Ideology/Culture/Hegemony  and  Mass  Media  in
South Africa  : A  Literature  Survey

Keyan  G Tomaselli  and  Ruth  Tomaselli

In

The  South  African  press  has  been  the  subject  of  numerous  books  and  articles
in  recent  years,  couched  within  a wide  range  of  paradigms  (1). 
contrast,  studies  of  broadcasting  are  less  plentiful  and  much  more  frag-
mented  (2).  Journalism  has  been  taught  at  the  University  of  South  Africa
and  four  Afrikaans  language  universities,  the  f i r st  of  which  launched  a
course  in  1960,  and  at  only  one  English  language  university  since  1970.
Until  recently,  l i t t le  progress  has  been  made  academically  because  most  com-
mentaries  identified  their  academic  principles  with  the  dominant  Nationalist
interests  of  the  time.  Other  than  the  published  work  of  Elaine  Potter  (3),
Les  Switzer  (4)  and  Belinda  Bozzoli  (5),  remaining  studies,  which  form  the
bulk  of  the  work  done,  evidence  l i t t le  or  no  understanding  of  the  complexi-
ties  of  historical,  social,  economic  or  political  relationships  which  have
given  rise  to  the  existing  structure  of  the  South  African  press  and
broadcasting  media.

The  increasing  interest  shown  by  radical  social  scientists  in  the  role  of
the  media  and  i ts  relationship  to  class  formation  and  maintenance  in  South
Africa  has  been  identified  in  a new  generation  of  radical  journals  -
Critical  Arts,  Africa  Perspective,  Perspectives 
Progress.  Most  of  this  work  has  been  firmly  located  within  the  Althusserian
problematic,  the  1 ijni_ta.tiflns_of  which  have  become  increasingly  "evident  to
those  contributing  to  the  debate.  The  present  authors  are  seeking  to  broaden
this  approach  by  drawing  on  theoretical  work  emanating  from  sources  which
have  hitherto  been  underutilized  by  South  African  analysis  of  the  media.
More  specifically,  the  realization  that  "neiihac-aultwalism 
"£fV£o^(6)  has  led  to  the  need  to  rethirifc  the  notion  of  ideology,  drawing
Ort  uWeFcurrent  materialist  approaches  in  the  process.

in  Education  and  Work in

nor 

structuralism

It  would  seem  that;thre^major  strands  need  to  be  taken  account  of:
\\J  Theories  of  ideology,  science  and  epistomology  associated  with  French
- 

striicturaTTsf"MrxTsiir*as  exempTfTTeif-fiy-toirrrTUthusser,  Ettiene  Bali bar
and  Nicos  Poulantzas;

'fey  Allied  tendencies  in  the  analysis  of  socialist-humanist  cuituraLstudias,

as  evidenced  in  the  work  stimulated  by  Raymond  Williams,  Edward
Thompson  and  others;  and

(3y  The  rediscovery,  among Anglo  Saxon  academics,  of  the  work  of  second

generation  Marxist  theorists,  notably  Antonio  Grarosci  who  provides
salient  insights  into  the  ideological/cultural  quesTton.

The  programme  of  the  Centre  for  Cultural  Studies  of  the  University  of
Birmingham,  a  pioneering  force  in  media  studies,  has  drawn  on  a ll  three  of

the above elements.  Different theories have been assigned  varying degrees
of importance within the individual  projects constituting this programme.
While their more open ended  formulations have come to grips with previously
neglected  areas, their solutions apply mainly to the narrow area of concern
which demarcates the state/media  inter-relationship.  Our own approach,
while being  influenced  by the Birmingham work, tends to place greater em-
phasis on both the economic and  ideological  aspects of the media than are
reflected in the Centre's publications.
This survey aims:
1.  To examine and offer tentative evaluations of the ideology/hegemony/

culture debates;

2.  In the light of these debates, to attempt to show how the reporter

obscures actual  conditions of existence and ignores"s6cial"processes,
by drawing on theories of consensual bias and* gatekeeping;  and

3.  To situate the journalist in South Africa within the relevant strands

of the current ideological/cultural/hegemonic matrix.

IDEOLOGY/CULTURE/HEGEMONY

Any discussion of the mass media would have to be rooted within the ideolo-
gical/cultural/hegemonic matrix, as well  as paying careful  attention to the
way in which the economic organization of the media affect their work.  The
literature is replete with examples of studies which, while providing em-
pirical  evidence, rarely couch an interpretation of this detail within a
theoretical  or contextual  framework located within the fabric of society.
As a consequence, only a minority of these studies are able to link their
data with ongoing social, political  and economic processes occurring within
the social  formation as a whole.  Neither are they able to explain how the
media actively contribute to the creatijp^...ox,«yj3j£n£nce of a particular
class structure. 
Structuralism and Ideology  *' - ' ^ • ' u ^ £ t O " * V- 

''~~~sCs 

* 

**\

\ i/

Most of the work on ideology in the French structuralist school was under-

«|  taken by Louis Althusser, who defines ideology as:

< 
'. 
1 

the 'lived' relation between men and their world  ...  In ideology
men do indeed express, not the relation between themselves and
their conditions of existence, but the way they live the relation
between them and their conditions of existence  (7).

The central  question for Althusser's investigation is how class societies
reproduce themselves.  Although it is clear that the class structure is
secured primarily through the relations of production within the places of
employment, Althusser tends to emphasise the ideological  and political con-
ditions of reproduction.  At all three levels within the social formation (the
ideological, political  and economic), the state intervenes in an attempt to
secure the conditions for the working  class to submit to the requirements
of capital.  Apart from the traditionally theorised  Repressive State
Apparatuses  (RSA's), for instance, the police, the military and the civil
service, Althusser postulates additional  state mechanisms - the Ideological
State Apparatuses  (ISA's), for example, the church, the institution of the
family, schools, media and the like.

It is immaterial whether-.these ISA-'s juridically belong to the $tate or to
private enterprise, since  "What matters is how they function.  'Private'

•

•

"

"— 

- 

.

/• 

.•

institutions  can  perfectly  well  'function'  as  ideological 
Though  fdeSlogy  these  apparatuses  function  to  reproduce  submission  to
8 
the  rules  of  the  established  order,  to  give  currency  to  the  world  vew  of  the
ruling  classes  and  to  make  that  dominant  Geology  the  common  sense  of  all
the  classes  within  the  social  formation.

state  apparatuses'"

In  the  f i r st  of  these,  he  postulates  that 

Ideology  can  only  exist  within  a  set  of  actual  practices

In  his  second  thesis,  he  states  that  ideology  has  a  material. 

Expanding  the  concept  of  'functioning  by  ideology',  Althusser  puts  foreward
three  theses  on  ideology. 
deo-
logy  represents  the  imaginary  relationship  of  individuals  to  their  real
conditions  of  ex 1 s t a i e ^ 9 j H m s n n i a g 1 n a r y . re  ationship  supercedes  the
MarxilFFoTnorrof  "false  consciousness": 
it  is  'lived  .and  therefore,  in
as  far  as  the  individual  subject  experiences  i t,  a  rea  and  objective  re-
lationship. 
existence"  (10). 
that  i s,  within  a  state  apparatus. 
It  is  in  this  sense  that  each  ISA  is  the
realization  of  an  ideology,  and  that  the  unity  of  the  various  ISA's  with  one
another  is  ensured  by  their  mutual  subjection  to  the  same  dominant  ideology.
It  follows  that  each  individual,  through  his  'lived  relations 
represented
in  his  ideology,  takes  part  in  the  practices  and  r i t u a ls  which  constitute  a
concrete  ideological  apparatus,  thus  recognizing  himself  as  a  subject  of  that
ideological  apparatus  -  be  it  a  religious  organization,  a  p o l i t i c al  party,
or  the  reader  of  a  particular  newspaper.  This  introduces  the  central  con-
cept  in  the  functioning  of  ideology: 
the  subject.  Thus,  Althusser  s  third
thesis  is  that  "ideology  interpellates  (p_r  constitutes)  individuals  as  sub- 
InterpeTOtfOTrts-ttre-enTef  mechanism  through  which  ideology
jects"  (11). 
is  propogated.  Every  concrete  ideological  practice  'hails 
,  that  i s,  iden-
t i f i es  individuals  as  particular  subjects.  The  practice  of  Nationalism,  for
instance,  constitutes  individuals  as  'good  citizens'.  The  individuals  who
implicitly  recognise  themselves  in  this  role,  act  out  the  ideological
practices  associated  with  i t.

•

.

This  recognition  of  what  appears  to  be  a  natural  fact,  is  in  r e a l i ty  an
ideological  recognition  of  a  seemingly  self-evident  situation  imposed  by
ideology.  Thus,  paradoxically,  when  a  subject  believes  him, or  herself  to
be  free  of  the  determinations  of  ideology  and  to  be  motivated  only  by  what
he or  she  sees  as  'cotsmon-seftse1-,-  ft  is  precisely-at  that  time  that  he/she  j
is  working  by  and.through  ideology.

In  summary,  the  structuralists  view  ideology  as:

. ..  an  objective  structure  of  the  social  formation  which  is  imposed
u£qnihem-by --a.jBedi3nism.-they-do-rrot  understand,  a  mechanism  which
determines  that  structure  as  the  objective  mode  of  appearance  of
reality  (12).

Ideology  can  only  be  manifested  in  material  apparatuses  and  practices,  and
these  apparatuses  are  determined  and developed  by  the  ruling  class  through
the  intervention  o£_ihe  state,  and  the  dominant  ideology.

Critique  of  Althusser 

/

While "not  denying  the  importance  of  Althusser's  contribution  to  our  under-
standing  of  ideology,  numerous  deficiencies  have  been  identified  by  various
commentators,  of  which  three  are  pertinent  to  our  analysis:

; The  f i r st  d i f f i c u l ty  lies  in  the  application  of  his  categories  to  concrete
situations  because  of  his  insistence  on  the  pre-eaianance  of  thej^cy  and  the
lack  of  historical  method  in  his  work.  Althuss'erianism fendees  the
'appropriation  of  the  real  in  thought'  particularly  d i f f i c u lt  by  stressing

only the rationalist side of historical  materialism.  Such a tendency to-
wards over-abstraction tends to confer an idealistic view of ideology which
makes it almost impossible to apply to any concrete practice, except through
his notions of the  ISA's which are themselves inadequate.

One such anomaly  pertains to whether the ISA should be considered as
"belong(ing) to the system of the state" (13), or be conceptualised  separately.
As previously mentioned, proponents of the former thesis argue that it is
immaterial  whether the ISA's "...  are public or private - the distinction
having a purely juridical... character, which  changes nothing  fundamental"
(14).  This argument tends to obscyrgjthe. differences  between the ideological
apparatuses of advanced  capitalist societies and tfiose of more monolithic
political  systems which extend monopolistic  control  over ideological  insti-
tutions.  In the former, as Ralph Miliband  has argued, ideological  apparatu-
ses are more likely to  "conceal  the degree to which they belong to the
system of power of capitalist society" (15).  The concealment makes these
apparatuses more effective  in conveying  the ideologies of  'free enterprise',
'personal  choice' and  'non-state intervention', concepts which are funda-
mental  to the reproduction of capitalist relations of production by collapsing
the distinction between the state and the private/public apparatuses.

A  second defect concerns the regression  into functipnalisjn.  For Althusser,
ideology seems to subsume contradictions "by aTI too neatly preparing in-
dividuals  to take up their places  in the hierarchical  division of labour:

What is correctly understood  as a condition or a contingency
becomes, in the course of the argument, a continuously a-
chieved outcome.  Dominant ideology  ... works with all  the
certainty  usually ascribed to natural  or biological  processes
(16).

Thirdly, a contradictory tendency leads him to produce an account of the prod-
uction of the relations of production  in which the level of the economic js
entireJ-y-s-ub-Hina-ted to -the ideological.  Ideology thus~ass.wes"thr"niaritle of
autonomy.  Despite his avowed historical  materialist assumptions, Althusser
ne"gTe"cts the force of economic relations which provide the main impulse of
the relations of production.

The imperfections discussed  under the latter two points tend to obscure the
importance of conflict, resistence and struggle in any social  formation. 
,
Although Althusser acknowledges many of these shortcomings  in his Essay on  \
Self Criticism,  it is difficult to see how his theory can be salvaged with-  J
out a radical  reformulation of his basic propositions  (17). 

/

Theories of Culture

'Cultural  Studies', as enunciated  in Britain, has  drawn on the classical
anthropoiogical  definition of  'culture' and investedthe term with a much
broader range of concerns which have delved beyond the study of culture
through texts alone.  The term 'culture' was assigned  an historical  dimen-
sion and  its previously accepted  connotation  of universalvEy'was  questioned
by the concepts of social  formation, cultural  power, domination, resistance
and struggle.  No longer was culture confined  to the mainstream of output
from literary and other humanities, but were seen as expressions of "a
constituitive_sociaj_j3rgce.ss, creating  specific and different ways of life"
(13)'. 

~"

Two seminal  writers of this tradition are Raymond Wi11 Jams and  Edward

Both  consistently  argue
:r1ng  alternative  tormulat

e  base/superstructure-distinct-
i 

F^Tieir  unification.

ii

i

f

Williams  refuses  to  infer  any  rigorous  or  systematic  separation  between
cuiture""aT18"*0^Her*"BTCC55^?^«  Wti  VHs* f s*TS~*6n the  importance  of  totariK^ries
In  place  of  what  he  se/esu1Ss"T[h
wflich  lie'behind  these  differentiations. 
essentially  artificial  distinction,  he  postulates  the  notion  of  'experience1,
which  it  seems,  embraces  a universe  of  processes.  These,  he  claims,  are
necessarily  obscured  by  analytical  categories  (19).

The main weakeness  of  Williams'  formulation  is  the  lack  of  a  concrete
specificity  in  his  notion  of  culture.  Cultural  studteTT£TKt~tS~"cover  a wide
afllBit  flf  6161116111^ UT  UluagtrtTorganization,  work  and  leisure,  a ll  presented
in  an extremely  heterogeneous  and descriptive  way.  This  makes  it  impossible
to  undertake  any  coherent  analysis  of  the  relationships  between  culture  and
other  practices,  and  forces  Williams  to  insist  on  their  undifferentiated
totality.  Host  seriously,  this  leads  to  a  persistent  neglect  of  the-jaamopic
deterainKtigns.

EP-IhaiUgotuawJire^f^theTTjjjiajyQ 
posed  by  Williams'  theory,  and.of.-the
necessity "to  develop  a" diaTectical  unity  between  economics  and  culture,  re-
placed  Wi'IhtfflS''^arTTer  defTriTOohwith  a more  rigorously  materialist  formu-
lation: 
"the  study  of  relationships  in  a whole  way  of  conflict".  Thompson's
significance  for  us  lies  in  his  assertion  of  the  centrality  of  'values',  a
category  which  had been  entirely  neglected,  both  by  the  structuralists  and
previous  economist!cally  inclined  Marxist  historians. 
si^esses  the  categories  of  class,  class  struggle  and  class-as-relatiqnship,
:once"pt»-
CO!
^y 

Ural  W  amranaTyslsrilf-the  ways  in  which  ideology  works
These  categories  are,  however,  not  seen  in  teiws_pf

In  his  work,  he

"ftbft

g

their  economic  determinations,  but  rather  ™  terras  o
idiJ3gtf=S5E3 

(20). 

~

•f*TO

experiences  of  the

g 

fect  of  the  econo«ic/socia1  reJ*ti<ms  of  production.  This  has
Itul  lu  d illjTibjon  of  tris  maleriattst  accounts,  making  them  (at  one  level)  in-
distingu1shaBTB"from  the  forms  of  idealism  he  so  strongly  critiqued.  Further-
more,  by  ijnnrina  thp  »tonow|c  determinations  of  class,  and  relying  instead
on_accojffits.."froai  the  bottpoi*,  Ihompson-'^-wHMngs,  anfl  those  of  socfaTfst-
humanist  historians  in  his  tradition,  are  only  able  to  take  account  of  class
as  "class  consciousness"  and  "class  organization".  Thus,  periods  of  wide-~]
/
spread  political  social/social  consensus,  in  which  the  ideological  process 
of  containment  works roost effectively,  pose  particular  problems  for  this 
/
kind  of  analysis.  Put  differently,  in  periods  o f ' p o l i t i c al  hegemony when
class  conflict  is  sublimated,  reliance  on  participant  accounts  limits  the
dynamic  of  historical  materialist  analysis.

The  introduction  of  the  notion  of  hegemony  demands  a  brief  reference  to  the
seminal  work  of  Antonio  Gramsci,  and-mwe-particularly,  his  notion  of  the
organic  intellectual.  Gramsci  uses  three  key  terms  in  his  cultural /ideolo-
gical  examination.

The f i r st  of  these  is  'common  sense1,  by  which  he means  "the  uncritical  and
largely  unconscious  way of  perceiving  and  understanding  the  world  that  has
become  "coNton'  in  any  given  epoch"  (21).

The second is  'philosophy/ideology'.  Gramsci  distinguishes  between  "histori-
cally  organic  ideologies  which  are  necessary  to  a  given  structure  and
ideologies  that  are  arbitrary,  rationalistic  or  'willed'  .  The  f i r st  of

these  has the ability to "'organize' human masses and create the terrain on
which men move, acquire consciousness of their position, struggle, etc "
while the second  "only creates individual  'movements', polemics and so on"
(22).  Thus,  'ideology' can be thought of as a coherent set of ideas which
have a limited  ability to transform  the ways in which men live out their
1 common  sense'.

The third term  is 'hegemony' which refers to a situation in which a ruling
class, or more precisely, an alliance of fractions of the ruling classes, is
able not only to coerce subordinate  classes to conform to their interests,
but to exert  "total  authority" over the classes.  The composition of hegemony
is determined  by the interests of the various class fractions represented 1n
the "hegemonic bloc".  The power it exerts over subservient classes cannot
rest solely on force and coercion - it needs to be attained  "...  without
force predominating  excessively over consent" (23).  The granting of
legitimacy to the dominant classes must appear not only spontaneous but also
natural  and  inevitable.

Each class develops, as part of its ofcn reproduction, a "strata of intellec-
tuals  ...  which give it homogeneity and an awareness of its own function,
not only  in the economic, but also in the social  and the political fields"
(24).  The function of these intellectuals, organically linked to their
class of origin, is to direct the ideas and inspirations of the class to
which they belong.  The capitalist entrepeneur, for instance, creates "along-
side himself" deputies whose function  it is to discover and articulate the
needs of the capitalist class and the  translate these into more universali-
sed symbolic  and political  imperatives.  The working class too, is capable
of developing organic intellectuals  from within their own ranks who through
the organization of work on the one hand, and a conscious political  process
on the other, are able to direct the working class away from their defensive
stance against incorporation towards a more active pursuit of a counter
ideology.  It is important to note, however, that Gramsci makes a distinc-
tion between  'organic intellectuals', defined in terms of their function in
articulating  class aspirations, and  'traditional- intellectuals', who derive
their position through their professional  and technical expertize.  Generally,
argues Gramsci, a member of a subordinate class who attains the status of a
traditional  intellectual  (for example, a lawyer or a journalist), ceases to
be organically  linked to his class of origin.

Organic intellectuals can only operate when there is a crisis In the hege-
monic control  of the subordinate classes.  This intellectual  creates a new
discursive site in which the possibilities of alternative social  relations
are identified.  He breaches the contradictions exposed by the hiatus and
articulates these before the hegemonic bloc is able to identify and close
the gap through  ideological or coersive means.

Ideology, Culture and Hegemony:  Towards a Resolution

A fundamental  problem of the structuralist theories of ideology is .that
they do not take account of change and resistance.  Because they are rooted
in a modes of production analysis in which the primary role of Ideology is
to foster the conditions of production and reproduction, the elements be-
longing to a particular ideological  instance in a concrete situation are
theoretically limited.  While abstractions of ideology on the theoretical
level  are invaluable, it is also necessary to be able to apply these analyses
empirically.  Despite the commanding position of the  'ruling ideas' in any
social  formation, a diversity of cultural  elements outside the mainstream
of the dominant  ideology do exist.  Thus, in order to be fully utilized,

any theory  of  ideology  must make allowances  for  resistance,  change  and
counter-ideologies. 
their  own.  By stressing  the  moment of  self-creation,  of  active  appropriation,
they  extend  our  notion  of  ideology  to  include  the  whole  spectrum  of  ideo-
logical/cultural  expression  in  a concrete  social  formation.

It  is  at  this  level  that  culturalist  theories  come  into

The concept  of  hegemony provides  a tools  with  which  to  theorize  the  inte-
gration  of  diverse  ideological/cultural  strains,  and to  see  the  results  of
breaks  and crises  within  the dominant  consenses  of  society.

Armed with  these  premises,  we will  now turn  our  attention  to  the  concreti-
zation  of  the  ideological/cultural/hegemonic  instances  as  they  affect,  and
are  exhibited  in,  the  South African  mass media.

Ideology  and the  South  African  Mass Media
Ideology  as we have seen  isJJJJJ  a system of  ideas  imposed  from  the  outside..
IrTtfte  most  exhaustive  utmji'neal  study  available  on the  sociology  of  news,

.Herbert  Gans claims  that  journalists  tend  to  identify  ideology  with  political
(allegiances  at  the  extreme ends  of  the  political  spectrum.  That  is,  as  "a
' deliberately  thought-out,  consistent,  integrated  and  inflexible  set  of
explicit  political  values,  which  is  determinant  on political  decisions"  (25).

,^' 
„.  s,t 

^ 

... 
o  "' 
\ 

lOur  use  if  the  term also  does  ngt  imply  the  idea  commonly  held  by  liberal
/opponents  of  apartheid,  that  is,  of  a system of  ideas  which  is  separate
{  froiftr  and superimposed  on,  the  economic  realities  of  Southern  Africa.

Liberal  ideology  argues,  for  example,  that  apartheid  is  an  irrational  and
illogical  system of  semi-truths  which  are  imposed on  South African  society
by politicians  (26). 
It  contends  further  that  this  system  is  economically
inefficient  as it  limits  the  freedom of  the  market  and  prevents  economic
growth  and expansion.  This  is  the  view  taken  by  the  English  and  captive
black  presses  in  South Africa,  as well  as  a number  of  social  historians
such  as Adam and Giliomee  who simplistically  argue  that  the  Afrikaans  press
emphasises  ethnic  interests  while  capitalist  growth  is  the  prime  concern  of
the  English  language press  (27).

Apartheid  ideology,  as  articulated  by Nationalist  politicians  and the
Afrikaans  press  does,  on  the  surface,  postulate  an ethnic  rationale.  This
ideology  argues  that  racial  separation  is  a natural,  moral  and  inevitable
condition  predicated  on cultural  and  racial  differences  and moral  attitudes.
Around this  rationale  has  evolved  the  entire  system of  apartheid  with  its
myriad  laws which ensure  racial  segregation.  Apartheid  theoreticians  them-
selves  saw separate  development  as  an ideology  which was  not  to  be imple-
mented literally,  but  rather  as the  basis  of  an organic  system which  could
adapt  to  varying  circumstances.  According  to  Rhoodie  and  Venter:

the  basic  elements  if  the  (apartheid)  idea  do not  have a
detailed  series  of  the  practical  equivalents  in  the  form
of  concrete  apartheid  measures  . ..  The  idea  represents  the
common synthesis  of  the  Afrikaner's  attitude  towards  colour.
This  synthesis  is  not  a rigid  structure  which  crystallised
at  a given  moment and  is  incapable  of  further  growth and
movement  (28).

These ideologues  thus  fulfilled  Gramsci's  criteria  of  the  organic  intellectual,
articulating  the  needs  of  the  classes  they  represent.  Their  position  is  para-
doxically  similar  to  that  taken  by Wolpe  (29)  and Johnstone  (30),  among
others,  who, arguing  from a  radical  standpoint,  postulate  that  apartheid  is

not a literal  ideology to be literally  implemented, but rather a pragmatic
system of organization  for the maintenance of white prosperity and supre-
macy.  Its key features are labour, educational and income  differentials
rather than job and movement colour bars.  Johnstone, for example, states,
"Capitalist  business, far from being  incompatible with the system, secures  y
high profits  through  very cheap, unorganised and rightless  labour" (31).

The resulting  legislation is seen to contribute to cultural, social and
racial  survival, not only of the dominant group of whites  who hold
political and economic  power, but also of the various other subordinate
and tribal  groups who reside in South Africa.  This ideology explains to
those who hold it that each group has a divine right to self-determination
and cultural  advancement in its 'historically assigned'  geographical  area.
The contradiction which becomes immediately apparent relates to the
question of which system of power assumes the right to determine which
geographic  area and what social  structure is morally and inevitably  suitable
to particular  subservient groups.  This contradiction is partly  resolved
through  the working of religion  (Calvanism) which  gives Afrikaners a God-
given task to civilize the savage, Christianize him and put him to produc-
tive work, while denying him the fruits of full  integration  into white
society  because of his racial and cultural  differences.  This contention
is amply  illustrated in PW Botha's response to the charge that the Dutch  |
Reformed  Church  (DRC) is un-Christian.  He bases his refutation on 'humane
Nationalist Party policies, for example, the provision of housing and
education for blacks.  Botha clearly sees the DRC and the National  Party
as being  inter-changeable, both in terms of policy and practices (32).

Those scholars who argue that apartheid is an attempt to return blacks to
tribalism  (33) have clearly misunderstood  the nature of the class system
which allowed  Verwoerd to repeatedly claim that the purpose of apartheid
was to encourage full  industrial  development in the homeland  areas but not
at the expense of "Bantu national  principles".  This ideology has, for a
long time been supported by the DRC which, through its literal and s e 1 eF~
tive reading of the Scriptures has convinced  itself and its adherents  tnat
apartheid  ideology is a rational, moral and Christian system that is tod
ordained  (34).  The nature of this belief has been the subject of a nuntDer
of different studies.  The best known of these is offered by T Dunbar
Moodie who explains Afrikanerdom  through the postulates of a Weberian
analysis which emphasises the notion of civil  religion where  "God  imbues
all  history with ultimate meaning" (35).

Writing  from the inside, De Klerk  claims that the Afrikaner does not per-
ceive of apartheid in terms of an oppressive tyranny but rather as the
result of a divine task  "to restructure the world  according to a vision
justice" by means of a "separate nation called by God to create a new
humanity" (36).

A different approach is adopted by Adam and Giliomee who espouse the
classical  sociological  identity of race with  class and reject the  a l^ ju"~
that what  appears to be a struggle on the surface  for ethnic  recognition
may, at a deeper  level of analysis, very well be a manifestation or.*
class struggle.  Developing Glazer and Moynihan's thesis  that  e t™ p ]f»
is "a new social  category as significant as that of social  class 1tse'- '
they agree that racial and ethnic  antagonism should be seen in terl?L?city
"group competition  for scarce resources"  (37).  The emphasis on ^n^""
misunderstands  the nature of the economic system.  The essence of .  Soutn
radical  position, in contrast, is that the existing social  system in
Africa serves the interests of all dominant groups and that racism ana

12 OPINION

Daily ^  Mail

WEDNESDAY
July  8.  1981

Persons not  politics
in the  next  pew

'  cal  BBC  programme,  "That
WM  The Week That Was", showed
a  black  woman  on  her  knees
scrubbing  a  church floor.  A Sooth
African  policeman  rushes  up,
looks, and says,  "All right then, so
long as you're  not praying."

Today  it  is  not  the  police  who
obstruct  mixed  worship.  Sadly,  it
is the churchgoers  themselves.

Yet  English-speaking  congrega-
tions  are  no  longer  unaccustomed
to  black  worshippers 
in  their
pews. Sometimes even the preach-
er  is  black.  It  is  all  the  more
deplorable,  therefore,  that  a  col-
oured domestic has  lost her mem-
bership  of  the  Gereformeerde
Church  in  Linden,  Johannesburg,
only a week  after  it  was  approved
by  the  church  board,  because  of
dissatisfaction  among  members of
the  congregation.

That  this  was  the  most  conve-
nient church for Miss Saartjie Pie-
terse  to  attend  was  not  in  doubt,
nor  was  her  devoutness  ques-
tioned.  The  difficulty  about  ac-
cepting  her  as  a  member  who
could  take  communion  was,  obvi-
ously,  her  race.  In  other  words,
members  of  the  church  viewed

her, not as a fellow-Christian or as
an  individual  woman,  but  as  a
political  problem  and  a  racial
threat.

It  is  an attitude  which  is  symp-
tomatic  of  the  failure,  not  only  of
the  Afrikaner  churches,  but  of  all
the  churches  in  Sooth  Africa,  to
treat  people  in  the  first  instance
as  people.

In a  recent  article  by  Professor
Johan Heyns in the Sunday Times,
the  Pretoria  University  theologian
saw  the  deepest  problem  in  South
African society,  and therefore  also
hi  its  politics,  as  the  problem  of
human  relations.  This  was  where
he  saw  the  churches,  instead  of
speaking  with  different  voices  on
every  subject  from  Bonus  Bonds
to  border  duty,  bringing  a  mes-
sage  to  all  South  Africa  about
people, and so calming  the  mutual
fears  of  black  and  white.

It is  an  interesting  challenge.
In  the  meantime,  the 

linden
•churchgoers  may  yet  have  an  op-
oortumty  to  see  themselves,  and
Saartjie  Pieterse,  as  people.  That
will  be  when,  if  the  young  woman
does  not  retreat  to  a  church  in  a
distant coloured area, they have  to
look  her  in  the  eye,  and  find  it
difficult.

ethnicity offer capital  two highly effective instruments for class rule.

Ideology:  The  Interpellation of 'Subjects'

For those who hold  them, liberal  and apartheid  ideologies are real and  therefore .ob-
jective in character.  They are the individual's wqridview  from"the inside
looking out:  they are the sum of people's feelings about themselves as they
go about their day-to-day behaviour.  Individuals live out this ideology in
their everyday lives:  it governs one's relations with other people and the
environment.  It governs family bahaviour, attitudes and the obligation to 
produce.  It prescribes who we shall meet under what circumstances and those
whom we may not meet, who we shall work with, play and pray with  (see box
opposite), and those with whom we may not.  The ways in which we act and
react to one another, the ways in which we work with one another, and the
kinds of work we do, are all governed  by ideology.

.

Ideology suggests social  roles, class attitudes and  religious beliefs.  The
practice of ideology may be argued to have succeeded when it has produced
a  'natural  attitude', when for example, the existing hegemonic relations
are not only accepted, but perceived  precisely as they way things ought to
be and will  be.  Paradoxically, therefore,._when the subject believes^him
or herself. tp.ke._free_of..iiie.det.e.rmi nations of ideology, and'to be motivated
only by what he or she sees as  'common sense', it is at thTs precise "time •
that the individual  is working through and by ideology.

Thus, journalists, by claiming that they are neutral or objective, are, in
fact, merely locating themselves within a particular ideology, one that is
not aware of itself or how it is deforming and shaping their view of the
world.  They are able to recognise ideology in others to the right and left
of themselves  in the political  spectrum only because it differs  from their
own.  English speaking journalists are, therefore, able to accuse their
Afrikaans  counterparts of being ideologues with axes to grind, and who are
thereby committed to choosing and reporting stories and sources which ad-
vance Nationalist ideological  interests.  That they themselves are uncon-
sciously doing the same thing is not immediately apparent to the English
speaking journal ists even when accused  in turn by Afrikaans journalists of
advancing their own liberal  ideology.

It will  be recalled that a central  function of any ideology is to define
the participant or individual  as subject.  This individual moves and lives
his life within a particular system of attitudes, behaviour, beliefs, values,
class and geographical  area.  He/she is unaware or intolerant  of opposing
ideologies or views of the world.  Through ideology the subject reinforces
his/her recognition of the  'natural' state, of what is moral  and immoral,
of what  is right and wrong.  Ideology becomes indiscernable from the way
this subject experiences life.  Thus perceptions of reality are ideologic-
ally determined.  An unstylized or raw reality becomes impossible to per-
ceive or comprehend.  Although this reality involves people, once it is
intercepted  by individuals  (sociologists, journalists etc) it becomes
stylized  and distorted through reporting it back to ourselves via the media
(press, radio, TV).

It is clear that the journalist's observal.lQ!l-Q.f—tue_«or1d on which.!}? must
report is mediated thrOUgtl taeolpjJT  The way things are seen,'what is con-
STderec! 1lmpoTta"ritrBeTieved* o"r not believed are connected to the modes ot
living and working.  All  these factors affect interpretations of reality
and constitute the imaginary relationships by which the external world is
perceived.  A single reality accessible to all does...n.Qi.e_xist.  Every

10

journalist  reports  on  r e a l i ty  from  the  confines  of  his/her  ideology.  Thus
Afrikaner  journalists  tend  to  see  reality  in  terms  of  Nationalism  and  the
Afrikaner  press  performing  an  ethnic  function,  whereas  English  language
reporters  paint  a  picture  of  the  world  derived  from  a  more  liberal  and
humanist  perspective  drawn  from  the  experience  of  British  and  American
libertarianism.

Ideology,  Consensual  Bias  and  Gatekeeping

.^Journalists  are  in  the  business  of  reporting  news  subject  to  what  Gans  calls

"coiwidexaiiaas",  factors  which  shape  the  availability  of  information  and

"  suitability  of  news  judgements.  He  comments  that  unlike  sociologists,  who
divide  up  external  reality  into  social  processes,  and  historians,  who  look
at  these  processes  over  longer  periods,  journalists  see  external  reality
as  a  set  of  disparate  and  independent  events,  each  of  which  is  new  and  can
therefore  be  reported  as  news.

A definition  of  news  is  almost  impossible  to  arrive  at  unless  one  traces
i ts  origin  to  the  process  of  commodity  exchange  whereby  particular  events
occurring  in  reality  are  reconceptualised  as  information  and  thought  to  be
of  interest  to  a  receiving  population.  That  i s,  news  has  to  be  understood
within  a  capitalist  framework  whereby  packages  of  ideologically 
information  can  be  sold  to  a  consumer  audience.  Certain  kinds  of  reality
are  singled  out,  selected  from  the  continually  ongoing  process  of  unstyli-
zed  reality,  highlighted  and  made  more  important  than  the  mundane  social
processes  within  which  they  repose  and which  the  journalist  does  not  always
decipher  or  which  he  may  consider  non-news.

treated

In  South  Africa

is  either  not

it

that  i s,  until  something  'happens1  (38).  Two  conclusions
f i r s t,  significant  phenomena  that  are  not  events,  such

McDonald  exposes  the  tendency  of  the  press  to  examine  external  reality  in
terms  of  disparate  events  in  his  accusation  that  the  most  pernicious  jour-
nalistic  convention  is  the  notion  that  a  thing  is  not  newsworthy  until 
becomes  an  event; 
follow  from  this: 
as  situations,  trends  and  conditions  go  largely  unreported. 
for  example,  the  continuous  resettlement  of  blacks  into  shantycamps  in  the
homeland  regions  are  seldom  reported  on because  they  have  become  'conditions'.
Second,  often  the  context  which  makes  an  event  meaningful 
reported  or  is  reported  inadequately.  One  striking  example  of  this  is  the
way  the  English  press  reported  PW Botha's  liberalization  policies 
following
the  Carleton  Centre  conference  held  with  businessmen  in  November  1979.
Against  a background  of  apparent  large  scale  easing  of  racial  restrictions,
the  state's  committment to  free  enterprise  and  capitalist  growth  amongst
other  things,  the  English  press  communicated  an  i n a b i l i ty  to  grasp  the
politico-economic  significance  of  these  changes. 
zing  them within  an  ideological  framework  propelled  by  adjustment  occurring
in  the  national  economy  as  i ts  basis  was  shifting  from  low  productivity,
labour  intensive  industries  to  capital  and  skills-based  productive  processes,
the  English  press  ignored  these  trends  and  declared  that'apartheid  was
dead'  and  that  a  new  'dispensation'  was  around  the  corner.  As  such,  they
located  themselves  firmly  within  the  overarching  hegemonic  bloc  and  became,
more  than  ever,  uncritical  agents  of  the  dominant  ideology.  The  English
press  did  subsequently  b i t t e r ly  acknowledge  after  the  1980  Parliamentary
session,  that  no  structural  changes  had  taken  place  in  the  p o l i t i c al  economy
or  were  likely  to.  A study  conducted  by  the  Black  Sash  covering  the  period
from  Mr  Vorster's  "Give  us  six  months"  plea  in  November  1974,  to  the  an-
nouncement  of  a general  election  in  January  1981  highlights  the  values
attributed  by  the  English  press  to  news.  The  Black  Sash  concludes:

Instead  of  contextuali-

11

This analysis shows up a disasterous pattern of hope and let
down brought about by a combination of press wishful  thinking
and the government's indecision, inherent reluctance, or cynicism
or fear of its right wing.  Sometimes the very article in which
change is announced carries its own negation  ...  the English
press, at times of announcement of change, lean(t) over back-
wards to give the government the benefit of the doubt and not
to emphasise negative comments even those made by government
officials.

These reports reflect a desperate desire  for change which is
hardly reprehensible.  But they seem to have had the unfortun-
ate result of creating the impression  ...  that significant
changes have occurred  (39). 
. .

" 

. 

Extracts from The Star's response to this study will  suffice to confirm
much of the above thesis which argues, amongst other things, that the press
has very little conception of the significance of what is going on around
it (40).  The Star acknowledges the problems of reporting process, arguing
that "What the state represents as progress has to be reported at face
value, at first sight at any rate".  This response verifies McDonald's
observations about the pernicious nature of  'the event'.  Of its identifi-
cation of what was news during this time, The Star  comments with hindsight:
"The English Press does hope for change;  but in any case it is its duty
to report what looks like change.  The promise makes news after all - on
the same principle as  'man bites dog' - after so many years of no change".

The star further defends the English press by claiming that it is unable
to delve instantly deeper than the event and that "In-depth analysis must
come later":

The legislation involved is often complex and  it is asking
too much of journalists that they should provide an in-depth
analysis and verdicts on the probity of official  announcements
in 30 minutes or 3 hours where legal investigations may take
30 days  (41).

Thus, The star absolves the English press of failure to report the news in
CPjitgxi , fetishising processes behind juridical and political catagories.

The fragmentation ancj reduction of information  is further reinforced by 
repo rttmfthe hewsunder discrete headings such as "Political  Commentaries ,
"Sports", "Business", "Crime" and  so on.  Very often news is further moulded
or given a news angle (i.e. an ideological  theme) to fit these categories
or to make it newsworthy.  An ability to understand social and economic
processes and how these are mediated  through ideology would have saved The
Star and the English press in general  the embarrassment of misinterpretat-
ion.

n

The star's concluding comment that "The South African Press will reflect
less of the current hope and letdown when the nation we mirror has a more
normal  society", again only serves to corroborate the general  theory'of
newsroom organization which suggests that reporters respond most strongly
to their immediate bureaucratic surroundings rather than to their social
environments outside the newsroom  (42).  This lived relationship within
the newsroom sees news as an objective in itself, a commodity which has
to meet production schedules even if nothing has  'happened1.  Breed iden-
tifies this process as social control  in the newsroom which, together with

12

other influences, ensures the journalist's conformity to company policy
since "Journalists are not rewarded for analysing the social  structure but
for getting news" (43).

Occasionally conditions are reported, but this does not invalidate the
theory since such coverage is usually the result of an event which  is
brought to light by a powerful news source, newsworthy person or an indivi-
dual Gans labels as a "Known".  An example of this is the sudden  interest
shown by the English press  in Indian flower sellers  in Johannesburg.
Since 1977, these street traders have been working  under  the constraints
of a pernicious tender system which gives them no security of tenure over
their flower stands and forces  them to pay a higher rental  per square metre
for unprotected  pavement stalls than they would  have to pay for an equiva-
lent sized area in aplush downtown  shopping complex  (44).  Because these
people were Indians and because their plight did not affect the majority of
readers, this situation was not regarded  as news.

In March  1980 a deputation of flower sellers'approached  some prominent City
Councilors.  Following  this meeting, the flower sellers' grievances were
brought up for discussion in the Council  Chambers.  The issue had  now be-
come newsworthy.  During the period from 3 to 23 April  no less than eleven
articles appeared  in The Star, while other reports were published  in the
Sunday Express (2), Rand Daily Mail (1).
Then, as suddenly as the interest had been aroused, so the issue was
dropped.  A journalist working on The Szar subsequently submitted  an article
on the background to the present crisis in which she interviewed  a number
of different flower sellers.  The article was not published since the
editor of The Star claimed that the issue had  already been sufficiently re-
ported and was no longer of general  interest, despite the fact that no
resolution had been found  to the problems existing  between the flower
sellers and the Johannesburg City Council.  The flower sellers' continued
battle with the Council  has attracted no subsequent media  coverage nor will
it until  some notable figure once again  intervenes in the dispute.

These two_examples show that news is not a natural  state of.being:  it has
no"Tn3ipeniJenT~exTst5Trce'outside the newsroom.  News is a consciously mani-
pulated  commodity which is packaged in such a way that it earns its producer
an income.  To be made acceptable to its consumers, news has to meet cer-
tain needs.  News is value laden in that  it assumes a consensus about
experience and the dominant ideology existing  in the wider society.

The Filtration of Information in the News Organization

I The methods by which news is processed  through the news organization  has

been the subject of a large number of studies.  The filtration of infor-
mation is generally known as 'gatekeeping' and  accounts for specific
points through which given news items may or may not be admitted.  Dimmick
offers a particuluarly comprehensive model  based  on uncertainty theory and
shows how the journalist's  initial  uncertainty of what comprises news in
his social environment is reduced through various uncertainty  reduction
modes.  This theory has generally been applied  to media which depend
largely on wire-service news rather than to those which search out their
own sources of news (45).  For the latter, Gans proposes the concept of
'considerations', mentioned earlier.

The problem of gatekeeping theory, apart from its specific application, is
that it suggests a digitally based mode of choice.  That is to say, an
editor who opens or closes the 'gate', choosing some news stories but

13

rejecting  others, may only make an 'either/or', 'yes/no' set of choices.
Such  a selection process emphasises discontinuity.  In terms of this theory,
the gatekeeper is thus faced with a number of separate  and fully fledged
versions of particular incidents drawn  from reality.  The theory does not
give any idea of the processes which shape those accounts of reality.

Nearly all the gatekeeper studies point out that this shaping  process is
primarily  a response to pressures  placed on the journalist by the bureau-
cratic  structure of the newsfirm and newsroom organization.  However, they
omit to account for the relationship between these newsfirms and the
hegomonic capital  interests which  use the media to articulate and dissemi-
nate  its ideology.  These studies  identify the contradictions  surrounding
the gatekeeper's decisions, attributing  choice to the resolution of manage-
ment and  professional  conflicts:  pressures of bureaucratic structure and
of getting the copy  into the newspaper.  Omnipresent deadlines  inevitably
force a choice, as do mechanical  pressures, budget constraints, personal expe-
rience, ethical  controls, company policy, and  so on  (46).

While Gans1  concept of 'considerations' is far more sophisticated, it still
does not go far enough.  All  studies of gatekeeping  refer to consensus with-
in the newsroom and how conformity is promoted through  socialization of the
staffer with regard to the norms of the job  (47).  ThiToTfefs  a-stSrting
point for a more comprehensive theory of gatekeeping.  If one were to evalu-
ate how consensus was arrived at and establish  its relationship with the
dominant  ideology which feeds it, definite connections could be made be-
tween what Dimmick calls the 'gate-keeping  institution' and the environ-
ment which  surrounds  it.  That environment  is defined  by Buckly as "...a
set or ensemble of more or less distinguishable  elements, states or events'
(48).  While suitable for for gatekeeping  theory which seeks to avoid
questions of ideology, this definition  is inadequate at the deeper level
which sees perceptions of the environment as dependent on ideology.

The more  integrated  notion of consensual  bias, instead of being  calculated
in terms of digital  communication, would rather explain the gatekeeping
process  in terms of analogical  communication.  That is, where existing
gatekeeping  theory refers to  'either/or' sets and operates  in terms of a
binary code, analogical  communication makes use of 'both/and' sets which
emphasise  continuity.  In such a schema, individual  components  (or events)
cannot be isolated without reference  to context which, in our terms, must
include  ideology.  In other words, the notion of consensual  bias accounts
for the entire process of news selection from  its sources and  collection,
through to the way in which it is structured by the journalist, re-written
by the sub-editors and arranged  hierarchically within the entire body of
other news  items  (newswhole) making up the newspaper or broadcast.  This
analogical  view of communication  accounts for the shaping of news in its
entirety rather than in terms of the immediate choice options described
in gatekeeper studies, and brings us closer to understanding  the relation-
ship between consensual  bias and the hegemonic  ideology.

GatekeeDJng  theory per se should be reserved  for those situations where 
jotrrriSTTfts conscjoj^sjxrefuse  to accept the consensual  bias of thejiews-
firm and who fifTToutside the hegemonic ideology operating  in the wider 
society.  Such individuals can be viewed as organic intellectuals  in as
far as they provide  (or attempt to provide) an alternative  view of the
1 accepted  reality1.

^

/

In such  instances, gatekeeping  policy is directly  influenced  by  ideology/
philosophy  in the strict sense in which Gramsci  uses the term and  is thus

14

perceived  by dissident  staffers.  The  resulting  digital 
' e i t h e r / o r'  choices
made  by  deliberately  appointed  gatekeepers  who  are  conscious  of  their  func-
tion,  are  a  response  and  a  defence  against  the  'both/and  '  demands  of  staffers

xwho  have  rejected  the  dominant  ideology  and  who  are  trying  to  apply  the
..'analogic  options  suggested  to  them  by  their  counter-ideology  which  is  often

informed  by  cultural  considerations.  Thus  only  when  consensual  bias  can
no  longer  be  expected  to  work,  do  the  gateReepeT*s~functions  become  overt.

The  next  section  w i ll  demonstrate  how  these  postulates  can  be  applied  to
the  broadcast  media  in  South  Africa.

Company  Policy,  Ideology  and Consensual  Bias

Through  the  lived  relationship  which  occurs  in  the  newsroom,  the  staffer
comes  quickly  to  learn  what  the  prevailing  ideology  is  and  how company
policy  supports  i t,  although  it  is  never  verbally  articulated.  Policy  is
learned through osmosis  (48),  but  often  reporters  complain  about  a  lack  of
policy  or  ill-defined  guidelines  (49).

"A  major  cause  of  dis-

One  local  instance  concerned  the  complaints  by  producers  of  the  English
Documentary  Department  of  SABC-TV.  Objecting  to  middle  and  upper  manage-
ment  interference  with  programmes  even  after  scripts  had  been  approved,  and
often  cutting  copies  as  well,  Kevin  Harris  writes: 
content  . ..  was  the  absence  of  clear  and  definite  SABC guidelines  regarding
editorial  policy  on  controversial  and  socially  relevant  issues"(50).  Harris
charged  that  the  SABC's  actions  "compromised  the  producer's  integrity  and
credibility".  Petitions  were  submitted  to  upper  management,  but  even
after  the  matter  had  been  minuted  at  every  staff  meeting  over  the  period
of  a year,  no  directives  were  forthcoming.  These  producers  refused  to
acknowledge  the  prevailing  consensual  bias  or  infer  policy  through  ideo-
logy  and  developed  instead  a  counter  ideology  to  that  evidenced  by  other
departments.  They  constantly  sought  ways  of  circumnavigating  the  internal
gatekeeping  processes  in  operation  at  the  SABC.  Since  the  normal  rewards
and  punishments  meeted  out  by  the  Corporation  (and  found  in  all  newsrooms)
proved  ineffectual,  it  was  necessary  for  the  SABC management  to  relocate
these  non-conformists  within  the  organization  to  non-controversial  depart-
ments  such  as  Sport,  Variety  and  Final  Control  where  it  would  be  more
d i f f i c u lt  to  transgress  policy  and  ideology  because  of  the  tighter  con-
trol  and  less  controversial  nature  of  the  material  dealt  with  in  these
departments.

)  Where  ethical  and  professional  reasons  were  given  by  a  transgressor 
I  disobeying  a direct  order,  the  ultimate  sanction,  depending  on  the  nature
'  of  the  deviant  action,  was  the  immediate  termination  of  his/her  employment.

for

A case  in  point  was  that  of  Kevin  Harris  after  he  refused  to  bow  to
pressure  from  upper  management  to  delete  certain  references  in  his  produc-
tion  on  Baragwaneth  Hospital.  This  programme  was  surruptitiously  broad-
cast  as  originally  edited.  Despite  universal  praise  from  both  the  A f r i-
kaans  and  English  press  alike,  Harris  was  given  12  hours  notice.  He  sub-
sequently  had  to  take  court  action  to  secure  his  pension  which  was  with-
held  by  the  SABC as  punishment  for  talking  to  the  press  about  his  dismis-
sal.  Clearly,  the  ideology  mediated  by  the  SABC and  i ts  unstated  policy,
which  could  be  directly  influenced  by  external  sources  (in  this  case  the
Superintendent  of  Baragwaneth  Hospital),  had  been  transgressed  and  the
unusual  step  of  dismissal  was  taken  to  establish  the  parameters  of  SABC
Policy,  which  continues  unstated.

ia  policy,  which  both  serves  ideology  and  is  determined  by  i t, 

is

15

further  circumscribed  by  the  structure  of  production  within  the  medium.
Newspapers,  television  or  radio  reports  occur  on  a  regular  basis:  hourly,
daily,  weekly  or  monthly.  This  schedule  of  production  encourages  the  media
to  relate  mainly  to  those  events  which,  time-wise,  are  reportable.  Ongoing
social  processes  and  social  conditions  do  not  happen  at  regular  or  report-
able  intervals.  Events  which  draw  attention  to  themselves  and  which  stand
out  from  everyday  experience  do.  The  c r i t e r ia  whereby  these  events  are
interpreted  and  reported  on  by  the  press  lock  into  the  demands  of  the
hegemonic  ideology  of  a  society.

i..
'

The  whqle_concept_of  newswqrthiness  is  thus  an  ideological  one  which  func- 
tions "to" reprb3TJce":En'e~crTterTa"6F wJTaT"cSh-stttutes"TO"Wr  aTOrBtra-rtftres-not. 
'News  sense-'  amt--Lrrews  judgstneTrFr"a>e*Vibt  innate  taTents"brmigtit  by  the •
recruit  to  the  newsroom  but  are  determined  by  ideology  and  as  such  they
become  a  self  perpetuating  set  of  value  judgements.  As  Christo  Doherty
reminds  us  in  his  a r t i c l e,  these  practices  are  an  unconscious  process  which
seem the  'common  sense1  way  of  understanding  real iT^y""t<n:Tio~se  who  are  part
of  the  hegemonic  ideology.  Work in  Progress  offers  the  example  of The
Star's  survey  of  the  Silverton  siege  which  shows  that  despite  the  screaming
headlines  of  ' K i l l er  Terrorists'  and  'Innocent  Victims  of  Terror',  about
90% of  Sowetans  actually  responded  positively  to  the  ANC guerilla  action.
Yet,  despite  t h i s,  and  despite  the  availability  of  alternative  nouns  such
as  'guerillas'  and  'freedom  f i g h t e r s ',  the  South  African  media,  with  the
exception  of  Post  (who  used  'gunmen'),  persisted  in  describing  this  event
in  terms  of  a  siege,  of  a  challenge  to  law  and  order,  of  a  violation  of
accepted  means  of  communicating  opposition,  and  saw  it  as  a  threat  to  the
cohesion  of  nation  and  society 

(51).

This  schizophrenic  characterization  of  those  involved  in  the  Silverton  t r i al
as  'freedom  fighters'  by  the  majority  of  Sowetans  and  as  ' t e r r o r i s t s'  by
the  media  should  be  seen  against  notions  of  ' f o lk  heroes'  and'folk  d e v i l s '.
Stan  Cohen  suggests  that  the  popular  press  view  those  who  transgress  or
who  threaten  dominant  social  norms  (eg.  drug  users,  criminals,  soccer
hooligans,  homosexuals,  political  extremists  etc)  as  'outsiders' 
Cohen  contends  that  by  casting  such  groups  in  the  unlikely  role  of 
devils'  ,  the  media  serve  to  strengthen  our  degree  of  commitment  to  dominant
social  norms  and  to  create  a  climate  of  opinion  that  supports  the  operations
of  society's  legal  agencies.  The  activities  of  such  groups  are  so  amplified
as  to  transform  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  into  a  primary  social  goal.

(52).
' f o lk

In  the  i n i t i al  reporting  of  the

'Law  and  order1  can  only  be  maintained  in  a  society  where  there  is  a  strong
degree  of  consensus  about  social  norms  and  when  those  f a i l i ng  to  obey  the
norms  are  indeed  seen  as  'outsiders'. 
Silverton  siege,  the  media  dramatically  reported  graphic  details  and  photo-
graphs  of  the  event  and  police  allowed  press  photographers  to  take  pictures
of  the  dead  ' t e r r o r i s t s '.  The  result  of  these  reports  was  to  arouse  public
antagonism  and  a  sense  of  repulsion.  Subsequent  to  the  Silverton  t r i a l,  the
government's  policy  with  regard  to  the  disclosure  of  facts  on  ' t e r r o r i st
activity1  was  considerably  tightened  as  is  witnessed  by  the  statements  made
by  various  Police  and  Defence  Force  personnel.  On August  14  of  this  year
the  Minister  of  Defence  said,  "The  primary  aim  of  the  enemy  is  to  unnerve
through  maximum  publicity. 
In  this  regard  we w i ll  have  to  obtain  the  co-
operation  of  the  South  African  media  in  not  giving  excessive  and  unjusti-
fied  publicity  to  terrorists  and  thus  playing  into  their  hands"  (53).
Another  Defence  Force  General  was  less  subtle: 
and  abused"  (54).

"The  media  w i ll  be  used

This  adjustment  of  policy  arises  from  the  recognition  that  public  outrage

16

at  'deviant'  acts  w i ll  only  be  sustained  when  there  is  a  large  measure  of
In  a  society  in
consensus  about  what  constitutes  social  norms  and  values. 
which  there  is  a  crisis  of  hegemony,  where  a  substantial  proportion  of  the
population  do  not  subscribe  to  the  same  social/political  norms,  then  the
portrayal  of  these  folk  devils  may,  in  fact,  have  an  opposite  effect: 
become  folk  heroes  whose  patterns  and  modes  of  behaviour  may well  be  emulated,
or  at  the  very  least  serve  as  a  source  of  inspiration  for  those  classes/
groups  outside  the  consensus. 
crisis  that  alternative  forms  of  expression,  that  i s,  resistance  to  the
dominant  ideology,  can  be  articulated.  The  South  African  government  i n-
t u i t i v e ly  recognizes  this  and  refuses  to  allow  the  established  media  (which
it  is  in  a  position  to  control)  to  publicize  and  promulgate  these  alter-
native  modes  of  conduct.

It  is  precisely  in  conjunctures  of  hegemonic

they

The  need  to  portray  deviants  as  folk  devils  finds  a  parallel  in  Gans1  con-
tention  that  social  order  and  the  national  leadership  maintaining  that  that
order  are  over-riding  values  in  the  news.  Building  on  Park,  he  concludes
that  news  functions  as  a  barometer  or  order,  informing  readers  of  the
emergence  of  disorder  but  simultaneously  reassuring  them  through  order
restoration  stories  (55).

The  order  that  is  dominant  in  the  South  African  p o l i t i c al  economy  at  any

t one  time  w i ll  reflect  the  balance  of  powerwithin  the  hegemonic  bloc.  What

coTTCeTTTS~uT7iere  is  tcPaSscsy hewtaHrTPgyworTs"  through  the  different
classes  which  make  up  the  social  formation. 
Ideology  i s j i ot  a  monolithic
entity  which  envelops  the  whole  nation  uniformly.  Any  society  is  composed
of  different  social  classes,  the  workers,  the  petty  bourgeoisie  and  the
bourgeoisie.  Each  of  these  classes  has  elements  of  i ts  own  ideology  which
either  conform  or  conflict  with  the  dominant  ideology.

Ideology  and  Social  Classes

f  Social  classes  are  defined  in  terms  of  the  relations  of  production,  both
>-,  economic  and  ideological.  On the  economic  level  they  are  defined  in  terms
.  of  the  ownership  or  non-ownership  of  the  means  of  production. 
i, 
*~~ are  prepared  to  take  their  place  in  the  relations  of  production.

terms  they  are  defined  in  the  way  in  which  agents  or  individual  subjects

In  ideological

|  /) 
' 

In  all  societies,  ideology  has,  as  one  of  i ts  main  functions,  the  r
ment  of  an  economically  determined  relation  of  people  with  each  other  and
w"TER their  conditions  of  existence,  adapting  individuals  to  take  up  their
class  designated  positions  in  the  labour  process.  Concretely,  this  means
that  there  are  diffe££fli. class  ideologies  or  what  Harnecker  refers  to  as
"ideological  tendencies"  (56).  For  the  working  class  the  main  element  o f -^
ideology  as  it 
is  presented  to  them is  to  persuade-them  to  accept  their
conditions  of  exploitation  as  if  they  were  the  natural  order  of  things.
At  the  same  time,  particularly  in  conjunctures  of  hegemonic  c r i s i s,  counter
ideologies  as  articulated  by  organic  intellectuals  do  arise  from  within
the  working  class  and  form  a  spearhead  of  resistance  against  total 
poration.  These  counter  ideologies  are,  on  the  whole,  confined  to  the
dominated  classes  svncrx~SlThoagh  it  is  conceivable  that  such  opposing
tendencies  should  arise  within  the  petty  bourgeoisie, these are  more  likely
to  be  on  the  intellectual  rather  than  the  practical 

incor-^

l e v e l.

/^ 
1 

.  For  the  bourgeoisie,  the  dominant  ideology  serves  to  reassure  i ts  members

that  their  place  within  the  structure  of  society  has  been  'appointed  by
nature1  or  that  it  is  the  ' w i ll  of  God'  and  that  they  have  a'moral  duty'
in  the  domination  they  exercise  over  the  workers.

17

For the petty bourgeoisie, a dominant element of their ideology is that
they should do their duty .both towards their employer and their country.
They are thus reconciled  to the task of supervising the workers on behalf
of the bourgeoisie and of keeping the necessary  administrative  functions
running  smoothly.  Journalists  fall  into.this, category and  have often con-  J
tributed  to perpetuating the .dominant..tdefllflay. in both. wMt~and  how they:. __•;_;.
write, as well  in the productive-distributive  process per se. For example,
during times when black newsvendors and delivery men have been on strike,
journalists have been coopted  into this function, actually selling papers
on street corners.

Equally significant  is Belinda Bozzoli's contention that certain journals
belonging to specific fractions of capital  (eg. South African Mining
Journal, South African  Commerce etc) catalysed a particular  ideology which
brought about a specific class structure'1n  South Africa between 1890 and
j1933.  Until  about 1920, the media concerned with the mining  industry re-
Jvealed  a profound concern with political  and  social  issues which affected
'the growth of mining capital.  As with all  organic intellectuals, these men
functioned  only during crucial  periods, periods of crisis, of uncertainty,
when capitalists were struggling not only to establish themselves economi-
cally, but to embed themselves firmly in the  social formation  itself (57).
JOnce the mining bourgeoisie was entrenched  (after  1920), ideologies were no
longer created as much as regurgitated, while established  social  structures
were lubricated  rather than  'engineered1.  The same pattern is evident in
the commercial  and manufacturing  journals, but with a significantly  different
periodization.

Insetting  up communications systems of a specific and directed  kind, argues
Bozzoli, the emerging  capitalist class established  a system of interest-
translation, its own ideology and policy-making network which  intercepted
particular historically specific processes.  Bozzoli  asserts  thatthe

• media of capital  were run by journalists who  played  an important inte''e£T

tual  role  in guiding and  leading certain of the processes of class formation
themselves.  They were thinkers, strategists, ideologues and policy makers
who were organically  linked to the newly forming  class whose  interests
they expressed  because they communicated directly to members of that clas
rather than to a wider audience.  It was the task of the organic intel-
lectual  to bridge the gap between economic interests and  political  and
ideological  realities;  and to translate the abstract needs of capital i
to real  social  needs.  Bozzoli  concludes that these journalists not only
created-* world view for the bourgeoisie, but alluded to its ideal worl
as well.

As was pointed out in the beginning of this paper, ideology may be transmi
through  cultural  elements or value systems, for example, religious, mor  ^
or nationalistic  sentiments.  These sentiments are viewed and  e xPr ej ^ -o ns
specifically  class or community bound ways which  conform to the traditi
habits and  customs of a particular society.
Apartheid  ideology, for example, is designed  to intercept existing 
socl*ri-\
structures  in such a way that the subordinate  communities accept as  ,n^h a s- js
the world view provided  for them by the hegemonic bloc.  Hence, the emp  ^^
on tradition  in its attempts to bring about a renaissance of selected 
s
institutions  in the homeland  regions.  This revitalization, however, °c
a nd
only  in so far as it serves the material  needs of the dominant 91 apSe!.. • s
to forestall  the emergence of militant counter-ideologies.  Radio Banz
stated  aim in its schools programmes, for example, is to socialise bia
school  children  into accepting their roles as labour units in the Sout

18

African  economy.  This  service  aims to  equip  the  black  pupil  with a
"theoretical  knowledge" which  should  be applied  "in  the  practical  situation"
and to  "understand  how this  theory  was formed  in  everyday  l i f e ".  Future
black  labourers  are  ideologically  conditioned  to  take  their  place  within
the  South African  social  formation  as  "economically  dynamic"  persons who
must  learn  to  "earn  his  daily  bread  by  performing  labour"  (58).  It  is  clear
that  ideology  in  any  society,  at  any point  in  history,  while  it  is  deter-
minant  on the  economic  in  the  last  instance,  is  the  result  of  a complex,
structural  determination  drawing  on many sources,  both  past  and  present,
within  that  society.

Ideology,  Ethnicity  and Class

Such a class  based analysis  is  not  acceptable  to  all  scholars.  Adam and
Giliomee,  for  example,  contend  that  the  neo-Harxist  paradigm  fails  to  ad-
equately  grasp  the  psychological  aspects  of  ethnicity  versus  class  (59).
They  argue  that  the  proponents  of  exclusive  class  analysis  tend  to  view
apartheid  "narrowly  as  a mere manipulative  device  for  the  oppression and
control  of  labour"  (60)  and  conclude  that  the  "role  of  ideology  is
frequently  underestimated,  if  not  altogether  rejected"  (61).

While these  criticisms  do hold  for  a body of  rather  functionalist  work  con-
ducted  during  the mid-1970s  (62),  Adam and Giliomee  conveniently  ignore  the
implicit  ideological  underpinnings  found  in  both  earlier  and  later  studies
which draw on structuralist  propositions.  The  content  of  the  later  studies,
in  particular,  assume, not  a vulgar  Marxist  base-superstructure  set  of  one-
way relations  but  a definition  of  ideology  which  subsumes  the  very  elements
of  status,  esteem,  comfort,  security  and  so  forth  which  Adam and Giliomee
argue  to  lie  outside  a strictly  historical  materialist  analysis.  These
components,  as we have argued,  are  adequately  contained  within  the  ideo-
logical/cultural  couplet.
Often  they  are  elevated  by  ideology  to  assume  an equivalent  status  with
the  natural  order.

The new "ideology  of  survival"  which Adam and Giliomee  identify  as  a quasi-
biological  formula  for  Afrikaner  survival  (63),  is  nothing  more  than a
further  attempt  on behalf  of  the  hegemonic  bloc  to  justify  the  existing  or
shifting  relations  of  production  by mystifying  these  relations.  These
authors  then  unwittingly  feed  the  neo-Marxist  cause  by quoting  "advocates
(eg.  the  Nationalist  press)  of  the  new ideology"  who argue  that  "'Joint
survival'  calls  for  an alliance  of  white  and  'moderate  blacks'  against
'militant,  radical  Marxists'"  (64).  Such  statements  clearly  reflect  class
connections  and linkages  which are  the  basis  of  the  formation  of  alliances
within  the  hegemonic  bloc.

That  the  Afrikaans  press  is  at  the  forefront  in  developing  this  "new
ideology"  seems logical,  but  to  assert  that  this  press  educated  the  Afri-
kaner  public  and combatted  racist  beliefs  and crude  racist  practices  is  to
I misconstrue  the  ideological  functions  of  the  press.  The  implication  that
the  Afrikaans  press  assumed  a humanist  function,  as  having  some kind  of
liberal  imperative,  is  to  ignore  the  role  of  this  agent  in  its  ideological
task  of  preparing  and adapting  individuals  to  the  social  and economic  roles
set  for  them during  times  of  adjustment  and  crisis.  Newspapers  do not
simply  act  independently  of  economic  interests.  This  applies  equaTTJno
Afrikaans  newspapers  which,  as  initially  the  PR arm of  the  National  Party,
and more recently  as  internal  opposition,  are  ideologically  and  culturally
tied  to  the  economic objectives  of  Afrikanerdom.  As Giliomee  himself
points  out,  the  aim of  the  Afrikaner  Broedebond  was to  "mobilize  the Volk

19

to  conquer  the  capitalist  system  and  to  transform  it  so  that  it  f i ts  our
ethnic  nature"  (65).  Thus,  they  set  about  attacking  the  structure  of  the
South  African  capitalism  with  the  aim  of  transforming  it  into  a  Volkskapita-
lisme  (66),  an  objective  which  has  largely  been  accomplished.  The  Afrikaans
press  was  at  the  vanguard  of  this  attack  and  continues  to  be,  articulating
new  sets  of  social  relations  to  meet  the  changed  circumstances  in  which  the
economy  now  finds  i t s e l f.  The  current  tendential  class  alliance  which  is
a direct  result  of  changes  in  the  economy  as  communicated  by  the  Riekert
and  Wiehahn  proposals  can  only  occur  with  a reduction  of  racist  beliefs,  at
least 
in  the  urban  areas.  Thus  the  'humanistic'  response  of  the  Afrikaans
press  has  less  to  do  with  "combatting  racial  beliefs"  than  it  has  in  guiding
these  beliefs  in  such  a way  that  they  best  serve  the  interests  of  capital,
particularly  as  far  as  Afrikaner  business  is  concerned.  The  so-called
'survival  ideology'  i s,  in  essence,  a manifestation  of  extant  economic
pressures  being  filtered  through  shifting  internal  and  external  processes  -
it  is  a  response  to  an  economic  crisis  within  the  hegemonic  bloc.

'Freedom'  of  the  Press:  The  Contradictions  Within  Capitalist  Society

While  it  is  -clear  that  the  various  legal  restraints  and  pressures  to  which
the  South  African  media  is  subject  does  limit  its  degree  of  independence
from  state  dictation  and  control,  it  cannot  be  said  to  nullify  i t. 
South  Africa  the  opposition  English  press,  and  to  some extent  the  Nationa-
l i st  supporting  Afrikaans  press,  do  express  views  which  are  offensive  to  the
various  'establishments'  -  be  they  in  the  field  of  politics,  culture,  crime,
religion  or  morals.  While  such  'controversial'  views  have  resulted  i n t l ie
banning  of  a number  of  newspapers,  and  the  harrassment  of  even  more,  there
remains,  nevertheless,  a  substantial  degree  of  tolerance  and  latitude  witn-
in  the  media.  Even  the  directly  state-controlled  broadcasting  media have
islands  of  critical  expression  -  such  as  Radio Today, some of  the  earner
broadcasts  of  Spectrum on  television  and,  more  recently,  on Midweek  and
even  Verslag.

In

The  importance  of  dissent  should  not  be minimized.  Nor  should  it  mislead
anyone  into  an  uncritical  acceptance  of  the  mythology  that 
the freedom of
the  press',  and  the  'opportunity  of  expression'  provides  a  channel  for  the
articulation  of  alternative  view  points  which  have  the  potential  of  senously
challenging  the  existing  social  and  political  system  -  which  in  the  South
African  context  is  based on  apartheid.
The mass  media  in  all  advanced  capitalist  countries  -  and  South  Africa  ~>s 
no  exception  -  act  consistantly  and  predominantly  as  aS ™ ««  of  conserva 
tive  indoctrination  which  serves  to  innoculate  their  recipien«  against
dissident  thought.  This  does.not  mean that  readers 
dissident thought.  This does.not mean that r 
^^
imp  l eb
are not exposed to contrary  views, it simply imp leb, c nn H  ht  ,•„ o t n er
media is firmly on the other side.  In South Africa (« ™  doubt in «  r
countries) this condition is amply met.  Ralph MiUband, with the British
experience in mind, observes that:

J1^
J

^
^

t 

^
^

l 

^

^

)

/

., 

j. 

.  .. 

,  -tahlv the mass media
... the agencies of communication and n  .-'+•„„  views not-
are, in reality, and the expression of dissenting
withstanding, a crucial  element in the legitimizaT-ILM UI
capitalist society.  Freedom of expression is noi.  ^
j
rendered meaningless.  But that freedom has 
real  economic and political  context of these so 
in that context the free expression of ideas ar .
in  a 
mainuy  means the free expression of ideas ai"  r  priv-;iege (67).
are helpful to the prevailing  system of power

^^
.jeties.  an(j

f  ds  ai"

. ^

^^

p 

"

^ 

20

Fissures  in  the  Hegemonic  Bloc  and the  Need for  Ideological  Control

Ideology,  it  will  be remembered,  is  not a

We must now turn  to  our  earlier  discussion  where we argued  that  each  class
exhibits  elements  of  its  own ideology  which may either  conform or  conflict
with  the dominant  ideology. 
totally  pervasive  influence  which  automatically  conforms  every  member  of
the  social  format-ton-tcr-fch«-heg«t9on-icdemands.  Unlike  feudal  societies
where everyone  knew and unconditionally  accepted his  or  her  place  in  the
relations  of  production,  modem capitalist  societies  are  far  more complex.
Counter-ideologies  supported  by  their  distinct  cultural  forms  frequently
occur  making  it  impossible  for  all  groups  to  be subsumed  into  the  hege-
monic  bloc.

In  apartheid  society,  for  example,  strains  and tensions  occur  continuously
which threaten  the  stability  of  the  status  quo  (eg.  boycotts  by  black
school  schildren,  illegal  worker  strikes,  bomb attacks  on  strategic  instal-
lations,  subversive  publication  of  dissident  literature).  These  disturb-
ances  have to  be  controlled  if  the  system of  power  is  to  reproduce  itself.

Apartheid  suffers  from extreme  ideological  fragility  and  is  consequently
unable to  withstand  critical  disturbances  either  from within  or  without
the  system.  To minimize  the  impact  of  such  infringements,  the  state,  which
can be regarded  as  the  coersive  arm of  society,  has had to  strengthen  its
mechanisms  of  control  through  increasingly  stringent  application  of  state
ideological  machinery  (as  well  as  in  terms  of  brute  force  in  the  wider
society).  However,  as we have  pointed  out  elsewhere,  state  opposition  to
English  language  newspapers  has  to  be seen as a secondary  consequence  of  the
suppression  of  black  opposition  to  apartheid.  The coincidence  of  laws
curtailing  the  freedom  of  the  press  should  be  seen  as  a secondary  extension
of  the  legislation  curbing  black  dissident  activity.  Such legislation  is
not  aimed at  silencing  the  English  press per  se,  but  rather  at  the  elimi-
nation of  oppositon,  particularly  black  opposition. 
English  press  is  prepared  to  articulate  such  sentiments,  it  will  be  subject
to  these  laws  (68).

In  so  far  as  the

It  seems paradoxical  that  the  state  should  attempt  to

These arguments  point  to  a major  contradiction  in  the  state's  relationship
with  the  press. 
silence  or  control  the  press when,  as we have  shown, all  sectors  of  the
media,  in  fact,  work  to  the  government's  advantage  in  supporting  variants
of  the  status  quo  and the  maintenance  of  the  capitalist  relations  of
production.  One explanation  for  this  contradiction  lies  in  the  possibility
that  the government  misunderstands  the  socially  stabilizing  role  of  the
PCgss and has~TrippecT up on ftsown  ideology  which  has  become so opaque
that~those  who rule  are  unable  to  see the  implications  of  their  actions.

A second possibility  is  that  the  government  has  latched  onto  the  English
press  as  the  cause of  South Africa's  negative  overseas  image.  By  inadvert-
antly  turning  folk  devils  into  folk  heroes,  the  English  press  communicates
incidents  of  instability  for,  though  supporting  tough  state  counter  action,
it  simultaneously  provides  the  fuel  for  further  instability.

CONCLUSION

We  have  t r i ed  to  show  that  the  media  in  South  A f r i ca  not  only 
p n i j t j r al  prQjTnniy___nf_..{Ms  country  but  also  c o n t r i b u te 
i d e o l o g i c al  a n i t . p Q l i t i . c a l f d r m . t 5 ee  review  on  Bozzoli 
have  not  attempted  to  give  a  comprehensive  statement  on  the  r e l a t i o n s h ip  be-
tween  ideology  and  the  mass  media,  but  r a t h er  to  provide  the  foundation 

to  the  shaping  of 
in  t h is 

i s s u e ).  We

r e f l e c t - t he

i ts

f or

21

a more fruitful  debate than has characterised writings on the South African
media thus far.  Much work  still  needs to be done on both theoretical  and
empirical  levels to flesh out what the dominant ideological  strands  in the
South African political  economy are and the way in which the various sectors
of the media  (English, Afrikaans and captive black presses, broadcasting  etc)
work within the dominant  ideology for the maintenance of the status quo.

Notes and  References

1.'-These fall  into three broad  categories.  The first consists of the_re-

iMniniscences  of retired .journalists which  are of little use to the student
IColTing for structures and underlying principles.  See, eg.,  Flather, F.
. J977:  The Way of an Editor.  Purnell, Cape Town.  The second  group show
<Jk  fanatical  adherence to the status quo, eg., Benson, I.  1977:  The

Opinion Makers.  Dolphin  Press, Pretoria, and Scannel, J.P.  (ed.) 1965:
Keeromstraat SO.  Nasionale Boekhandel, Kaapstad.  The third  strand  is
dealt with under notes 3, 4 and 5.

2.  See, eg., Hachton, W.  1979:  "Politics and Performance of South African

Television", Journal of Communication, Vol.29, No. 3,pp. 62-72.
Also see Harrison, R and  Ekman, P.  1977:  "TV's Last Frontier:  South_
Africa" in G. Gerbner  (ed.):  Mass Media Policies in Developing Countries.
Wiley, New York.

3y  Potter, E.  1975:  The Press as Opposition:  The Political Role of the

South African Newspapers.  Chatto and Windus, London.

4."  Switzer, L.  1979:  Politics and Communication in the Ciskei.  Institute
""  for Social  and Economic Research, Grahamstown.  See also Switzer, L  ana
Switzer, D. 1979:  The Black Press in South Africa and Lesotho:  A  BibUo
graphic Guide to Newspapers, Newsletters and Magazines,  1936 iS/6.  *•*••
Hall, Boston.  Also of interest is Switzer, L.  1981= 
I:  The Press and Total  Strategy", Critical Arts, Vol.  I,No. 4, pp. ti-to.

Steyn Commiss on

5.) Bozzoli, B.  1981:  The Political Nature of a Ruling Class:  Capital and
•S  Ideology in South Africa 1890-1932. Rout!edge and Kegan Paul, London.

6.  Johnson, R.  1979:  "Histories of Culture/Theories of  Ideology:  Notes on
an  Impasse" in Barrett, M., Corrigan, P., Kuhn, A. and Wolff, J.  (eds.).
Ideology and Cultural Production.  Croom Helm, London, p. o*.

7.  Althusser, L.  1971:  For Marx.  Allan Lane, London, p. 233.
8.  Ibid., p. 138

9.  Ibid. p. 153
10.  Ibid. p. 155

11.  Ibid. p. 160
12. Geras, N.  1972:  "Althusser's Marxism:  An Account and Assessment",

New Left Review, No. 71, p. 75

13.  Poulantzas, N.  1972:  "The Problem of the Capitalist StateJ  inJlackbu™.

R.  (ed.):  Ideology in Social Science:  Readings ^  cr....^ ......
Fontana, Glasgow, p. 251

14.  Ibid

22

15.  Miliband  in  Blackburn  Ibid.  p.  262

16.  Johnson,  R.  1979a: 

"Three  Problematics:  Elements  of  a  Theory  of
Working  Class  Culture"  in  Clarke,  J .,  Critcher,  C.  and  Johnson,  R.:
Working Class  Culture.  Hutchinson,  London,  p.  320.

17.  Althusser,  L.  1976:  Essays in  Self-Criticism. 

New  Left  Books,  London.

"Althusser  and  the  Theory  Of  Ideology",  Economy  and Society,  Vol.

This  criticism  of  Althusser  is  also  made  by  Johnson  1979a;  H i r s t,  P.
1976: 
5,  No.  4 ,;  Thompson,  E.P.  1978:  The Poverty  of  Theory  and  Other
Essays.  Merlin,  London,  and  Clarke,  S.  1980: 
"Althusserian  Marxism"
in  Clarke,  S.,  Lovell,  T.,  NcDonnell,  Robins,  K.  and  Seidler,  J .:  One-
Dimensional  Marxism:  Althusser  and the  Polities  of  Culture. 
&  Busby,  London

Allison

18.  Johnson,  1979a,  p.218

19.  Williams,  R.  1977:  Marxism and Literature. 

Oxford  University  Press,  London

20.  See,  eg.,  Thompson,  E.P.  1968:  The Making of  the  English  Working  Class.

Penguin,  London.  See  also  his  seminal  review  of  Williams'  work  in New
Left  Review,  Nos.  9  and  10.

21.  Gramsci,  A.  1971:  Selections  From Prison  notebooks.  Lawrence  and

Wisehart,  London,  p.  322

22.  Ibid.  pp.  376-377

23.  Ibid.  p.  80

24.  Ibid.  p.  5

25.  Gans,  H.  1980:  Deciding  What's News.  Vintage,  New  York,  pp.  29-30.

26.  See,  eg.,  Hellman,  E.  1948:  Handbook  of  Race Relations.  Oxford,  Cape

Town,  and  more  recently,  Welsh,  D.  1972:  Sections  in  Oxford  History
of  Southern  Africa.  Oxford,  Cape Town.

27.  Adam,  H and  Giliomee,  H.  1979:  The Rise  and Crisis  of  Afrikaner  Power.

David  P h i l l i p,  Cape Town,  especially  pp.  232-240.

28.  Rhoodie,  N.  and  Venter,  H.J.  1959:  Apartheid.  Cape  Town,  pp.  19-20

29.  Wolpe,  H.  1970: 

"Capitalism  and  Cheap  Labour  Power:  From  Segregation

to  Apartheid",  Economy  and Society,  Vol.  1,  No.  4

30.  Johnstone,  F.A.  1970:  Race,  Class  and  Gold.  Oxford,  London

31.  Ibid.  p.  130

32.  See  Rand  Daily  Mail  report  14  October,  1981

33.  See,  eg.,  Hellman,  E.  1957: 

"Tribalism  in  a Modern  Society", Race

Relations  Journal,  No.  24,  pp.  1-11.  Welsh,  op.  cit.  uses  this  argument
to  a  lesser  extent.

34.  At  the  Cottesloe  conference  convened  by  the  World  Council  of  Churches
in  1960,  the  DRC associated  themselves  with  a  number  of  anti-apartheid
resolutions.  However,  Verwoerd  appealed  over  their  heads  to  the  church
at  large  that  National  Party  policy  be  accepted  and  the  resolutions  of
the  Cottesloe  delegates  rejected.  A short  time  later  the  Church  leader-
ship  repudiated  the  Cottesloe  resolutions.  See  Luckhoff,  A.H.  1978:
Cottesloe.  Tafelberg,  Cape Town
23

35.  Moodie,  T.  Dunbar.  1975:  ?h-  Rise  of  Afr-ikantrlom.  Univ.  of  C a l i f.

Press,  Berkeley,  p. 1

36.  De Klerk,  W.A.  1975:  The Puritans 

in  Africa. 

Penguin,  Harmondsworth,

pp.  233 and  241

37.  Adam  and Giliomee,  op.  ait.  p. 34

38.  McDonald,  0.  1975:  "Is  Objectivity  Possible?"  in  M e r r i l l,  S.C. and  Bar

Barney,  R.D.  (eds.):  Ethics  and the  Press.  Hastings

39.  Wentzel,  J.  1981:  "Analysis  of  Press  Reporting  of  Change".  Mimeo

40.  The Star  17 March 1981

41. 

I b id

42.  See, e g ., Gieber,  W.  1964:  "News  is  What  Newspaper  Men Make  I t"  in

Dexter,  L.A.  and White,  D.M. (eds.):  People,  Society  and Mass  Communi-
cation. 

Free  Press,  pp.  177-182

43.  Breed,  W.  1955:  "Social  Control  in  the Newsroom",  Social  Forces,  No.

33,  pp.  326-335

44.  Financial  Mail  16  May  1980

45.  Dimmick,  T.  1974:  "The Gatekeeper:  An Uncertainty  Theory". 

Journalism

Monograph,  No. 37, 37pp.

46.  See, e g ., Gieber,  op.  cit.,  Breed,  op.  cit.  and White,  D.M.  1964: ''The
•Gatekeeper1:  A Case  Study:  The Selection  of  News"  in  Dexter  and White,

op.  cit.  ,  pp.  160-172

47.  Breed,  op.  cit.

Ibid

48. 
49.  See Gieber,  op.  cit.;  Gieber,  W.  1960:  "Two Communicators  of  the News:

A  Study  of  the  Roles  of  Sources  and Reporters",  Social  Forces,  no.  J S,  p.au;
Stogdill  R.  1967:  "Dimensions  of  Organization  Theory^^^Thopson.^.D.
sUggests1SQSl?cy&res!derinlbehaviour^nd  may^r  may not conform to
what  is  written  in  policy  statements,  pp. 1-56

50.  Financial  Ma'l  ( l e t t e r)  7  December,  1979

5 1.  Work  in  Progress. 

1980:  "The Press",  No. 12, PP-  3 0~33

52.  Cohen.  S.  1972:  Folk  Devils  and Moral  Panics: 

The  Creation  of  tnc Mods

and  Rockers.  MacGibbon  and  Kee, p.  28

53.  The. Journalist,  Sept.  1981,  p.  3

54.  This  was said  during  a TV news  broadcast.  See also  The Star 

ugus  ,

55.  Gans,  op.  cit.  p.  295.  Also  see  Park,  R. 

I9 4 4 1. . "N e!f  669-86°™  °

Knowledge",  American  Journal  of  Sociology,  No.  45, PP-

24

56.  Harnecker,  M.  1971:  The Elementary  Concepts of  Historical 

'Aaterialsm.

Translated  by  E.  Sadler  an  cW.  Such'tung,  University  of  Sydney,  p.  79

57.  Bozzoli,  op.  ait., 

especially  pp.  1-25

58.  Strydom,  G.S.  1976:  The Establishment  and Expansion  of 

the  School

Radio Service  of  Radio Bantu.  HSRC,  Report  No.  0-53,  especially  pp.
24-28.  This  document  is  quite  clear  as  to  the  material  basis  of  Bantu
Education

59.  Adam and  Giliomee,  op.  ait. 

pp.  46-50

60. 

Ibid.  p.  46

61. 

Ibid.  p.  49

62. 

Ibid.  p.  47.  They  quote  as  examples,  Legassick,  M.  and  Innes,  D.  1977:
"Capital  Restructuring  and  Apartheid:  A Critique  of  Constructive  En-
gagement",  African  Affairs,  Vol.  76,  No.  305;  and  a  special 
Africa  in  The Journal  (sic)  of  African  Political  Economy, No.  7,  1977.
Adam and  Giliomee  appear  to  have  got  their  journals  confused.  The  journal
one  assumes  they  are  actually  referring  to  i s,  in  fact,  Review  of
African  Political  Economy

issue  on  South

63. 

Ibid.  pp.  133-134

64. 

Ibid.  p.  136

65. 

Ibid.  p.  157.  Of  significance  is  that  Giliomee  seems  to  have  been  adopted
by  the  English  press,  notably  SAAN,  as  an  important  figure  in  the  Afrikaans
academic  establishment.  He has  written  extensively  f or  the  Sunday Times
and  may  be  classified  as  a  Known  whose  advice  is  solicited  on  h i s t o r i c al
and  p o l i t i c al  matters

66.  Koers,  2  August  1934

67.  Miliband,  R.  1973:  The State  in  Capitalist  Society.  Quartet,  London,

p.  197

68.  Tomaselli,  K.G.  and  Tomaselli,  R.E.  1981: 

"The  South  African  Mass  Media
and  the  Dissemination  of  Apartheid  Ideology".  Journalism  I  Reader,  Dept.
Of  Journalism  and  Media  Studies:  The Sociology  of  "lews,  Rhodes  University,
Grahamstown

Godard : Images, Sounds,  Politics

Text:  Colin  MacCabe  with  Mick  Eaton  and  Laura  Mulvey
Published  by  MacMillan  in  association  with  the  British  Film  I n s t i t u t e,  1980
175pp.  Illustrated  with  many  Dhotographs
Price:  Approx.  R11.60

Reviewed  by  John  van  Zyl

25