A tale of two paradoxes

Media censorship in South Africa, pre-liberation and post-apartheid

Bibliographic Data

ID5851145
AuthorsChristopher Merrett (0000-0001-7240-8484, corresponding author)
Year2001
Volume15
Issue1-2
Pages50-68
Publication date2001-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCritical Arts (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0256-0046 • E-ISSN: 1992-6049
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/02560240185310071
OpenAlexW2026257382
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited16

Prior to liberation from apartheid, South Africa's information system laboured under a draconian system of censorship that could have crippled the media. Yet the tradition of defiance and the rise of a strong civil rights movement challenged censorship and nurtured a surprisingly wide-ranging documentary record of the national condition. The advent of democracy in 1994 heralded an era of constitutional rights and liberal legislation. But the climate of paranoia within which these operate and the demise of activist-run non-governmental organisations have ironically meant that South Africa now seems less well documented than it did during the last days of apartheid

Civil society · Demise · Freedom of information · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Legal Issues in South Africa · South African History and Culture

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