The network society, power and the print media in post-apartheid South Africa
The case of media contestation in Durban for environmental justice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11268147 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Llewellyn Leonard (0000-0002-6279-0373, University of Johannesburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 966-981 |
| Publication date | 2014-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Media Culture & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0163-4437 • E-ISSN: 1460-3675 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0163443714536080 |
| OpenAlex | W1988797331 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 28 |
Although post-apartheid South Africa has witnessed constraints on press freedom by the ruling party, there is limited understanding of how media discourse is contested and constructed by diverse social actors. This article is interested in the extent to which various social actors in the Durban network society, such as civil society, corporations and the state, shape public information and perception in their own interests regarding environmental discourse. Empirical evidence presents viewpoints from key social actors and a local case study. The article compares the urban regional and case study analyses, and highlights the complex relationship between various social actors and the numerous avenues used to shape public information and perception. While corporations causing pollution mainly serve as barriers to civil society using the media effectively to highlight environmental injustices (e.g. through corporate media sponsorships, media intimidation), this is further complicated by limitations within civil society and media outlets to influence media discourse (e.g. limited financial/human resources, individualized leadership, media remuneration issues). Alongside these limitations, and the power of government and corporations, the influence of media discourse and perceptions regarding industrial risks are also dependent upon successful horizontal and vertical networking between civil society actors
Civil society · Freedom of the press · Government (linguistics · Network society · New media · Perception · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Public relations · Remuneration · Social media · Sociology · Viewpoints · Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting · Law · Literature, Politics, and Exile Studies · South African History and Culture
Risk Society
The Information Age
Civil Society
Fight for Democracy
Fight for Democracy
Democratic media activism through the lens of social movement theory
The limits of media democratization in South Africa
Going back to the crossroads
How Good is the South African Media for Democracy
How Good is the South African Media for Democracy? Mapping the South African Public Sphere after Apartheid
Symbiosis
Which public? Whose interest? The South African Media and its role during the first ten years of democracy
The uses and abuses of political economy
Risk society
Materials for an exploratory theory of the network society1
Creative Destruction
Rethinking Subpolitics
Materials for an exploratory theory of the network society
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |