Democracy denied : the Press in South Africa

This work is an examination of the media in South Africa (SA). Here it shall be seen that SA was not a democratic state while under National Party (NP) rule. This statement is obvious as the vast majority of SA citizens were denied the franchise. But democracy eluded even those enjoying life within the narrow confines of white democratic rule, as they were denied the information necessary to make informed decisions. The control of information by political players will be a key area of focus. This topic was chosen because SA has entered a new phase of government, that being a liberal democracy. Fears have been expressed in SA that democracy may slide into a dictatorship, or at least a tyranny of the majority in which the will of the masses (in this case a racial group, the blacks) will be imposed upon the minority at the expense of their current liberties. If democratic consolidation is to take place in SA, the media and other members of civil society must play a role in that consolidation. One way in which to prepare for the future is to examine the past: the media is no exception.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Political Studies

Year dc:date.issued

1999

Author dc:creator

• Freeman, Glen

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/12502

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/12502