This text explores the dynamic and potentially explosive field of media ethics from a South African perspective. Grounded in ethical theory, the public philosophies of communication and media performance norms, this text provides guidelines for individual ethical decision-making to media practitioners and media groups. The author's analysis of the South African normative context under the previous and present political dispensations will be of interest to media policy formulators and students alike. Current contentious issues, such as racism in the media, the plans for media, development in this country, the reporting of violence and crime, the right to privacy, and the media and advertising all come under intense scrutiny. Addenda include rules of procedure and the code of conduct of the Press Ombudsman of South Africa, the constitution, code and procedures of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa, and the code of conduct of the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa.

Ethics in the media is a topic of some heated discussion right now in South Africa and is clearly a challenge to practitioners as well as students of communication and media studies. This book introduces and grapples with notions of ethical principles and practices, and how these may be applied in a diverse and challenging local context that is still undergoing political and policy transformation. This timely book has been written by reputable South African academics in the field. To enhance active learning practices, each chapter starts with Key Terms and Concepts. Relevant South African examples are provided to demonstrate the applicability of theoretical frameworks. To assist with the consolidation process, each chapter ends with Topics/Questions for Discussion.

Less than a decade after the advent of democracy in South Africa, tabloid newspapers have taken the country by storm. One of these papers -- the Daily Sun -- is now the largest in the country, but it has generated controversy for its perceived lack of respect for privacy, brazen sexual content, and unrestrained truth-stretching. Herman Wasserman examines the success of tabloid journalism in South Africa at a time when global print media are in decline. He considers the social significance of the tabloids and how they play a role in integrating readers and their daily struggles with the political and social sphere of the new democracy. Wasserman shows how these papers have found an important niche in popular and civic culture largely ignored by the mainstream media and formal political channels.

An overview of the press and mass media in Africa today and their contribution to democratization

This book offers an African perspective on how news organisations are embracing digital participatory practices as part of their everyday news production, dissemination and audience engagement strategies. Drawing on empirical evidence from news organisations in sub-Saharan Africa, Participatory Journalism in Africa investigates and maps out professional practices emerging with journalists’ direct interactions with readers and sources via online user comment spaces and social media platforms. Using a social constructivist approach, the book focuses on the challenges relating to the elite-centric nature of active participation on the platforms, while also highlighting emerging ethical and normative dilemmas. The authors also point to the hidden structural controls to participation and user engagement associated with artificial intelligence, chatbots and algorithms. These obstacles, coupled with low digital literacy levels and the well-established pitfalls of the digital divide, challenge the utopian view that in Africa interactive digital technologies are the sine qua non spaces for democratic participation. This is a valuable resource for academics, journalists and students across a wide range of disciplines including journalism studies, communication, sociology and political science.

This book addresses different challenges that endanger the lives of children in South Africa from an ethical perspective. The text is meant to position itself as a resource for specialists (and practitioners) in ethics and childhood studies. The content is systematically and intersectionally presented, based on scholarly analyses, insights, reasoning, and expertise – originating in different disciplines and backgrounds. It endeavours to help especially those who study the sociocultural contexts of children and families in terms of challenges and opportunities, and for possible support.

The end of apartheid brought South Africa into the global media environment. Outside companies invested in the nation's newspapers while South African conglomerates pursued lucrative tech ventures and communication markets around the world. Many observers viewed the rapid development of South African media as a roadmap from authoritarianism to global modernity. Herman Wasserman analyzes the debates surrounding South Africa's new media presence against the backdrop of rapidly changing geopolitics. His exploration reveals how South African disputes regarding access to, and representation in, the media reflect the domination and inequality in the global communication sphere. Optimists see post-apartheid media as providing a vital space that encourages exchanges of opinion in a young democracy. Critics argue the public sphere mirrors South Africa's past divisions and privileges the viewpoints of the elite. Wasserman delves into the ways these simplistic narratives obscure the country's internal tensions, conflicts, and paradoxes even as he charts the diverse nature of South African entry into the global arena.