Elanie Steyn

Sanef's ‘2002 South African National Journalism Skills Audit’

Abstract This article presents the media section of the Sanef 2002 skills audit. The purpose of the research was to conduct a situation analysis of reporting, writing, and accuracy skills among reporters with 2–5 years experience. It was conducted amongst 112 reporters working at a stratified sample of 32 media institutions in South Africa. Some of the recommendations include that reporting, writing and accuracy skills were areas that needed urgent attention. It was also found that improved interaction between the media industry and tertiary institutions; a regulated system of internships; and an accreditation system should be put in place as soon as possible.

Towards defining news in the South African context: the media as generator or mediator of conflict

In the Western tradition of journalism, news and news values have come to be defined and identified according to the Anglo-American model. The typical tenets of news values are based on attributes such as timeliness, unexpectedness, predictability, proximity, and especially conflict and unusualness. To concerned governments, media researchers and others involved in the media, it often seemed as if events in the Third World, also in sub-Saharan Africa, could only become news in the Western media if conflict-orientated themes such as corruption, coups, political unrest and famine were the main course on the news menu. This has led to a hypothesis that social conflict is the dominant news factor. We do not argue that the media should not report on conflict, as different forms of conflict within a system can lead to the renewal of old norms or the creation of new ones. However, it is argued that the media, in practice, but also in terms of media policy, do not have to overemphasize conflict as such. To this e...

The Challenge to Incorporate Teamwork as a Managerial Competency: The Case of Mainstream South African Newsrooms

Abstract This article outlines dimensions of teamwork as a managerial competency in South Africa’s transitional mainstream media newsrooms. It highlights differences on perceptions of the importance and implementation of this competency among respondents from reporter and first-line newsroom manager tiers, given media management transformation in a post-apartheid society. Moderately and practically significant effect sizes were calculated between the two respondent groups on all dimensions of the teamwork competency. Results emphasized the need to improve first-line newsroom managers’ teamwork abilities in efforts to improve professional newsroom operations.

Obtaining “better news” through better internal news management – A survey of first-line managerial competencies in South Africa

Changes in the post-apartheid South African mainstream media landscape have far-reaching implications for human resources management. The six managerial competencies found in general management theory (communication; planning and administration; teamwork; strategic action; global awareness; and selfmanagement) were applied on a national sample of first-line news managers and reporters. The central theoretical argument was that first-line news managers might be better equipped to address the human aspects of news management should they implement these six managerial competencies effectively.

Media policy development: some trends in post-communist societies and post-apartheid South Africa

Though the concept of national or centralized media or communication policies became increasingly unpopular in the West during the post-Cold War era, democratic countries still need to plan and execute policies regarding communication/ media issues. This is not only true in Western Europe and the USA where a new discussion regarding especially telecommunication is being conducted, but even more so in countries moving away from authoritarianism such as South Africa and those of Central and Eastern Europe, where totally new communication structures are unfolding (e.g. in South Africa developments at the SABC, bills for telecommunication, and for publication control, and the appointment of a communication task group; and in post-communist societies new media structures, multinational corporations; and the interaction between the media, political and market forces). The authors do realize that South Africa and post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe are different societies with vast disparities...

Navigating the ‘invisible nets’: challenges and opportunities for women in traditionally male-dominated South Asian newsrooms

‘Invisible nets,’ ‘labyrinths’ and ‘glass ceilings’ are a sampling of the metaphors used to describe the impediments and challenges women face along their paths toward professional advancement, including those in media settings. Expanding on previous research, this article investigates newsroom management expectations and experiences related to communication and teamwork as managerial competencies among a sample of female journalists in Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Using a quantitative research design, the researchers outline opportunities and challenges for women in navigating the various obvious and subtle obstacles they face as they seek to advance professionally in traditionally male-dominated South Asian newsrooms.

A quality management model for community newspapers: the case of developing countries

Managers’ ability to effectively and efficiently obtain, manage and utilise organisational resources plays an important role in the quality of the product their organisations present audiences with. A literature review reveals that a lack of effective and efficient media management is a core variable that influences the quality of journalism worldwide. This paper proposes that traditional commercial community newspaper organisations can proactively manage quality by comprehensively following a systems- and process-based approach. For this purpose and using a case study design, a comprehensive quality management model was developed for community newspapers, particularly in developing and rural settings. This context-sensitive model could be a useful tool for owners, managers and editors at community newspapers in developing countries to manage and improve quality in and across all functions and production processes in their organisations.

How the Service Characteristics of News Require Media Organizations to Transition to a Marketing Orientation

Societal and industry changes, like increasing competition, lower profits, ownership concentration, inequality, and interference from stakeholder groups create a management environment where media organizations will only succeed through appropriate marketing philosophies. This article outlines how a production orientation traditionally guided media organizations. The production-orientation approach, however, seems outdated and the authors argue that by adopting a marketing orientation and treating news as a service to citizens rather than a commodity to consumers, media organizations might be more effective and efficient.

Coming in from the cold: South African media coverage of the 1992 Olympic Games

After an absence of 32 years due to its apartheid policies, South Africa could again participate in the Olympic Games in 1992. The 1992 ‘friendship’ Games were not only a first for many athletes, but also for media coverage of a major international sporting event in which a non-apartheid South African team could participate. This article does not deal with the devastating effects of apartheid per se. Its main concern is to focus, in a qualitative manner, on the first major international sports event in which South Africans were allowed to compete, namely the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, and more specifically the South African media coverage thereof.