Talking directly to citizens: The role of the South African state in building local and community media
The chapter critically examines the role played by the newly democratic South African state in creating space for a new sector of independent local media, particularly in community radio. The discussion explores how specific circumstances in the country shaped the landscape and the way in which the complex relationship between local media and the state evolved. The policy process that unfolded from the start of the democratic transition is traced through distinct phases, and consideration is then given to the financial support mechanisms developed in South Africa, focusing on their form, strengths and weaknesses. The analysis is situated within the broader literature on the role of the state in shaping media systems, specifically in transitional societies, drawing on a range of sources, including official documents, statements and previously published research, to understand the ways in which the relationship evolved against a backdrop of worsening relations between the African National Congress (ANC) government and an increasingly critical mainstream media. A series of crises prompted the ruling party to see community media in increasingly political terms as a way of bypassing what it saw as hostile channels. The chapter outlines some complexities that have developed in the relationship, including dangers of over-dependence and capture, and points to implications for policy and for understandings of media/state relations in the wider Global South.
Publisert i 2026
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