporate press continues to limit and censor ideas for the benefit of the capitalist class by advancing one-dimensional capitalist world view whose consequences are the restrictions of both freedom and democracy (Lovaas, 2007). Due to structural factors, this corporate media supports privatisation advances, thus reproducing and perpetuating neo-liberal discourses (Mayher and Mcdonald, 2007). These structural factors include the prioritisation of primary definers who are largely business or elite sources. It is such heavy bias towards elite sources at the expense of the working class, as is the case with the coverage of the Marikana massacre¹⁰ (Duncan, 2014), that drives the representation of ideological discourse from a neo-liberal perspective.

Essentially, the productive forces of the corporate media industry such as technologies and media professionals are influenced by globalisation and ultimately act as its facilitators (Wasserman, 2006a). In this context, it is crucial to appreciate globalisation as an economic process closely associated with the neo-liberal doctrine of maximum free trade (Kariithi and

10 On 16 August 2012, the South African Police Service opened fire on a crowd of striking mineworkers at Marikana, some 100km northwest of Johannesburg in the North West Province. The fateful event left 34 mineworkers dead and 78 wounded; more than 250 people were arrested. The protesting mineworkers were demanding a wage increase at the Lonmin platinum mine. The event was the biggest incident of police brutality since the advent of democracy, and it revived memories of the brutality suffered under the apartheid security police (www.sahistory.org.za).

Kareithi, 2007). The corporate media’s role in post-apartheid South Africa is therefore highly contested. However, it is apparent that this media system is influenced by the Western conception of the media’s role in a democratic society (Wasserman, 2006a). This Western-influenced corporate media with its emphasis on “human rights discourse, constitutional guarantees and the assumption of a free market environment” independent from government (Wasserman, 2006a) therefore valorises neo-liberalism. However, Western influence should not be a surprise when the country’s colonial and apartheid history is taken into account. Indeed, the South African communication infrastructure strongly resembles and is modelled around the Western systems due to the country’s colonial legacy (Glenn and Mattes, 2011). For example, the oldest newspaper, the Cape Times, the public broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), and even post-apartheid tabloids like The Daily Sun are all overtly modelled on those in Britain – the former colonial master. Therefore, it is crucial to examine the ability of this corporate media in advancing anti-colonialist developmental discourses.

However, the South African media believes that it is playing an essential role in defending the hard-won democratic gains. Through the South African National Editors’ Forum, the media declares its commitment to ethical reporting by ensuring that it produces accurate, fair and honest journalism (www.sanef.org.za). SANEF also posits that “Reporters cover tragedy and trauma, crime and corruption, investigate complex business stories, and cover politics, war, religion, racial and cultural issues – all while maintaining the trust of their sources and of news-makers”. While at face value these noble ideals are encouraging, this research study posits that the corporate media represents ideologically laden issues from a neo-liberal perspective. This posture by the corporate media is informed by the fact that it is, first and foremost, an industrial commercial organisation that produces and distributes commodities (Murdock and Golding, 1973). Thus, the corporate media is structurally compelled to assume a neo-liberal posture on ideological discourses. Indeed, the corporate media in post-apartheid South Africa propagates, interprets and legitimises neo-liberal economic policies through its coverage (Kariithi and Kareithi, 2007). The post-apartheid print media continues to advance pro-capitalist discourses by inter alia supporting privatisation policies pursued by the state. In this regard, the “corporate media outlets in South Africa generate and perpetuate a neo-liberal discourse on privatization”

and through the façade of objectivity it perpetuates the hegemony of neo-liberalism (Mayher and McDonald, 2007: 443). The fallacy of balance and objectivity espoused by proponents of the free market is often used to conceal the real location and interest of the corporate media as an integral part of the capitalist system. Indeed,

...it is this facade of balance ... which gives neo-liberalism such hegemony in South Africa. By appearing to give equal space to different points of view there is a perception of ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘balanced reporting’ which obscures the more subtle, opinion-making discourse that generate biases in press coverage ... (Mayher and McDonald, 2007: 445).