Author: akpeko.3

South Africa – Country Report – Final

Country Report: South Africa

 

Traditional periodicals (3)

  1. Title: The Sowetan

 

Author / Organization: Tiso Blackstar Group

 

Format/Type of source: Digital & Print

Website Link: https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/about-us/

How often is this source updated: At least once a day

Overview

The Sowetan: A South African newspaper that sends out daily publications. This newspaper kicked things off in 1981 as a liberation struggle newspaper and has done well since then. They are published by the Tiso Blackstar Group and is distributed in English. This newspaper is one that is freely distributed to households in the then apartheid-segregated township of Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng Province. The website carries exactly the information found in print to facilitate accessing the information if you’re not subscribed or on the go. The Sowetan doesn’t just report on South African news however, it reports on global news as well as news pertaining to Africa in general. Speaking on things like the land invasions in Zimbabwe, South African protests, how political leaders are abusing their positions and power and much more. A particular weakness that I have personally found is the layout of the website. I believe that if the articles featured on the homepage where in chronological order, it would have been easier to keep track of how frequently the website is updated.

 

 

  1. Title: The Times

 

Author / Organization: Tiso Blackstar Group

 

Format/Type of source: Digital & Print

Website Link: https://www.timeslive.co.za/

Frequency of update: At least once a day

The Times: An influential South African newspaper outlet who provides constantly updated news which is delivered on a daily basis. The Times is the second biggest South African news website in South Africa and is an offshoot of their “Sunday Times” offering free access to subscribers. Unfortunately, nonsubscribers have to pay in order to gain access to detailed reorts. The good news, however, is that even as a nonmember, you are granted limited access to the website. This news outlet discusses general news, politics, sports, lifestyle, and more. Registration to the TimesLIVE or Sunday Times websites is free and allows the subscriber to give their input on select articles. Their website appears to be updated on a daily basis.

 

  1. Title: IOL – Independent OnLine

 

Author / Organization: Independent group in South Africa as well as from news wires like the African News Agency.

 

Format/Type of source: Digital/Online Only

Website Link:  https://www.iol.co.za/

Frequency of update: At least once a day

Overview

IOL: This news media source (Independent OnLine) is one of South Africa’s leading multi-platform content companies featuring independent media that keeps its content frequently updated. The information to which they give their following access to is made up of 20 of South Africa’s most prominent independent newspapers. It is the digital offering of “Independent” bringing immediate access to news in real time to its millions of subscribers. The perspectives offered on the website are refreshing and often unbiased thanks to its nature of collection of independent news outlets. One drawback that I found for this particular source is that you don’t get a clear look at the people providing the news just by reading the “about us” section. Understandable that it’s a team of multiple people, however, having a meet the team section, for example, may really help/appeal to their followers.

 

 

 

 

New media sources (2)

 

  1. Title: Inspired living

 

Author / Organization: Fiona Rossiter

 

Format/Type of source: Digital Only

Website Link:  https://www.inspiredlivingsa.co.za/about-me

Frequency of update: At least once a week

Overview

Inspired living: This is a blog in English about South Africa that covers the general living in South Africa and entertainment of course. For the foodies, it provides a couple blog posts on how to have a “festive lunch” with different wines, restaurant reviews and things of that nature, as well as different restaurant suggestions. With currently over 300 posts managed by Fiona Rossiter, a woman who enjoys focusing on decor, fashion trends, restaurants, local wine, and travel, this blog is one of the go-to sites for tourist. Inspired Living South Africa was named runner-up as Best Lifestyle Blog in Africa, in the African Blogger Awards in 2015 and 2016. Inspired Living also won the Category of Best Social Media, in the SA Travel Blog Awards making it an extremely influential yet lighthearted blog. This blog doesn’t necessarily have any weaknesses since the website is easy to navigate and self-explanatory.

 

  1. Title: East After Noon

 

Author / Organization: Georgia East

 

Format/Type of source: Digital/Online Only

Website Link:  http://eastafternoon.com/about/

Frequency of update: At least once bi-weekly

Overview

East After Noon: Choosing to browse or review this blog written and edited in English by Georgia East allows for a glance at the fun things to do in South Africa. As a writer, food stylist, photographer, and owner of clothing label “Fortune” in Cape Town, South Africa, East simply sets out to share her passion for food with the world. Although she is a self-confessed Shakespeare groupie who studied to be a wordsmith, her deep passions for both style and food put her in the perfect position to make recommendations that are helpful for both locals and tourists. This light-hearted blog allows gives a sense of simplicity, especially to tourists, to a trip to South African that can be a tad overwhelming.

 

 

 

Social media sources (2)

 

  1. Title: EFF South Africa – Economic Freedom Fighters

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Twitter

Website Link:  https://twitter.com/EFFSouthAfrica?lang=en

Frequency of update: At least 5 tweets a day

Overview

EFF: The EEF, along with other South African social media pages received quite a bit more attention as South Africa is trended for a while thanks to Rihanna’s performance of “Gwara Gwara”, a South African originated dance at the Grammy’s! There’s no better place to keep in touch with South African news than Twitter? Even though that’s this trend faded relatively quickly, and not necessarily related to the purpose of this social media at all, South Africa does have other conversations going on twitter and EFF has been part of that conversation. The topics the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) focuses on typically revolve around its being of a platform that champions radical economic policies in South Africa discussed in English. With over 423,000 followers, they post at least 5 tweets a day about various subjects, giving a slightly more economic aspect to South African News. The only drawback for EEF as far as their twitter page, is that they are very passionate about the things they discuss. And with that passion sometimes comes quite a bit of bias.

 

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  1. Title: South African Exposed

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Facebook

 

Website Link:  https://www.facebook.com/pg/southafricexposd/videos/?ref=page_internal

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

South Africa Exposed: A well-known English based South African Facebook page that shares a little bit of everything with its fan base. It isn’t just focused on policies, law makers, and things of that nature. Their goal is to focus on and expose everything relative to South Africa, whether it be good, bad, or ugly. This source is useful for young adults and adult. One of the downfalls to this social media page is that it isn’t necessarily suitable to all because they don’t sensor out some things. They hold true to their promise of providing everything about South Africa as well as other nations. It’s an important source because it gives various perspectives without the need for bias.

 

 

 

Audio / video sources (3)

 

  1. Title: SABC – South African BroadCasting

 

Author / Organization: SABC – Group of dedicated individuals

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link:  http://www.sabc.co.za/sabc/

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

SABC: This a South African broadcasting website that sets to inspire and change enriching, credible, relevant and compelling content that is accessible by all. SABC’s number one focus is to sound and television broadcasting to the Republic of South African and also beyond their borders. Their mission statement is “[t]o educate, inform and entertain all audiences accessing SABC services.” They’re not just focused on providing entertainment, they seek to educate not only their people but also those who dedicate the time to really listen Valuing conversations and partnerships, the restoration of human dignity, and the building of a common future. There weren’t any particular weaknesses that stood out to me.

 

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  1. Title: Streema

 

Author / Organization: eNCA

 

Format/Type of source: Online

Website Link:  http://externals.streema.com/tv/play/8395/?language=en

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

Streema: This South African website is one that offers quite a bit of information as far as entertainment. It is free online website that features online radio tuner discovery for multiple stations and countries as well as providing access to different television stations. One of the television channels I have decided to focus on is eNCA, E-News Channel Africa. eNCA happens to be one of the most watched and trusted television stations in South Africa. After its launch on the 1st of July in 2008, eNCA set out to become the country’s first 24-hour television news service. It offers its viewers live reports, breaking new, sport, weather, entertainment, and business updates. This television network is staffed by a dedicated team of developers and editorial personnel who make it possible for upward of 1.5 million monthly users to have an immersive experience.

 

 

 

  1. ­­­Title: All Africa

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link: http://allafrica.com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu/list/resource/main/main/doc/all.html

Frequency of update: At least a post a day

Overview

All Africa: This audio and video media outlet is a voice of, by and about Africa – aggregating, producing and distributing news and information from over 140 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. Their multi-channel platform is the only independent, comprehensive pan-African news source, with unrivaled reach and reputation. All Africa operates from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Monrovia, Nairobi and Washington DC and publishes around 800 reports a day from more than 140 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. Most of the stories found on the website is from news agencies, newspapers, and publications all over Africa. One of the biggest strengths of AllAfrica is their reflection of diversity in reporting, analysis and commentary. The only downside to accessing this AllAfrica is that it has to be done through the OSU library which requires student login information.

 

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Data sources (2)

 

  1. Title: South African Data Portal

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link:  //southafrica.opendataforafrica.org/

Frequency of update: Not very frequent, once every couple of years

Overview

South Africa Data Portal: This website is one that is easy to navigate and provides very clear yet detailed data on South Africa. It features the different population sizes of each state and unemployment rates, GDP at market prices, and various demographic maps and charts.With this website, you are given the chance of seeing things from a numbers point of view almost. It gives just the basics and the fundamentals, nothing more and nothing less. It’s a site that does exactly what it’s set out to do, which is to simply provide data. One of its biggest disadvantages, however, is how infrequently it’s updated.

 

  1. Title: STATS SA – Statistics South Africa

 

Author / Organization: Not Specified

 

Format/Type of source: Online

 

Website Link:  http://www.statssa.gov.za/

Frequency of update: At least yearly

Overview

The vision and mission statement for STATS SA is very straightforward and to the point. Their vision is to deliver South Africa as the home they know and understand with a mission to lead and partner in statistical systems for evidence-based decisions. The webpage is very clean and uncluttered, giving browsing options such as publications, censuses, suppliers, etc. Posting statistics from economic gains to recent effects mining has had on South Africa over the past couple years. The only weakness and strength pertaining to this website is how thorough the information is. It’s definitely a curse and a blessing because you need to be familiar with different visualizations of data to be able to understand it. On the other hand, it provides great exposure to new forms of visualization with statistics pertaining to South Africa. In addition, their about me section doesn’t per say help you get a clear picture of who is putting together this date.

South Africa – Global News Blog Post (6)

Jacob Zuma Appears in Court for South Africa Corruption Trial

This article written by Norimitsu Onishi pertains to the trial of former president Jacob Zuma. Mr. Zuma was stripped of his presidency back in February of this year after the victory of his opponent Cyril Ramaphosa. The announcement pertaining to the corruption that charges surfaced in March relating to the reinstatement of an arms deal that was dropped almost a decade ago. As a defendant, Mr. Zuma’s lawyers are pushing for postponement to prepare for and challenge the case, but doing so could postpone the opening trial indefinitely.
To appeal to his supporters and others doubting him, Mr. Zuma addressed the court speaking only in the Zulu language, focusing on the struggle of black people worldwide and maintaining his composure as a leader. He also highlighted how he himself, as a black male, as been a walking target because he championed “their” economic empowerment. The truth of the matter is, Mr. Zuma faced 16 charges in the arms case, including corruption, fraud, racketeering and money laundering. His lawyers are used legal maneuvers and his status to avoid presidency in order to delay his trial as long as possible. With the main opposition challenge of the decision to drop all charges against Mr. Zuma deemed irrational by the High court, it leaves one to wonder where the lines are drawn when it pertains to politic, corruption and ethics of political leaders.
Citation:
           Onishi, Norimitsu. “Jacob Zuma Appears in Court for South Africa Corruption Trial.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Apr. 2018,          www.nytimes.com/2018/04/06/world/africa/jacob-zuma-south-africa-corruption.html.

South Africa – Global News Post #5

Ramaphosa – love him but watch him

Cyril Ramaphosa is the president of South Africa

This article pertains to current president Cyril Ramaphosa, who was appointed upon the removal of former president Jacob Zuma. It urges the supporters of president Ramaphosa to be cautious of this man as opposed to fawning over him. Although their likeness for him is understandable, some people are holding reservations because of the fear that many of the issues that need to be taken care of are being place on the back burner by the Ramaphosa administration and left unattended. Thus, this group of individuals is urging the population, especially fans of President Ramaphosa to remain vigilant at all times due to the presidents lack of political strength in comparison to the former president. In fact, there are speculations of the removal of President Ramaphosa’s removal in the year 2019 because certain people in power may lose their positions of power if the Ramaphosa administration is actually able to pull through for their supporters.

In all, this article is quite enjoyable but biased in a way. It is geared towards an audience with an active background on the ongoing political issues and parties in South Africa. Although the author of this article, Solly Moeng, tries to show both sides of the argument, they lean more towards the skepticism of President Ramaphosa by voicing their opinions in first person.

 

https://www.fin24.com/Opinion/ramaphosa-love-him-but-watch-him-20180320

South Africa – Global News Post

EFF wants to remove Trollip because he’s white

 

FILE PICTURE: Speaker Jonathan Lawack places the mayoral chain around Athol Trollip’s neck to symbolise his election as mayor.

According to this article written on March 4th, 2018 by Nico Gous, it appears the head of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema, is pushing for the removal of Athol Trollip as mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro effective April 6th of this year because he is white. At one of Malena’s speaking events in Johannesburg, he mentioned that they do not care for white feelings. He further goes on to justify his statement by saying that it is not that they, referring to himself and his following, hate white people, they just love black people.

This situation created an issue that was in turn debated in the National Assembly in Parliament after the ANC decided to expropriate land without compensation at their 54th Congress in December. Due to the DA’s refusal to back the motion of the EEF to amend section 25 of the constitution, which deals with property, Malema declared that the DA was being a typical bully to the EFF. Malema does not want any political party to claim ownership of the metros where the DA and the EFF are in coalition due to the fact that neither party had won with the majority in these metros.

 

Citation:

https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-03-04-eff-wants-to-remove-trollip-because-hes-white/

South Africa – Global News Post #3

Pretoria school threatens to remove children of ‘foreign parents’

School desk

This article speaks on the situation of the children of persons considered “foreign” not being allowed onto school property without proper and legal documentation of their residency in the country. A letter sent to parents from Sunnyside Primary School in Pretoria a year after Eastleigh Primary in Edenvale sent theirs, was asking for all foreign parents to submit evidence of their residency. “We‚ therefore‚ urge you to ensure that you submit those documents on or before 21 February 2018‚ after which‚ if no submissions are made‚ the school will alert both the department of home affairs and the South African Police Service of an illegal immigrant harbored‚ with the possibility of immediate deportation‚” the letter reads.

The principles of the schools sending out these letters were advised that they’d be held liable for harboring any illegal immigrants at their schools. Daniel Linde, and Equal Education’s advocate, is calling the removal of learners from their designated educational institutions, regardless of their immigration status, unconstitutional. A letter was then sent to the school by Equal Education resulting in the retraction of the letters sent out by the school. Additionally, a letter was sent to the department of home affairs, as well as the department of education regarding the matter but received no response despite their follow-up with the letters. These letters sent to “all foreign parents” as well as the situation itself has sparked a lot of controversy and  fury as it circulated social media.

 

 

Citation:

“Pretoria school threatens to remove children of ‘foreign parents’.” SowetanLIVE, 23 Feb. 2018, www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-02-23-pretoria-school-threatens-to-remove-children-of-foreign-parents/.

South Africa: Global News Post #2

Gauteng urged to stop sending water to the Cape

Gauteng residents were urged on Thursday not to jeopardise their own water supply by sending truck-loads of donated water to the drought-stricken Western Cape.

This article is one written by Petru Saal, essentially a warning from the Gauteng city officials urging residents in Gauteng to stop allocating their water resources to Cape Town. The city of Gauteng is being cautioned by the department of water and sanitation not to jeopardize their water supply by donating truckloads of water to Cape because although the current drought situation in Cape Town is dire, it is not yet a crisis. This drought could very much affect the rest of South Africa as they are not in the clear yet, therefore the conservation of water resources of every city is extremely important. There are consequences to not heeding these warnings from city officials.

A double tanker-truck was impounded for drawing water at a municipal point in Muldersdrift near Johannesburg, which the driver was planning to allocate to West Cape Town. Mogale City mayor Naga Lipudi said, “[t]his is a gross violation of the rights of the citizens of Mogale City. We are sympathetic to the plight of the people of the Western Cape‚ especially the poor of that province who are living under severe strain socially and economically. We would certainly want to come to their rescue following a properly organized national water effort that rations what aid municipalities can or should give to the citizens of the Western Cape.” There is now an open theft case against the tanker. The article is targeted towards the general public of South Africa, but more specifically the population of Gauteng. Petru Saal simply conveys the message the city officials want all South Africans to heed until the scare of the drought is over. There wasn’t much imagery used in this article since it’s very straightforward and self-explanatory.

 

Citation:

Saal, Petru. “Gauteng urged to stop sending water to the Cape.” SowetanLIVE, SowetanLIVE, 1 Feb. 2018, www.sowetanlive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-02-01-gauteng-urged-to-stop-sending-water-to-the-cape/.

Global News Post #1 – South Africa

Not Without a Fight: The Battle for Affordable Housing in Cape Town

 

This article focuses on the cost of affordability of housing in mainly Cape Town but also across South Africa. The harsh contrasts between the shacks and the mansions are ones that many don’t seem to pay attention to, especially the tourist that go to South Africa for its wineries, beaches, mountains, etc. This African Utopia, however, costs the average Capetownian three times the average salary simply to buy a home in the city.

With the market prices constantly rising, many middle-class residents, including some of  Nyasha Kadandara’s friends, struggle to survive, with some even finding themselves homeless. Their “Reclaim the City,” movement is a political one dedicated to fighting for affordable housing, turning an abandoned wing of Woodstock Hospital into a habitable space for families and individuals. Explaining how these individuals, gathered in the Cissie Gool House, Cape Town’s “Joan of Arc,” as part of this political movement, could fight for themselves and against the injustices of the housing system.

Laundry Day – Shaneekah Abdullah washes he children’s clothes in one of the washrooms in Cissie Gool House. PHOTO: Nyasha Kadandara. Used with permission.

 

This article is targeted not only towards an educated and interested audience, but also towards individuals that simply may not understand or acknowledge the existence of this issue. The author uses multiple modes of persuasion to appeal to its audience. From sharing viewpoints from individuals like Shaneeka Abdullah, who was evicted from her previous apartment by her landlady and stranded in her car with her family for three nights before discovering “Reclaim the City.” To individuals like Jennifer Williams, a 58-year-old woman, who has been waiting for a house for over 30 years and has been lost and seemingly forgotten in the national housing database.

The use of media/imagery as an appeal to pathos, all while using the different testimonials/stories to appeal to the ethos and logos of the reader, makes the article very effective and informative. However, although effective, this article only shares the struggles or stories of individuals negatively affected by the housing system in South Africa and not of the few who may be thriving in it, which could be considered a one-sided story.

 

Citation:

Kadandara, Nyasha. “Not Without a Fight: The Battle for Affordable Housing in Cape Town · Global Voices.” Global Voices, 16 Oct. 2017, globalvoices.org/2017/10/15/not-without-a-fight-the-struggle-for-affordable-housing-in-cape-town/.