Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe

Inleiding

Media, technology and the question about human benumbedness

Dit is geen oordrywing om te praat van die tyd waarin ons leef as een van media-oorheersing nie. Die blote feit dat die Amerikaanse president die samelewing op hol kan jaag deur middel van sy tydige en ontydige "tweets" is simptomaties hiervan, asook uitdrukking van wat Manuel Castells die "netwerk-samelewing" noem. Laasgenoemde is moontlik gemaak deur die tegnologiese rewolusie wat terugstrek tot by die uitvinding van die radio, en wat in die konstruksie van die internet gekulmineer het. Wat minder bekend is, is dat hierdie globale rewolusie 'n fundamentele verandering in mense se ervaring van tyd en ruimte meegebring het - wat Castells die "ruimte van vloei" en "tydlose tyd" noem. Kortweg: die menslike lewensfeer is deurgrondelik omvorm deur tegnologiese ontwikkelinge. Die vraag is egter - in die lig van sekere verskynsels waarop iemand soos onder andere Sherry Turkle wys - of hierdie toedrag van sake, wat vereis dat mense wat in die mediasfeer tuis wil wees tot die status van "digitale boorlinge" moet aspireer, nie onvermydelik gepaardgaan met 'n sekere affektiewe en intellektuele afstomping nie; waarop sy bevestigend antwoord. Hierdie vraag sou maklik as uitdrukking van tegnofobie gelees kon word, maar, soos Bernard Stiegler aantoon, is dit nie die geval nie. Enersyds, so meen Stiegler, lei die huidige tegniek, in die gewaad van mnemo-tegniese apparate soos slimfone, tablette en skootrekenaars (waardeur jy toegang verkry tot onder andere sosiale media), na wat hy "ver-idiotisering" noem. Andersyds kan - en moet - 'n mens leer hoe om hierdie "uitwendige memoriseringsapparate" vir wat hy "kritiese intensivering" noem aan te wend, ten einde die stryd teen die gevangeneming van mense (veral kinders) se "aandag" te kan wen. Per slot van sake, volgens Stiegler is skole (en mens sou sosiale media kon byvoeg) vandag die arena waar die stryd gevoer word vir die aandag van skoliere en studente deur die siniese gebruik van tegniek en media deur neoliberale kapitalisme, uitsluitlik met die oog op bemarking. Vervolgens word gepoog om hierdie problematiek in perspektief te stel.

It is no exaggeration to claim that we live in a time that is dominated by the media as part of the more encompassing hegemony of technology. What is less widely known, and understood, is that people's lives are to a very large extent "mediated" by a way of living that is pervasively technology-oriented - in other words, where earlier ages experienced the social and natural reality without some or other technical device interposed between themselves and the world, the vast majority of people today relate to the world around them by means of such technical devices. Moreover, the latter are not "innocent" or neutral, but predispose their users to specific kinds of experiences, as well as to the widespread belief, that society can be technically controlled. A brief discussion is devoted to Gil Germain's contention, that in the current technologically oriented dispensation humans have forgotten what it means to be "desiring" beings, and that the social ideal of technological control has reduced human "desire" - the character of being "open" to the world - to mere, technically satisfiable "need". Under such circumstances technology mediates human experience of the world. The very fact that the American president can (and does) frequently cause an uproar in American society and beyond by means of timely and untimely "tweets" - that is, by using the social internet site, Twitter - is symptomatic of this state of affairs, as well as of the fact that we live in the era of what Manuel Castells calls the "network society". According to Castells this novel societal configuration has been made possible by the technological revolution stretching back to the invention of the radio, which led to the advent of television and multi-media, and culminated in the development of the internet. Significantly, this global technological revolution has fundamentally altered the experience of time and space, with the consequence that the traditional experience of space as "place", and time as sequential, has made way for the newly dominant modes of spatial and temporal experience, namely as "the space of flows" and "timeless time". The reconstruction of Castells's conception of the structural dynamics of contemporary society, in broad terms, as fundamentally technologically generated, sets the scene for the more specifically focused discussion that follows, beginning with Sherry Turkle's analysis of the effects of technology on human behaviour. What Turkle's recent work brings to light is that, although many people aspire to the status of (what is known as) "digital natives", this does not come without a significant cost, namely a certain deterioration in affective and intellectual functioning. Despite her initial optimism about the gains of electronic technology, particularly the internet, in the social domain, her more recent work has therefore shifted to a distinctly critical approach to the relationship between people (particularly children) and technology. Not only has the use of smartphones and electronic tablets given rise to the phenomenon of being "alone together" with one's device, and concomitantly, to keeping people at arm's length in social reality (with to-be-expected negative consequences for one's ability and willingness to negotiate complex human relationships), but the attachment of particularly young children to their smartphones has had the demonstrable effect of eroding their capacity for empathy with others, as well as more generally their ability to communicate with their peers in concrete social space. Furthermore, "doing things" on the internet has given people the wrong impression regarding the overcoming of political problems, which often require concrete social interaction and painstaking negotiation - something that people sometimes learn anew with a shock, when their "internet activism" comes to nothing. Another critical theorist concerning technology, Bernard Stiegler, radicalises Turkle's thinking by offering a critique of technology as being, on the one hand, a source of enslavement and of the "stupidification"of people, while simultaneously being a means of "critical intensification". In this respect, he argues, technology is a pharmakon - poison and cure at the same time. This means that technical devices such as smartphones inculcate an over-dependence on them in users, simultaneously - as external memory-machines - robbing them of their capacity for memory and thinking. After all, the ability to manipulate a technical device cannot be equated with critical thinking, nor can the storing of information on a smartphone or a computer be regarded as being synonymous with exercising one's own memory. On the other hand, however, Stiegler recognises the capacity of technical devices to give one access to archives of information, as well as to technically mediated experiences of the world that was not previously possible, and urges users to use technology for critical intellectual purposes, instead of being only at the receiving end of information regarding marketing and purchasing opportunities, disseminated via technical devices by capitalist agencies. He draws attention to the fact that schools have become the veritable battlegrounds where these agencies vie with teachers for the attention of students, in the process interfering with the development of their critical intellectual ability for the sake of capturing their attention for purposes of marketing. The paper concludes with a brief elaboration on some ways in which Stiegler's and Turkle's dire diagnoses may be countered with practices that give reason for hope.

The impact of the digital media landscape on media theory: From effect theory to mediatisation theory

My oogmerk is om mediatiseringsteorie in teenstelling tot effekteorie en die effekparadigma in medianavorsing as ŉ ontwikkeling en uitvloeisel van die nuwe digitale medialandskap te bespreek. Sewe generiese kenmerke van die nuwe medialandskap word geïdentifiseer en in breë trekke geskets: die diversiteit van ŉ eindelose stroom van inhoud, vorm en aanbieding, ŉ geïntegreerde en gekonvergeerde media-industrie, ŉ geïntegreerde regulatoriese model, meer en verbeterde toegang tot die media, die verskuiwing van massakommunikasie na netwerkkommunikasie, die vervanging van die media-ontvanger met die mediagebruiker en medevervaardiger, en ŉ kenmerkende "aanlyn" kommunikasiestyl. Ek probeer in hierdie artikel aantoon hoe mediatiseringsteorie van ander teorieë oor die mag en effek van die media verskil, deur die klem van kousaliteit te verskuif na hoe die media as ŉ proses van mediatisering al die domeine van die samelewing en die daaglikse lewe van die mediagebruiker infiltreer. Die ontologiese uitgangspunt is dat die media naas taal en persepsie dié instrument vir menslike kognisie geword het (vir die verstaan van die wêreld, mense, dinge, gebeure, ensovoorts.) Tweedens word die verskil tussen mediatiseringsteorie en effekteorie geïdentifiseer deur te wys op mediatiseringsteorie se klem op die media as ŉ transformasieproses soortgelyk aan die sosiale prosesse van globalisering, individualisering en kommersialisering in die ná-industriële samelewing. Samevattend word geargumenteer dat die klem in mediatiseringsteorie verskuif van media en die samelewing na media in die samelewing. Ten slotte word aangetoon hoe mediatiseringsteorie aanleiding gee tot die kritiek dat normatiewe mediateorie in die nuwe digitale medialandskap heuristiese waarde as die basis van media-etiek verloor het. Op grond hiervan word aanbeveel dat kommunikasie-etiek, wat meer omvattend as beroepsgeoriënteerde media-etiek is, as uitgangspunt vir nuwe normatiewe mediateorie ondersoek word.

My intention with this article is to discuss mediatisation theory as an outcome of the new digital media landscape and in contrast to media effect theory. Seven generic characteristics of the new media landscape are identified and briefly discussed: (i) the diversity of an endless stream of content, form and presentation; (ii) an integrated and converged media industry; (iii) the shift from mass communication to network communication; (iv) an integrated regulatory model; (v) more and improved access to the media; (vi) the replacement of the media recipient with the media user and/or media co-producer (media maker), and (vii) a typical "online" communication style. It is argued that mediatisation theory seeks to include all the characteristics in a social theory about the power and effect of the media. This is done by focussing research on the media's infiltration into all the domains (fields) of society and into the daily life of the media user. The emphasis is on media as a process of mediatisation in contrast to effect theory's emphasis on causality. Mediatisation theory is described as a way of explaining how media users' cognition of their worlds is formed by the media's representation(s) of the world, people, politics, the economy, sport, art, etcetera. It seeks to explain how the media itself becomes part of life and how the media is a culture in its own right. It is argued that although mediatisation theory cannot be described as a new media theory, it does expose a number of accents which differentiates it from other manifestations of media theory, namely its emphasis on (i) media as part of society (the emphasis moves from media and society to media in society) and thus of media theory as social theory; (ii) mediatisation as a process of social transformation equivalent to the social processes of globalisation, individuation and commercialisation, and (iii) the media as everyday experience. In conclusion it is pointed out that mediatisation theory gives rise to the criticism that normative media theory has lost its heuristic value in the digital media landscape. In the new media landscape media ethics based on normative media theory is too focussed on journalism and thus too career orientated (professional journalism). Journalism is only a small part of the new media landscape, which includes a variety of non-journalistic content and form. The new media landscape also includes the media user as media maker or producer (also of journalism). It is then argued that as a result of mediatisation theory communication ethics instead of media ethics should be considered as a more comprehensive foundation for normative media theory.

Ethics in the big data era: Privacy as autonomy and privacy as dignity

We bespreken allereerst de school van de The Empirical Turn en Stieglers duiding van technologie als farmakon. Uit beide spreekt een genuanceerde verhouding tussen technologie en samenleving. Vervolgens bespreken we drie centrale problemen in het big data tijdperk: 1. Gebrek aan transparantie over algoritmes, 2. Het beoordelen van mensen op basis van vaste profielen, 3. Het werkelijkheidscheppend karakter van profielen, die een eigen leven gaan leiden. De gangbare wijze om deze uitdagingen tegemoet te treden, privacy als autonomie en toestemmingsbeginsel, is ontoereikend om conceptuele en praktische redenen. Het toestemmingsbeginsel heeft niet kunnen voorkomen dat mensen massaal data weggeven. We suggereren in plaats hiervan om privacy in te vullen vanuit waardigheid. Deze notie kent een lange geschiedenis in Europa, die doorwerkt in de huidige strenge privacy maatregelen aldaar. In Zuid-Afrika is privacy een centrale notie in het morele en juridische vocabulaire. Hier ligt mogelijke basis voor bescherming van digitale privacy.

Reflection on the ethical challenges in the big data era firstly requires that we think about the interaction between technology and society. We discuss two stories about the origin of technology. In the biblical story technology is introduced when paradise is lost; labour is the basic condition. In the Greek story of Prometheus technology originates from the Gods. Following the "Christian" line of thought critical ideas on technology have dominated philosophy for a long time. At the end of the 20th century, however, the so-called school of The Empirical Turn introduced a more nuanced approach. It emphasized that technology is mediating our life world, meaning it has an important role in structuring human experience. Given the inevitable presence of technology, the vital challenge is to analyze technology's influence and to correct undesirable outcomes. This challenge is expressed in (B. Stiegler's and J. Derrida's explanation of) the Greek word pharmakon that means both poison and medicine. In big data, research patterns are discovered by analyzing data with high volume, velocity and "variety". These patterns are used for finely grained analyses of individuals. This relation between the general pattern and the concrete situation differs from scientific approaches (where causality and theoretical models are of decisive importance). The difference raises all kinds of epistemic questions, but we focus on the ethical dimension. We discuss three ethical problems: 1. There is no transparency about algorithms, 2. Characteristics of people are presented in profiles, which have a certain rigidity, 3. The use of profiles deeply influences the life of people; they even have a performative character. The key concept in discussions about these threats to core values in our society is privacy. This notion is often understood in terms of autonomy and self-control. For instance, the Silicon Valley giants ask people to give away personal data by using an informed consent model. Marc Zuckerberg uses the vocabulary of control of information. The similarity between privacy and autonomy gives rise to serious problems. First of all conceptually: privacy concerns access to information, whereas autonomy is about control. Secondly there are huge practical problems: the informed consent model doesn't work. People give away their personal data without knowing much about the digital data flows. It is better to speak about uninformed consent. These problems suggest that we use a more fundamental concept as underlying justification for privacy: dignity. This notion is prominent in Human Rights Declarations and in constitutions of several countries, including South Africa. Of course it is a frustratingly nebulous concept, but a view on its history can give us relevant information. The most powerful philosophical expression of dignity can be found in Immanuel Kant's The Groundwork, in which he contrasts dignity with price and commodity. The close relation with autonomy is widely known. In other works, however, Kant concurs with the widely agreed notion of dignity as a value in human intercourse, as it is related to the accommodation of social norms and treating people respectfully. Following Vlastos and Waldron we present the thesis that the French Revolution presented an "upwards equalization": after 1789 the norms once characteristic for treating aristocratic people were applied to the treatment of every citizen in society. In the twentieth century a gap between Europe and the United States of America became visible. In the United States, dignity was present neither in the Constitution nor the amendments. We can recognize this in the emphasis on freedom of expression and laxer standards of public treatment, compared to Europe. In Europe dignity plays a more important role, and it counts as underlying value in justifications of privacy policies. The arbitrary treatment of people on the basis of profiles and the lack of transparency is considered as violations of human dignity. Therefore Europe introduced stricter privacy laws. In South Africa dignity is a core value, but until now it has been sharply distinguished from privacy. Here lies a new challenge in the digital era.

The state, diversity and the media: Some notes on the situation in South Africa

Hierdie artikel fokus op die rol van die media in state wat gekenmerk word deur kulturele diversiteit soos wat die geval in die meeste Afrika-lande en ook in Suid-Afrika is. Teorieë oor die kenmerke en rol van die media in die primordiale staat, die siviele eenheidstaat en die multikulturele staat word bespreek. Daar word in die besonder gekyk na die rol van nasiebou om nasionale eenheid te bewerkstellig in heterogene state wat die model van die siviele eenheidstaat nastreef. Die praktyk van nasiebou soos dit in Afrika en ook in Suid-Afrika toegepas word, word vervolgens bespreek. Verder word die rol van die media in ŉ multikulturele staatsmodel ondersoek. Ter afsluiting word enkele opmerkings gemaak oor die rol van die media ten opsigte van die diversiteit van die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing.

This article deals with the controversial role of the media in diverse societies. Since the development of the mass media, the way we see ourselves and the way others see us, are no longer merely determined by interpersonal interaction and communication within closed communities. It has also become a product of complex media production processes by distant media conglomerates which do not necessarily form part of communities. This also applies to the cultural domain and our relationships with those who differ from us. Cultural diversity and issues related to homogeneity and heterogeneity only gain significance within a particular shared context which is the state nowadays. The article consequently focuses on various viewpoints on the nature of the state; the relationships between the people living within the borders of a particular state - the so-called nation - and the role of the media in dealing with diversity. Three different viewpoints of the state are discussed. In the first - the primordial state - nationhood and statehood almost naturally flow from socio-biological and/or cultural similarities. Therefore, the formation of a unitary nation precedes the formation of the state. The role of the media is to reflect and communicate the will of the nation and to make communication between its members possible. This form of state and nationhood does not make provision for differences. People who do not share the socio-biological and/or cultural characteristics of the nation are excluded. Although this form of statehood appears to be logical and natural, the political consequences are unacceptable. In contrast to the primordial viewpoint of the nation, the modernist paradigm views the state as a unique type of social organisation associated with modernity, industrialisation, capitalism and the development of modern transport, communication and media systems. Whereas unity precedes the primordial state, unity and an overarching national identity have to be created consciously in the modernist or civil state. The idea of the imagined community is one of the most important theories in this regard. In the nation of the civil state, citizens never see or interact with most of their co-citizens. Nation-building through homogenisation and universalisation are therefore regarded as essential to form a united nation and an overarching national identity. The aims of nation-building are to create a common political culture to which all citizens should adhere. A common and standard language and the media play a key role in these processes. It is believed that a standard language enables communication with and among citizens and ensures the effective functioning of the state. The media, apart from making communication in the territorially dispersed imagined community possible, need to create myths and narratives to create and unify the imagined community. Citizens who resist assimilation with the dominant political culture remain a thorn in the flesh of the civil state since this form of statehood does not make provision for diversity. Most civil states in the world have been heterogeneous due to the incorporation of smaller groups. Processes of globalisation, the need to form transnational relations and concomitant flows of migrants have made it increasingly difficult for civil states to deal with diversity. A new form of state - the multicultural state - has emerged to address this problem. Three principles of the multicultural state are distinguished: firstly, the state belongs to all its citizens and not only to dominant majority groups; secondly, assimilatory nation-building is rejected and the culture and historical legacies of all groups are recognised and accommodated; and, thirdly, the state takes affirmative steps to rectify any damage done to the language and culture of any group due to discrimination. Analysts believe that the role of the media has to change in order to reflect the diverse faces of nations. Whereas their role has been well established in primordial and civil states, the media has a more difficult and often controversial role in multicultural societies. Some aspects of this role are discussed. Firstly, the media need to steer clear of the idea of one nation, one culture. They need to remind people that they live in a diverse society and help them to understand how diversity influences their lives and society. Furthermore, the media need to foster empathy for the cultural Other. Attention should, in particular, be given to distorted and stereotypical representations of other cultural groups. This is easier said than done since representations are formed not only by the media, but also by interpersonal and intergroup communication. However, the media need to propose alternative representations in the case of negative and/or stereotypical representations. The media further need to look at how ingroup identities are reflected. Instead of an essentialist regime harbouring rigid definitions of ingroup identities, radical openness and an awareness of ingroup diversity are proposed. In the end, societal diversity should not only be acknowledged, but also be respected and fostered. Intercultural dialogue and robust debate on controversial issues should also be promoted. In the last section, the situation in Africa and South Africa in particular is discussed. The populations of most African states are exceptionally heterogeneous owing to the arbitrary borders drawn by former colonial powers. In their quest to build modern states and to deal with societal diversity, the unitary civil state and nation-building have been the choice of most African leaders. Although the results of this approach have been disastrous elsewhere in Africa, South Africa has also been following the path of nation-building since the advent of a democratic dispensation. The media have, to a large extent, supported nation-building initiatives. The article ends with a critical reflection of the role of the South African media and their failure to deal with many controversies associated with heterogeneity and cultural diversity in South Africa.

A critical reconstruction of the concept of the public sphere in Habermas (and the mass media)

In hierdie bydrae word Habermas se begrip van die openbare sfeer krities gerekonstrueer. In die inleiding word ŉ bondige bespreking van Habermas se intellektuele loopbaan verskaf en meer spesifiek die Duitse agtergrond tot sy denke na die Tweede Wêreldoorlog. In die tweede afdeling word sy hantering in sy eerste hoofwerk, Die struktuurverandering van die openbare sfeer (1962) bespreek. Dit hou met vier aspekte verband: ŉ historiese rekonstruksie van die begrip openbare sfeer, die normatiewe dimensie wat dit onder moderne omstandighede verkry het, die verval van die openbare sfeer aan die einde van die 19de eeu en enkele kritiese punte. In die derde afdeling word die verdere ontwikkeling van die begrip openbare sfeer aangedui totdat dit in Habermas se hoofwerk, die Teorie van kommunikatiewe handeling (1981) uitmond as ŉ teorie van argumentering, teorie van sosiale rasionalisering en ŉ verdediging van moderniteit. Uiteindelik word die implikasies van hierdie teorie van kommunikatiewe redelikheid in die vierde afdeling op die massamedia toegepas (soos Habermas dit in ŉ bydrae van 2006 beredeneer). Die bydrae eindig dan in die laaste afdeling met enkele kritiese opmerkinge.

In this contribution, the concept of the public sphere is critically reconstructed with reference to the philosophical and social theoretical work of Jürgen Habermas (born 1929). Habermas, though, is also known for his work in communication theory. In the introduction (section 1), a brief sketch of Habermas's intellectual career is provided to serve as a starting point to reconstruct his concept of the public sphere. In section 2, Habermas's concept of the public sphere is examined by considering four aspects of his early work - The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere (1962): Firstly, Habermas provides an historical argument of the transition from the feudal public sphere to the bourgeois public sphere (modern era) since the 17th century. Secondly, an optimistic picture of the development of the bourgeois public sphere is provided where a normative ideal of the public is connected with a claim to public reason. Thirdly, Habermas also provides a view of the decline of the public sphere in a post-liberal era of market manipulation and consumption - a view strongly influenced by Adorno and Horkheimer. Finally, I refer to early criticism of Habermas's concept of the public sphere (liberal, systems-functional, Marxist and feminist). In section 3 of this article, I discuss the manner in which Habermas's concept of the public sphere changed siginificantly over a period of about twenty years. It is indicated how it shifted from a more historically informed concept of the public sphere to a more formal and normative version thereof. Eventually this shift culminated in Habermas's defining work - The Theory of Communicative Action (1981). This work consists of three argumentative lines. Firstly, there is a theory of argumentative reason in which speech act theory plays an important role. Secondly, a theory of social rationalization (with the distinction between lifeworld and system) is developed. Finally, Habermas provides an interpretation of modernity/postmodernity. Towards the end of section 3.3. I discuss the ethical (a kind of deontological discourse ethics) and the political implications (a politics of deliberation), of his theory of communicative reason. In section 4, Habermas's concept of the public sphere and its communicative rational reformulation (with its ethical and political implications), is then applied in the context of contemporary mass communication as a public sphere. In this regard, an article by Habermas (2006) is pivotal. In this contribution, which he calls a normative and empirical reflection of the public sphere in our own time he emphasises three things: In the first place, he distinguishes between liberal, republican and deliberative models of democracy-opting for the latter model. Secondly, he focuses on the structure of mass communication and the formation of considered public opinions as well as the power structure of the public sphere and the dynamics of mass communication. Thirdly, certain contemporary pathologies of political communication are considered - such as the colonialization of the public sphere by imperatives of the market. In this article, then, the last section (5) conludes with some inconclusive and critical remarks on the concept of the public sphere. As mentioned before, Habermas's original formulation of the public sphere was criticised from a liberal, systems-functional, Marxist and feminist perspective. Eventually these different critical perspectives are complemented by those of multiculturalism and post-colonialism. It is well known that Habermas's work, despite its emphasis on the universal ideal of normativity, is applicable to historical societies in the northern hemisphere. The question here is: How compatible is Habermas's idea of rationality and normativity with a society such as South Africa? This question is an important one in a society where metanarratives and binary options must be critically challenged. As the different South African perspectives are moving closer to one another at the start of the 21st century, the need for a critical public sphere is of the utmost importance.

Death of the traditional newspaper: A strategic assessment

In die digitale era bevind koerante regoor die wêreld hulself in ongekende waters en probeer inkomste vanuit aanlyn verkeer genereer. Sommige koerante, soos die Wallstreet Journal, het dié stap met merkwaardige sukses geneem, terwyl ander koerante jammerlik gefaal het. Die digitale era plaas ook geweldig druk op die koerantindustrie in Suid-Afrika. Sirkulasiesyfers en winste wys ŉ dalende tendens. Die invloed van die internet en aanlyn nuus het ŉ beduidende impak op die wyse waarop koerantuitgewers inkomste en winste gaan genereer. Indien die huidige afname in sirkulasie voortduur, kan daar so min as 750 000 koerante in sirkulasie wees in Suid-Afrika teen 2020. Koerantuitgewers behoort alternatiewe inkomstestrome vir digitale koerante te ondersoek, insluitend bekostigbare alternatiewe vir adverteerders, om te verseker dat die uitgewers hierdie adverteerders behou. Die doel van dié navorsing is om ŉ strategiese assessering te maak van die strategiese oorwegings in die migrasie vanaf gedrukte na digitale media.

The newspaper industry in South Africa has been placed under severe pressure with the digital era in recent years. Circulation figures have dropped and profits have decreased. The influence of the Internet and news online could have a significant impact on the manner in which newspaper publishers generate revenue and profits in the future. If the current decrease in circulation continues, there could be as little as 750 000 newspapers in circulation in South Africa by the year 2020. The latest figures still confirm the decline in all classes of newspapers: daily newspapers, pdf replicas, weekly newspapers, weekend and free newspapers. The study shows that one-fifth of SA has partially or completely migrated to online news, which can be the dominant factor for the decrease in circulation rates. The dilemma manifests itself in South Africa's traditional largest daily newspapers in an increasingly thinning newspaper versus higher than inflationary price increases. The latter culminates in price sensitive readers who respond by purchasing their favourite daily newspaper on selective days only. The Internet of Things in South Africa will grow exponentially as data costs decrease and Internet access improves so that online media usage will grow accordingly. The growing phenomenon of digital media is changing the market landscape significantly and could have dire consequences for the newspaper publisher who does not manage any migration strategically. Is this a case of the famous newspaper cliché: "stop the press!" - especially for Afrikaans daily newspapers? The Internet undermines newspapers' advertising revenues and news became a commodity that could dramatically change the traditional business model. From the contrasting market trends pointed out in the article, it is clear that this complex news ecosystem requires interaction with the readers to pinpoint future consumer journeys. A major challenge is advertisers who now reach larger audiences with digital and broadcast media at a much lower price than those of newspaper advertising. The worrying aspect for the industry is that a loss of advertising revenue in printed newspapers has not been supplemented by an increase in revenue for digital advertising on newspaper websites or online newspapers. Although most newspapers in the world already have an online version, the majority struggle to run it profitably. The news industry is therefore still looking for a sustainable business model. Market structures are constantly changing due to market dynamics. The article indicates that in a fully competitive market, the industry's demand and supply determine the prevailing market price, and with the concentrated media market in South Africa, several strategies can be followed to win market share. In essence, the South African media industry is oligopolistic in nature. The growing presence of complementary and substitute products in the media industry for printed newspapers has caused significant changes with the ecosystems in terms of the quantity demanded versus changes in demand. Newspaper publishers in the new fragmented media market need to make strategic decisions for sustained growth and improved operational efficiency. In response to the challenges of newspapers, several strategic considerations are proposed - a series of consolidations are already happening in the industry with larger media houses that aggressively acquired smaller competitors. Mergers and acquisitions can provide traction to newspapers and rationalize the number of major players in the industry. The above implies changing business models that are adaptable for strategic considerations to increase subscription and advertising income levels and revenue from other avenues. The strategic options aim to realize greater scale, increasing circulation and income stability. A sustained factor for the printed newspaper is the existing brand value created. Confidence will play a more important role in today's news landscape with its escalating fake news. The research found that trends in the printed newspaper market have yielded confusing results over the last few years. It represents a world of increasing openness, media diversity and complex choices on both sides of the market. The newspaper industry in South Africa is still navigating through the many variables and hence there is no single optimizing business model. The successful transformation of the printing industry with news as commodity will be driven by relevant research data. The demand for newspapers as a whole is under pressure due to a growing consumer empowerment for other substitutes. Undoubtedly, the industry in South Africa will also increasingly integrate print and digital operations into a hybrid model with the continuous pursuit of critical mass in a multi-channel marketing landscape. For Afrikaans newspapers it implies that the business model going forward needs to be more diversified. The newspaper industry is increasingly becoming a scale business and the overall characteristic is therefore a consolidation phase that strives for optimal mixtures between the various media formats. There is still a viable demand for the printed Afrikaans newspaper, but creative innovation is required to make it sustainable. In the end, it is still market forces that will be the major determinant and, by implication, the Afrikaans reader who is going to drive the quantity demanded.

Spyfly and confessional: The fight against racism in the post-apartheid South African media

Die voortdurende debat oor die rol van die media in die samelewing word in hierdie artikel verryk deur die identifisering van twee nuwe metaforiese beskrywings: loerbroer en biegbank. Die beskrywings spruit uit ŉ Foucaultiaanse lesing van die wisselwerking tussen mag/kennis en die rol van die media in diskoerse wat in die samelewing om hegemonie meeding. Die toepassing daarvan werp lig op die dekking van insidente van beweerde rassisme in die Suid-Afrikaanse media oor die laaste paar jaar. Die artikel toon aan hoe daar ondanks diversiteit in die media tog ŉ patroon ontstaan wat deur die loerbroer en biegbank beskryf kan word.

In the title, "Spyfly and confessional: The fight against racism in the post-apartheid South African media", the first two metaphors are introduced as a description of noticeable tendencies in the interaction between media and society. The two descriptions have their roots in the work of Foucault and refer to the nexus between power/knowledge and the role of the media in the struggle between competing discourses for hegemony. Foucault refers to different forms of power, concerning surveillance, discipline and modern society as a confessional space. It is argued in this article that the media play a role in setting and patrolling some boundaries in society as agents of power in their own right. Power and the control of knowledge are exercised through different mechanisms, of which the fight against racism presents one such an example. While the white-owned media in general often played an active part in the perpetuation of colonialism and apartheid, the post-colonial media in South Africa are involved in fighting racism, at the same time endeavouring to support efforts by government and civil society to "eradicate" racism. While racist discourses take place on social media, most if not all of the mainstream media are involved in active anti-racism campaigns. The mainstream media also quickly pick up on incidents of alleged racism when these go "viral" on social media, thereby contributing to the cycle of often sensationalist coverage. A range of media texts of alleged racism were examined for this article. The aim was to describe the coverage of incidents of alleged racism in the media, widely defined to include social media and contributions by other citizens, including so-called citizen journalists, in detail and considered in context against the backdrop of the metaphors "spyfly" and "confessional". The first part of the analysis focusses on an incident at a playschool for children in Pretoria in 2016, when a seemingly innocent photo distributed by the school on social media caused a furore because of accusations of racism and marginalisation. Authoritative persons, with the help of the media, also using social media, played the role of spyfly while the case was still in progress, and political parties became involved when legal action was instigated against a provincial minister who had allegedly compromised the safety of the children. Besides being covered by various print and online publications, the national broadcaster, the SABC, also included the incident in a news bulletin in which a list of "outrageous" racist events were summarised and condemned. The second part of the article takes a closer look at how the media provide a confessional space for racists who wish to repent and make amends. While the majority of the most prominently covered cases featured white people, the media also responded when a black man encouraged black South Africans to "do to whites what Hitler did to the Jews". The perpetrator apologised and confessed, as did the famous and generally unrepentant cartoonist Zapiro when he was accused of racism for portraying a black person as a monkey in one of his cartoons. This points to one of the interesting features of the dynamics described here: how the media police themselves and their peers. Other members of the media, such as the commentator Gareth Cliff and the sports journalist Dan Retief, were also forced to confess and apologise after statements made by them on social media had been perceived as being racist. One television news anchor was disciplined after criticising the English pronunciation of the minister of education on air. The concluding argument is that the two central descriptions enable media researchers to describe the often contradictory and very complex role of the post-apartheid South African media. Despite the diversity of the media in general and the many differences between mainstream members of the post-apartheid South African media, they tended to follow similar patterns in the coverage of alleged racism. This often led to sensationalism, seeing that the coverage often was not presented in context.

Vrye Weekblad's use of the term Boer to praise and berate in a cultural borderland

Die alternatiewe, anti-establishment Vrye Weekblad (1988-1994) het deur die nuustemas wat gepubliseer is, die aanbieding daarvan en die manier waarop Afrikaans gebruik is, die Nasionale Party-regering, die apartheidsideologie en euwels wat daarmee gepaardgegaan het aan die kaak gestel. Op dié wyse het die Vrye Weekblad (VWB) 'n identiteits(her)konfigurasie van wit Afrikaanssprekendes aangemoedig. Ter ondersteuning van dié poging is die konstruk Boer gebruik as positiewe en negatiewe identiteitsmerker - prysnaam én skeldnaam. Vir die artikel is Boer/boer verder ondersoek en word dit in drie dele bespreek. In deel een word die historiese betekenisverruiming en die mitologisering van die Boer, wat in die hede ook gereeld omstredenheid ontketen, uiteengesit. In die tweede deel van die artikel word 'n ontleding gedoen van die gebruik van Boer/boer in koppe, prikkels en fotokoppe op die 226 beskikbare voorblaaie van VWB in die digitale versameling van Stellenbosch Universiteit. Die derde deel van die studie bevat die resultate van 'n doelbewuste steekproef op die binneblaaie van 90 uitgawes van VWB. Die fokus was op koppe en onderkoppe. Die ontleding van Boer word benader vanuit 'n postkoloniale oogpunt met spesifieke verwysing na hoe VWB 'n kulturele tussenruimte geskep het waarin andersdenkende Afrikaners 'n weerstandsidentiteit kon aanneem sonder om afstand te doen van alle aspekte van hul Afrikaneridentiteit. Die posisie tussen kulture, hibridisering, wat as 'n dinamiese, vloeibare proses vertolk word, het ook 'n brug gebou tussen Afrikaners en hul landgenote. VWB se gelyktydige gebruik van Boer - 'n prysnaam én 'n skeldnaam - kom ook pertinent aan die orde.

The alternative, anti-establishment Vrye Weekblad (VWB, 1988-1994) exposed the Nationalist Party government, its apartheid ideology and concomitant evils by focusing on topics which mainstream publications shied away from. It did so by packaging its content through innovative design to support its nonconforming journalism and by using Afrikaans, the language of the oppressor, to create distance from those in power and reach out to the politically marginalised. The type of Afrikaans used by the VWB, which was deliberately less formal than the standard language used in other Afrikaans publications, freed the language from its shackles of conservatism. But it also became a mechanism in support of reconfiguring Afrikaner identity. The use of the construct Boer in VWB is one example representing this effort. In this article the findings of a study into the use of Boer/boer in VWB will be presented in three parts. Firstly, the historical evolution of the term, from merely denoting "farmers" to being employed as a term denoting nationalism, the mythologisation of the Boer in historiography of the first half of the 20th century, as well as repeated controversies in the historical present, are discussed. In the second part empirical data are used to analyse the usage of the construct Boer in headlines, subheadings, picture headlines and teasers on the front pages of all 226 editions of the VWB available in Stellenbosch University's digital collection. Thirdly, using a purposive sample, the headlines on the inner pages of 90 editions of VWB were analysed to further explore the use of the term Boer/boer. The study emanated from an earlier empirical investigation by students from the North-West University into the context, agenda and framing of themes on the front page of the Vrye Weekblad, 226 editions from November 1988 tot 2 February 1994. One of this study's findings was that Boer was used often in the framing of news. How it was used, and why, is considered in greater depth in this article. The use of Boer is approached from a post-colonial perspective and it is argued that the VWB created a cultural borderland in which white Afrikaans speakers could reconfigure a resistance identity without sacrificing all aspects of their identity. This hybridization, a position between two cultures, thus provided for the creation of a dynamic or fluid Afrikaner identity, which could morph into and out of this space. In this way, Afrikaners could embrace transformation and reach out to all South Africans, hence dislodging the othering on which the government of the day relied to sustain its ideology. In the 226 editions analysed, the VWB used Boer/boer 34 times in headlines, teasers and photo headlines on its front page. In addition, Boer/boer appeared 33 times in headlines and subheadings on the much smaller sample of 90 editions' inside pages. On the inside pages, usage in blurbs and kickers were also noted. When only the capitalized word Boer is considered in terms of its intention either to honour or to berate, 29 headlines were counted. The frequency of positive and negative usage on the front page was within close range, but overall more negative than positive. However, if only the capitalized Boer on the inside pages were considered, it was used 26 times and the positive and negative usage of Boer was the same. The ambivalence of Boer, as both a positive and negative concept, which is underscored by its contradictory usage in VWB, could also be linked to an internal VWB debate about Boer. The questions raised, however, appeared to have remained unresolved during its [the magazine's] existence - and continues to underpin controversies even into the historical present in South Africa. As a badge of honour, Boer has been used to describe white freedom fighters and political leaders associated with reformist thinking. It is this usage in particular which suggests attempts to reconfigure the Afrikaner identity. Until this point those who dared to speak out against the government and its policies were branded traitors, communists and sell-outs. But by using the construct Boer to describe Afrikaans anti-apartheid activists such as writer Breyten Breytenbach and theologian Beyers Naudé, it signaled to the so-called "Afrikaanses" that they too could cross into a cultural borderland in which they could reach out to other cultures - but during this fluid process the identity reconfiguration could happen without giving up all aspects of their existing cultural identities at once.

Huisgenoot's changing agenda and the use of crime as a form of entertainment

Hierdie artikel ondersoek aan die hand van voorblaaie en verwante artikels die wyse waarop Huisgenoot in die 1980's en 1990's Diana, prinses van Wallis, asook TV- en rolprentsterre gebruik het om voorheen ongekende sirkulasiesyfers te handhaaf, maar later al hoe meer misdaadstories (in kombinasie met stories oor Afrikaanse sangers) geplaas het. Teen 2002, toe Esmaré Weideman redakteur geword het, was daar reeds 'n afname in sirkulasie en het navorsing gewys dat lesers nie meer so geneë was met die resep wat Niel Hammann so suksesvol begin het nie. Tog is grootliks daarmee voortgegaan en publiseer Huisgenoot 'n besonder eksplisiete foto van 'n slagoffer van terrorisme in die buiteland. Na talle lesersbesware hieroor onderneem Huisgenoot om dít nie weer te doen sonder dat lesers op die voorblad gewaarsku word nie. In 2012 verskyn misdaadstories gereeld op Huisgenoot se voorblad as 'n vorm van vermaak. In een geval word ook die slagoffers se foto prominent gebruik en word die verkragting van 'n vrou in detail beskryf. Hiermee is Hammann se benadering van sensasie-met-sofistikasie finaal vervang. Dit dui op 'n wesenlike koerswysiging in wat aanvaarbaar was of nie binne die Afrikaanse gesinstydskrif-mark.

This article investigates the manner in which Huisgenoot, the best-selling Afrikaans magazine, used Diana, Princess of Wales, and other celebrities in the 1980s and 1990s to sustain previously unheard of circulation numbers, but later resorted more and more to crime stories (in combination with stories about local minor celebrities). This is done by describing and analysing the covers (or front pages) of the magazine and the related stories. In order to understand the importance of this front page agenda setting, the changes to Huisgenoot's front pages since 1916 are reviewed briefly with reference to the changing cultural-political context in which the magazine was published. Readers' changing needs and tastes necessitated changes to the content, but these were mostly resisted until 1978 when first Tobie Boshoff and then Niel Hammann transformed the magazine into a populist publication that focused on TV and cinema stars plus a lively mixture of easy-reading content. During the 1980s and 1990s Huisgenoot's circulation climbed (from record highs of 206 000 in 1978) to a steady 500 000 per week. This achievement was made possible to some extent by the popularity of Diana, Princess of Wales, who became Huisgenoot's top-selling front-page model. It is pointed out though that photographs of the princess were used rather sparingly on the cover during the 1980s and 1990s. However, teasers drawing attention to stories and pictures of the princess were much more frequent. After Diana's death Huisgenoot continued with much the same agenda but experienced falling circulation figures. When Esmaré Weideman was appointed as editor in 2002 research showed that readers were tiring of the weekly menu of tabloid stories. Some more serious and positive stories were introduced but the original Hammann recipe was kept mostly intact. The popularity of Afrikaans singers experienced an upsurge in these years and they became regular front-page models. In 2007 Huisgenoot published a particularly graphic photo of the victim of a foreign terrorism incident, drawing heavy criticism from colleagues and readers. Weideman then came to an "agreement" with readers that although the magazine reserves the right to cover shocking events, it would not be done again without a warning on the front cover, thereby allowing parents the option of tearing out the potentially upsetting pages should they wish to do so. Although crime related human interest stories were used even in the conservative 1950s, this became an important circulation builder by 2012. After the introduction of regular celebrity news in 1978, this is identified as the next important change to Huisgenoot's front-page (cover) agenda. Using data gathered in her master's degree research by one of the co-authors (Alexa Swart), the use of crime stories is described and analysed. It was found that 137 crime stories were published in 2007, of which 78% were local. In all, crime was used 63 times on the front cover, mostly as teasers. The crime stories were usually combined with a photo of a local celebrity, except on one occasion when a photo of the crime victims featured on the cover. The three topics covered most on the cover were identified and are described and analysed in greater detail. These stories are about the abduction of a South African woman and her partner in Somalia, the rape and torture of a woman by her partner, the so-called "Modimolle monster", and the so-called Griekwastad murders, involving a teenage boy. Each of these topics featured on five front covers. The main cover teaser of the 12 July 2012 issue of Huisgenoot read: Ek is verkrag in seerower-hok (I was raped in pirate's cage), with a picture of the victim and her partner. In the article, headed Ons hel is verby (Our hell is over), the victim related her story in graphic detail, including how she was raped. No warning was published on the cover. This is indicative of a tabloid-style journalism which has profit as only motive. It also represents a shift in this second phase of Huisgenoot's history. This implied, it is argued, that after the radical change from a conservative magazine which combined more serious, educational content with lighter, entertaining content, to one in which celebrity culture and human interest stories were combined, the sensation-with-sophistication approach espoused by former editor Niel Hammann was finally discarded and crime as a form of brutal entertainment gained an important place on the Huisgenoot news agenda. This change also signalled a marked shift in what was acceptable, or not, in the Afrikaans family magazine market.

Afrikaans on Twitter in a global village: A McLuhanian perspective

In die artikel word 'n kwalitatiewe navorsingsontwerp gevolg om die toepaslikheid van McLuhan en McLuhan (1988) se media-effekraamwerk in ŉ wêrelddorpkonteks te ondersoek. Die Afrikaanse aanlyn organisasie, Afrikaans.com, se Twitterprofiel, wat ten doel het om die Afrikaanse taal te bevorder, is as ŉ voorbeeld van ŉ wêrelddorp gebruik. Twitter verteenwoordig die digitale era oorwegend as 'n kommunikasie- en inligtingsmedium en vervul dus 'n belangrike rol in die media-ekologie wat by verdere beskrywing kan baat vind. Veral die sosiale media verleen ŉ nuwe perspektief aan die vier media-effekte soos die steekproefdata, as ŉ voorbeeld van McLuhan se wêrelddorpmetafoor, illustreer. Die bevindinge toon oortuigend aan hoe die vier media-effekte relevant is vir Afrikaans.com se Twitterprofiel as wêrelddorp. Die vraag word ook gestel of die media-effekte relevant sal bly namate Twitter en ander sosialemediaplatforms as gevolg van voortdurend veranderende tegnologie ontwikkel. Derhalwe word 'n vyfde media-effek voorgestel om die fyner nuanses van Twittergesprekke te ontleed.

This article uses a qualitative research design to investigate the relevance of McLuhan and McLuhan's (1988) media effects framework within a global village context. The investigation focuses in particular on how the Afrikaans online organisation Afrikaans.com, as an example of a global village, uses its Twitter profile to promote Afrikaans as a language through the lens of four media effects (laws of media). By asking four questions it is possible to position new and future media in relation to other current and previous media in the media environment. Although McLuhan died before the invention of new media and the Internet, he developed the concepts "global village" and the "medium is the message" almost 60 years ago. The global village represents a metaphorical shrinking of the world because of electronic media. McLuhan never referred to his work as a theory but emphasised that he considered the topic from a phenomenological perspective to find answers to his observations. It is, however, possible to identify theoretical points of departure in his work that serve as a set of criteria to analyse any medium, including Twitter. A total of 1 135 conversations on Twitter of Afrikaans.com were analysed by doing a deductive thematic analysis which follows a theory-driven perspective. As a micro social media network, Twitter represents the digital era as mainly a communication and information medium and hence plays an important role in the media ecology which could benefit from further descriptions. Even today, Twitter is an influential social media platform where millions of messages are sent globally within minutes. It is, however, the actions of Twitter users that are essential for the platform to function effectively as a communication and information medium. Especially social media provides a new perspective on the four media effects as illustrated by the data as an example of McLuhan's global village metaphor. Almost 40 years after McLuhan's death, his insights remain universal even while digital and social media are still evolving. Many of McLuhan's ideas increasingly form part of the digital age as illustrated by the findings. The findings show how the four media effects are relevant within the context of Afrikaans.com's Twitter profile as an example of a global village. However, the question can be asked whether the four media effects will stay relevant as Twitter and other social media platforms evolve because of constant changing technologies. A fifth "media effect" is suggested to analyse the finer nuances of Twitter discussions (or tweets).

A case study: A media historiographic exploration of an early column and a later effects theory comment

In hierdie artikel, in die vorm van 'n gevallestudie, verken ek 'n vroeë rubriek uit die 1920's in 'n Afrikanernasionale dagblad vanuit 'n mediahistoriografiese vertrekpunt teenoor 'n veel latere uitspraak wat uit die kognitiewe effekteorie-paradigma stam. Die rubriek heet "Oom Izak van Kaapstad" en het in Die Burger verskyn. Ongeveer sewentig jaar later is die Afrikaanse media beoordeel as ongetwyfeld die kognitiewe bestuurders ("mind managers") van Afrikaners vanuit die konteks van effekteorieë wat handel oor die rol en die mag van die media. Die vertrekpunt van die artikel word binne die veld van die mediahistoriografie gebaseer in 'n poging om dié onderbestudeerde vakwetenskaplike subgenre aan te vul. Ten eerste word dus 'n bespreking van mediahistoriografie aangebied om die onderwerp deeglik in te bed in die veld, waarop 'n bespreking van kognitiewe effekteorie volg wat die rol en die mag van die media voorhou. Laasgenoemde word aangevul met 'n bespreking rondom "kognitiewe denke" vanuit die perspektief van die kultuursosiologie. Die gevallestudie-benadering as navorsingsontwerp word kortliks saam met die metodologie bespreek. Daarop volg as deel van die mediahistoriese begronding van die artikel, en om die nodige konteks te bied, 'n bespreking van die bepaalde koerant en sy maatskappy se posisie en invloed in die maatskaplike milieu van die Afrikaner, wat inderdaad dekades later sou lei tot die beskouing dat die Afrikaanse media inderdaad kognitiewe bestuurders is. Vervolgens kom die rubriek en sy skrywer self aan bod. Ten slotte word vanuit hierdie mediahistoriografiese verkenning voorgestel dat dié vroeë Afrikaanse rubriek inderdaad as "effek" gesien kan word waarop die latere uitspraak rondom die Afrikaanse media as kognitiewe bestuurders gemaak kon word.

The Afrikaans media companies that propagated Afrikaner nationalism were undoubtedly "mind managers" of Afrikaners, was the judgement in 1994 by leading South African media scholar Pieter Fourie (1994a:283; 1994b:275). The media companies he referred to were Nasionale Persand Perskor. This article investigates Fourie's statement from a media historiographic point of departure, based on a column in the 1920s in Die Burger with the title "Oom Izak van Kaapstad" [Uncle Izak from Cape Town]. It was written by Burger-journalist Izak van Tonder who created the fictional character of "'n ou man, oom Izak ... wat vroeër op 'n plaas gewoon het en vir sy oudag Kaapstad-toe getrek het" [an old man, uncle Izak ... who used to live on a farm and who, in old age, moved to Cape Town] (Van Tonder 1945:44). In addition to the focus of this article on media historiography, as an under-researched field in the South African journalism and media studies (Sonderling 1995:87; Wigston 2007:5), the article also presents a media and culture theoretical focus. It proposes namely that Fourie's "mind manager" statement is understood from the cognitive media-effects theory, in conjunction with the media historical exploration. A further relevant point of departure is suggested in the approaches of sociologists Hofstede, Hofstede and Minkov (2010:4-5). They propose that culture constitutes "mental programmes" or "software of the mind". This approach is also discussed as relevant, specifically as it can also be found in the overall media and culture theory of cognitive effects theory and its sub-theories of agenda setting and framing. Methodologically, the subject is presented as a case study, and in this research design the historical method has been applied. The broader background of the column is presented as an essential historical context, followed by a discussion of the columns. Factors that led to the development of Afrikaner nationalism, such as the South African War, the First World War and the Rebellion, are presented as important contextual references. The founding of the media company Nasionale Pers, as "organ" for Afrikaner nationalism, is also discussed as further context. Following Fourie's statement of the Afrikaans media as "mind managers", as well as the sociological point of departure of "mental programming", as suggested by Hofstede et al., this article attempts to indicate that the column under discussion could manipulate the thinking of its readers. It can therefore be suggested that the cognitive media effects theory, as understood also from within the sub-theories of agenda setting and framing, as to be found in the column, could constitute a "mind manager", and that the column could be regarded as working as a "software of the mind" programme. Thus, as a historiographic exploration of an early column, and on the basis of effects theory, together with the proposed sociological theory of "mental programming", the article's aim is to suggest that Fourie's statement on the Afrikaans media as "mind managers" can be regarded as having substance.

The importance of critical self-reflection by journalism educators

Die joernalistieke bedryf is onder groot druk en verander teen ŉ ongekende pas. Dit beteken joernalistiekopvoeders - veral op tersiêre vlak - moet gedurig herbesin oor wat in die lesinglokaal gebeur om tred te hou met omwentelinge in die bedryf. Die kernargument in hierdie artikel is dat joernalistiekopvoeders die basiese beginsels van kritiese selfreflektiewe onderrigpraktyk in gedagte moet hou wanneer hulle interaksie met studente het en kurrikula ontwikkel. Kritiese selfreflektiewe onderrigpraktyk beteken om deeglik na te dink oor bestaande waardestelsels en ervaring alvorens besluite oor toekomstige onderrigbenaderings gemaak word (Larrivee 2000:294). In die artikel word kennis geneem van debatte binne joernalistiekonderrig, wat insluit die soms gespanne verhouding tussen die akademie en die bedryf, sowel as onsekerheid wat steeds bestaan oor waar joernalistiekprogramme in die groter universiteitsomgewing inpas. Aandag word ook geskenk aan die veranderende leerstyle van studente. Die gebruik van digitale media-tegnologie word as voorbeeld gebruik van hoe daar soms wanopvattings kan bestaan oor studente se ervaring binne en buite die lesinglokaal. Kritiese selfreflektiewe onderrigpraktyk word gedefinieer ten einde te argumenteer dat dié benadering veral relevant kan wees vir joernalistiekonderrig op universiteit. As voorbeeld van hoe kritiese selfrefleksie aangewakker kan word onder joernalistiekopvoeders, word verwys na ŉ gevallestudie by die Universiteit Stellenbosch se nagraadse joernalistiekdepartement. In dié geval word terugvoer uit fokusgroepe met honneursstudente aangewend om te reflekteer oor kursusinhoud en leerbenaderings wat ook tot kurrikulumvernuwing kan lei.

The journalism industry is changing and evolving at an ever-increasing rate. To keep up with the pace of change in the industry, journalism education programmes also need to adapt, often at short notice (Webb 2015). The main argument in this article is that journalism educators should consider applying the basic tenets of critical self-reflective teaching practice to enhance their own teaching and learning approach. In order to employ a critical self-reflective approach to teaching practice educators have to constantly be vigilant about how their own personal and professional belief systems might influence the way they interact with students (Larrivee 2000:294). If one wants to become a critical reflective educator, however, it is not sufficient to think about things. Reflection is "problem-based and action-orientated" (LaBoskey 2010:630). This would mean that critical reflective teaching practice should involve concerted efforts to improve what happens in the lecture hall. In order to support the central argument of this overview article, the writer first discussed some of the key debates in journalism education. Despite journalism programmes becoming a staple of many a university's educational offering, there are still debates about the inherent value of a journalism degree (Lynch 2015). Journalism educators are also often at odds with industry role-players about what exactly students should be taught (Berger & Foote 2017; Hermann 2017). Furthermore, questions are still sometimes raised about journalism programme's place in the broader university environment (Webb 2015). In addition, the slow pace of curriculum renewal in the university space often stands in the way of journalism programmes keeping pace with changes in the industry (Webb 2015; Johnston 2018). To further develop the article's arguments, the writer highlighted the need for educators to keep in touch with the changing learning styles, habits and awareness of the students in their classes. The writer listed students' use of digital media technologies as one area where critical reflection is needed to make sure that teaching matches the students' real-world experiences. Attention was also paid to the role student movements, such as the #FeesMustFall protests, can have on the expectations of students which further increases the need for critical reflection on the part of educators. Some broad definitions and applications of critical self-reflective teaching practice were subsequently provided. It was emphasised that this approach to teaching must be systematic and informed by actual evidence. In the end the aim is to "come up with strategies to improve the teaching and learning process in a higher education context" (Tony & Makura 2015:43). By critically reflecting about teaching practice an educator is not trying to become the perfect teacher, but rather aiming to constantly fine-tune existing practices as knowledge and experience develop (Ashwin et al. 2015:54). It was further argued that critical self-reflection is especially pertinent for journalism educators since they are preparing students for an industry that is in constant flux. Journalists rarely get to reflect about their own practices in the 24/7 news cycle newsroom (Niblock 2007:20). That makes the call for journalism educators, and specifically journalists-turned-educators, to experiment with and reflect about their teaching practice even more pressing. In this instance the role of a university is not to maintain the status quo, but rather to challenge conventional practices (Bacon 2006:148). A case-study was then presented to show how honours students' feedback in the form of focus groups is being used to encourage critical self-reflection on the part of the journalism educators in Stellenbosch University's postgraduate journalism department. This example illustrates the need for educators to engage in dialogue with students to gain insight into students' experiences - on both a personal and educational level. The article finally concludes that critical self-reflection on the part of journalism educators not only improves teaching practice, but can also have a telling effect on professional journalism practice.

Towards shared meaning: Inline communication media as change agent for sustainable strategic stakeholder relationships

Die toenemende mediakapasiteit van die verhoogde gefragmenteerde medialandskap kan voordelig of nadelig vir individue wees. Vanuit 'n organisatoriese kommunikasie-oogpunt word geargumenteer dat gedeelde kennis deur inlynkommunikasiemedia kan bydra tot volhoubare strategiese belangegroepverhoudings. Om dit te kan doen, word die artikel oorhoofs benader vanuit die Kommunikatiewe Konstitusie van Organisasies (KKO)-denkrigting as begrondingsraamwerk, met 'n spesifieke fokus op die kennisbestuurperspektief as multidissiplinêre benadering om gedeelde kennis en betekenis te bewerkstellig. Vanuit die kennisbestuursbenadering word geargumenteer dat organisasies inlynkommunikasiemedia as veranderingsagent kan gebruik om hierdie betekenis en bewustheid te skep. Vir die doel van hierdie artikel verwys inlynkommunikasiemedia na die integrasie van aanlyn en aflyn interaktiewe kommunikasie tussen die organisasie en belangegroepe en die beweging tot gedeelde betekenis deur kruis-medialiteit vir die versterking van volhoubare strategiese belangegroepeverhouding. Volgens Larghi, Lemus, Moguillansky en Welschinger (2015:22) is die integrasie van optredes en gedrag waardevol om strategiese belangegroepe te verstaan en kan dit gebruik word om die manier waarop hulle betekenis aan realiteit gee, sistematies te verander. Dit beklemtoon die siening tot 'n benadering om aanlyn en aflyn interaktiewe media te kombineer om verhoudings met strategiese belangegroepe te versterk. In lyn met die KKO-denkrigting word geargumenteer dat konnektiwiteit, wat persepsies oor tyd, spasie en verhoudings skep en individue van die digitale na die fisiese omgewing en terug te beweeg, moontlik gemaak word (Larghi et al. 2015:28). Inlynkommunikasiemedia skep dus verskillende kruis-kanaal-raakpunte vir kommunikasie om verhoudingsbestuur met strategiese belangegroepe tot voordeel van die organisasie te versterk. 'n Belangrike aspek is die beweging na gedeelde kennis wat uit 'n organisatoriese oogpunt verskil van die fokus van die media om slegs inligting oor te dra om voorsiening te maak vir die vinnige verandering in die nuwe- en sosiale- media-omgewing. Die artikel fokus op hierdie leemte in die literatuur om van inligtingoordrag deur die media te beweeg na gedeelde inligting waar die organisasie inlynkommunikasiemedia as veranderingsagent kan gebruik om gedeelde kennis, betekenis en innoverende samewerking vir probleemoplossing en volhoubare verhoudings met strategiese belangegroepe te skep. Die bydrae van die artikel is tweeledig: eerstens om vanuit 'n organisatoriese oogpunt 'n nuwe perspektief voor te stel waar inlynkommunikasiemedia gebruik kan word as veranderingsagent vir die oordrag van gedeelde kennis; en tweedens dat hierdie gedeelde kennis betekenis skep wat deur kennisbestuur moontlik gemaak word om die organisasie se verhouding met strategiese belangegroepe te versterk.

The accelerated capacity of the media can be to the advantage or disadvantage of individuals. From an organisational communication perspective, it is argued that shared knowledge through inline communication media could contribute towards sustainable strategic stakeholder relationships. To achieve this, this article is addressed from the Communicate Constitution of Organisations (CCO) school of thought as foundation with a specific focus on the knowledge management perspective as multidisciplinary approach to create shared knowledge and meaning. From a knowledge management perspective, it is argued that inline communication media could be used as change agent to create this meaning and awareness. For the purpose of this article, inline communication media refers to the integration of online and offline interactive communication between the organisation and stakeholders and the move towards shared meaning through cross-mediality for sustainable stakeholder relationship building. According to Larghi, Lemus, Moguillansky and Welschinger (2015:22) the integration of actions and behaviour are valuable to understand strategic stakeholders and it could be used as a manner to systematically change how they add meaning to reality. This underlines the need for an approach to combine online and offline interactive media to strengthen strategic stakeholder relationships. In line with the CCO school of thought, it is argued that connectivity, which creates perceptions over time, space and relationships, allows individuals to move from the digital to the physical envrionment and back (Larghi et al. 2015:28). Inline communication media therefore creates various cross-channel touch points to strengthen communication to apply relationship management with strategic stakeholders to the advantage of the organisation. An important aspect is the movement towards shared knowledge which, from an organisational communication perspective, differ from the mere transfer of information through the media to make provision for the continuous change in the new and social media context. This article addresses this gap to move from information transfer through the media towards shared information where inline communication media is used as change agent to create shared knowledge, meaning, innovative collaboration and problem-solving to contribute towards sustainable relationship building with strategic stakeholders. This article provides a two-fold contribution: Firstly, from an organisational communication viewpoint, this article proposes a new perspective where inline communication media could be used as change agent for the transfer of shared meaning; and secondly, that this shared meaning, made possible through knowledge management, could contribute towards strengthening the organisation's relationships with strategic stakeholders.