This edited collection examines women journalists’ experiences and obstacles in South Africa’s (SA) democracy. They exercise power, and add a vital diversity, but they are routinely harassed in the online social media space of big tech companies such as Twitter and Facebook by populist and corrupt politicians and their supporters. Using SA as the case study, this book examines attempts to curb women journalists’ freedom combining theory and first-hand accounts. The target audience for the book includes scholars of political philosophy, gender, media, communications, NGOs, media freedom activists and journalists.

The third Glass Ceilings survey of South African media launched on 19 October - national press freedom day - 2018 shows there have been dramatic shifts in the race and gender composition of media since the first study twelve years ago. But black women are still not fairly represented in media decision-making; the pay gap is widening, especially in the age of digitisation; and the old boys’ network is alive and well. In the #MeToo and #TotalShutDown era, the conversation is moving beyond numbers, to the underlying patriarchal norms that fuel sexist attitudes, harassment and its newest ugly form – cyber misogyny. With the 25th anniversary of democracy fast approaching, the key message in the report is that #TimesUp for the South African media and #TimeisNow to walk the talk of gender equality!

This book presents a new paradigm for attending to gender-based violence (GBV) social media discourse among marginalised Black women in South Africa. Focusing on the intersections of television and social media, the study charts the morphing and merging of the “inside” of the soap opera and the “outside” of the real world, amid a rise in feminist social media activism. The analysis begins with coverage of gender-based violence in a long-running South African soap opera and social media discussion of these issues, in parallel with real-world events and the collective social media response. The author offers pertinent insights into audiences in sub-Saharan Africa, presenting a new feminist trajectory for women and activism in the region. Offering new insights into an important issue, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of gender, cultural studies, film studies, television studies, sociology, development studies, feminism, media, and journalism.

This study investigates the experiences of women journalists during the last phase of Namibia's liberation struggle against South African rule. Black or white, women journalists in Namibia made significant contribu-tions to the liberation cause -including the founding of a high-profiled newspaper -whilst others worked for media sympathetic to the apart-heid government. Based on interviews and deploying feminist media theory, Maria Mboono Nghidinwa pays close attention to the gendered power relationships in the newsrooms of newspapers and radio stations at the time. She looks at the intense political intimidations which tar-geted women and, in particular, the constraints experienced by black women journalists.

In many countries, the majority of high profile journalists and editors remain male. Although there have been considerable changes in the prospects for women working in the media in the past few decades, women are still noticeably in the minority in the top journalistic roles, despite making up the majority of journalism students. In this book, Suzanne Franks looks at the key issues surrounding female journalists - from on-screen sexism and ageism to the dangers facing female foreign correspondents reporting from war zones. She also analyses the way that the changing digital media have presented both challenges and opportunities for women working in journalism and considers this in an international perspective. . In doing so, this book provides an overview of the ongoing imbalances faced by women in the media and looks at the key issues hindering gender equality in journalism.

This timely book analyses the crisis and chaos of journalism in contemporary South Africa and argues for and about the power of public interest journalism The transition to digital news has been messy, random and unpredictable. The spread of news via social media platforms has given rise to political propaganda, fake news and a flattening of news to banality and gossip. Media companies, however, continue to shrink newsrooms, ousting experienced journalists in favour of 'content producers'. Daniels writes of the contribution of investigative journalists to exposing corruption and sees new opportunities emerging, which may well be a model for the future of non-profit, public-funded journalism. Engaging and dynamic, the book argues for the power of public interest journalism, including investigative journalism, and a diversity of voices and positions to be reflected in the news. It addresses the gains and losses from decolonial and feminist perspectives and advocates for a radical shift in the way power is constituted by the media in the South African postcolony. A valuable introduction to the confusion that confronts journalism students, it has much to offer practicing media professionals. Daniels uses her years of experience as a newspaper journalist to write with authority and illuminate complex issues about newsroom politics. Interviews with alienated media professionals and a semi-autobiographical lens add a personal element that will appeal to readers interested in the inner life of the media.