Media on the margins: A survey of the South African landscape
South Africa’s information landscape is marked by deep inequality that matches the wider socio-economic divide. The chapter provides an empirical overview of the media produced independently in marginalised areas, providing a factual backdrop for the more focused chapters in this collection. Consideration is given to the various relevant media platforms. Radio and print emerge as the most important, with around 200 outlets in each case. Community television, on the other hand, is smaller, mostly concentrated in the major metropolitan areas. While all three forms have extended their reach online, there are just a handful of digitally native local media. Aspects considered include history, particularly with regard to post-apartheid policy initiatives to encourage local media; types and categories, highlighting some similarities and differences; and questions of distribution, scale, organisational structure and staffing. The chapter considers issues of financial, organisational and social sustainability, at the heart of extensive policy concern and discussion. Information is drawn from a wide range of sources, including published materials and two rounds of survey. Overall, an image emerges of a sector that has grown in response to deliberate policy interventions, but whose effectiveness is constrained by its position on the socio-economic margins. Distribution of independent local media matches the geography of inequality.
Publisert i 2026
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