Group+8B

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 * __ Prologue: __**** Youtube background video **
 * __Section 1__****: The History of South Africa’s Media** By: Maria Taravella
 * __Section 2__****: Be the Media and Beat Bias** By: Kyle Macaulay
 * __Section 3:__** **Who is stunting Africa’s Democratic Growth?** By: Alana Gross
 * __Section 4__****: Social Media’s Positive Impact on the World Cup in South Africa** By: Kelly Evans
 * __Section 5:__** **The Future of South African Media** By: Shannon Mitchner

***Bottom of Wiki:** References



 **References:**

1.The press in South Africa - SouthAfrica.info. (n.d.). South Africa's official gateway - investment, travel, country information - SouthAfrica.info. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from [] 2. History of the press in South Africa - SouthAfrica.info. (n.d.). South Africa's official gateway - investment, travel, country information - SouthAfrica.info. Retrieved November 18, 2010, from http://www.southafrica.info/ess_ 3. Walder, S., (2010) ‘Cries of Censorship in South Africa's Media’, World Policy Blog, <[]> Accessed 19th November 2010: 2030 4. Proudfoot, S., (2010) ‘Social media breaks through Iran censorship’ National Post, <[]> Accessed 19th November 2010: 19305. 5. Charlton, D., (2010) ‘SA’s digital net is widening’, The Media Online: First and Foremost,[] Accessed 19th November 2010: 1940 6. Glick, C., (2010) ‘Out of South Africa’, Canada Free Press, <[]Accessed 19th November 2010: 1840v 7. ANC veteran sounds alarm over media 'self-censorship'. (2010). New York Amsterdam News, 101(43), 2-2. 8. Herskovitz, J. (2010). S. africa's anc targets media at political meeting. Reuters, Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE68L0UF20100922 9. Daryl. "World Cup 2010 Social Media Stats." Web log post. The World Cup Blog. BootsNAll Travel Network, 14 July 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . 10.Horowitz, Etan. "South Africa's World Cup to Drive Record Social Media Traffic - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. 4 May 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . 11. Thwing, Alisa. "The World Cup's Affect on Social Media." Web log post. Blog: Trends and Sights. Roundedcube, Inc, 13 July 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . 12. Mensching, Leah M. "South Africa Debates Media Controls." Weblog post. Shaping the Future of the Newspaper. 11 Aug 2011. .

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">13. "A Hyperactive and Biased Media Is Not Harmful to Our Democracy - Extra Curricular | Bhavan's Vidya Mandir - Eroor West Online Campus Newspaper | THE ECHO - PapyrusClubs." Online School Newspapers | School Newspapers Directory | Online Campus Newspapers - PapyrusClubs. 18 Oct. 2010. Web. 17 Nov. 2010. []. ===== <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"> **<span style="color: #000080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 170%;">South Africa's Struggle Concerning Biased Media ** <span style="color: #008000; display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">**Kelly Evans - Alana Gross - Kyle Macaulay - Shannon Mitchner - Maria Taravella**

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<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 25px;">**The History of South Africa’s Media**
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">By: Maria Taravella﻿ **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The history of South Africa’s media and press contains biased works. During the apartheid era, newspapers had to apply to register for production. In the case of a newspaper publishing more than 11 issues then the newspapers had to register for their production. The newspapers had a limit as to how many issues they could produce. The biased factor comes into play with South Africa’s media because the government regulated what the newspapers could publish in their issues. If South African newspapers had issues against the apartheid system, the government would regulate what could and could not be said about the system in the newspapers. For example, South African newspapers could not quote banned organizations or their spokesman. At the pit of the anti-apartheid system in the 1980s, newspapers were being barred from reporting any activities or demonstrations that were against the apartheid law. With the government regulating what newspapers could publish in their issues, this notion of biased media is a huge factor. Many of the newspapers went out of business because they had a hard time dealing with consolidation. With the ban on what the newspapers could say, many of the citizens of South Africa were put in the dark on issues. The bias media was only providing South Africans with information that the government thought they should know. The South African government did not want their citizens to read about pro-tests or activities against the apartheid system in case of further actions. It was not until “1994, that South Africa's newspapers were freed from all restrictions. The new Constitution safeguards freedom of the media, freedom to receive or impart information or ideas, freedom of artistic creativity, academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.” Overall, the bias of South African media dates back to when newspapers were first published. Since 1994, the South African media has more le-way as to publish what they want to publish and the journalist can speak their mind however they want to.


 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Be The Media and Beat Bias **
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">By: Kyle Macaulay **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> From 1948 to 1994 South African people suffered from a form of legal, racial segregation called apartheid, the ruling white government was acting with an atrocious level of self-interest. Since 1994 though, and the end of apartheid, the election of four successive black presidents suggests fairer representation, however, the current government are being accused of indulgent self-interest too. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Glick (2010) offers this bleak assessment “South Africa’s ruling party intends to pass a draconian media law to bar journalists from reporting on governmental corruption”.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> There is no shortage of people who see the involvement of the state in national media as a worrying predicament, with not the least influential being the leader of the South African organization Freedom of Expression Institute Ayesha Kajee who said she was “gravely concerned” (Walder, 2010). However, it is the statistics regarding the means of accessing alternatives to traditional media which should be encouraging for those who worry about the absence of transparency and accountability for a government which restricts its nation’s press.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Charlton (2010) acknowledges the protection of information bills and media tribunals but notes that “information will be able to travel freely thanks to tools such as Twitter and Facebook, which are very popular with mobile internet users” and suggest that rather than being silenced, the reverse will happen with more people gaining a voice, a means to disseminate information and a chance to take part in the media landscape. Her positivity is based on the fact that mobile internet access is now reaching those of lower socio-economic status than just the middle-class and the rich, and affordable smartphones with low cost data services accessed from expanded networks is the reason for this.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Iran is an extreme comparsion, but is still a relevant one, and the comparison is something which South Africa should not be proud of (in relation to media censorship) but even there, Proudfoot (2010) explains how their radical attempts to censor have been partially thwarted by social media sites like Twitter, which offers a platform with which to get a story out. It is possible that the South African government's attempts to control national media could not be taking place at a worse time for them, the ANC may suffer if they continue to exasperate its people while they are being potentially empowered.


 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Who is Stunting South Africa's Democratic Growth? **
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">By: Alana Gross **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">The African National Congress has a near two-thirds majority in parliament in Africa and they struggled hard against an apartheid in their country. They fought for free media and they still fight today. This September, they pressed for a new Media Appeals Tribunal to punish dishonest news reporting that has been heavily criticized as a plan to censor the media. Leaders enthusiastically embraced this plan at one of the most important political event in years, the National General Council, when the idea was spoken of behind closed doors. ANC members believe that media ownership lacks in diversity and open views. There are people who believe that the government-run tribunal would be better than the independent Press Council of South Africa self-regulating leading to self-censoring. However, Kader Asmal, veteran ANC member says, “The core element of a free press…is its right to determine its own opinions and to record the facts.” Ultimately, South Africans want to be aware of what is going on. Their government is known by other countries as being corrupt as well as being heavy in violence, high in sex trafficking, and widespread HIV/AIDS epidemics. Civil society is actively trying to fight corruption, and this tribunal is hindering them. Journalists and citizens marched to Constitution Hill in a silent protest for the Right 2 Know Campaign recently which shows us how the average South African person feels. As Americans, we have so many media outlets that spoon feed us all kinds of government and insider information and details. South Africans do not have this luxury, therefore their battle towards democracy is being pushed aside. State secrets are another issue parliament has taken control over. They would like to pass a bill that would restrict access to information from regulators and state-owned enterprises. Media groups depend on their investigations and believe this bill will be yet another obstacle to overcome.


 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Social Media's Positive Impact on the World Cup in South Africa **
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">By: Kelly Evans **

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Robin Sloan tweeted it best: "[The World Cup] will eclipse everything we have seen so far including the U.S. elections and the Super Bowl." <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It's no secret that when it comes to traditional sports, soccer fans are the most vocal of them all. They have never been shy to express their opinions or do outlandish things, especially when it comes to a mega sporting event like the World Cup. This years's World Cup in South Africa marked the first time sports fans were turning to social media networks to voice their opinions and rally others in support of their favorite team.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Unlike the 2006 World Cup, this year's action was not centered around the television, but instead on the Internet. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube became the primary forums for discussion where people from all over the world would tweet and update their statuses about match happenings. Matt Stone, the head of the new media for FIFA commented on how social media is being used as a means of bringing fans closer together and giving them more opportunity to communicate with one another across borders. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Take for example FIFA's own social-networking service on FIFA.com called "The Club." With 1.6 million viewers, people can post their thoughts and opinions, play games and create their own FIFA home pages for their favorite team. Accordingly, fans on Twitter made the term 'World Cup' one the web site's primary "trending topics" during the month-long tournament.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Although Twitter is based in the U.S. where soccer is not as popular as it is in other parts of the world, the service showed immense growth outside of America. According to a survey conducted by Simply Zesty, there were 3,283 tweets per second during the Japan versus Denmark game. Furthermore, the English team's Facebook page received 497,000 'likes' during the month-long tournament -- the most of any other team's fan page.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Fans are not the only people who used social media as a means to communicate with others. Big advertising companies were using social media networks to sell their products. For example, a Nike ad has had over 14 million views since it went live on YouTube on May 20, 2010. Also, instead of running TV ads in the U.S., Visa used YouTube to create a campaign that encouraged consumers to upload their own videos.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> So as one can see, the World Cup represents the transformation from old to new media. It is a place were people can freely express their opinions and connect with others who are far away. It is a place that proves to be turning the Internet into a place where anything goes. There is no referee to call the shots, so anyone is entitled to say what they want without fear of getting thrown out of the game.


 * <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The Future of South African Media **
 * <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">By: Shannon Mitchner **

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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> While South African natives feel that they have too much government control, they may be in luck in the long term. They are currently debating whether the government should keep such tight restrictions and controls over the public’s media preferences. Those arguing for looser media controls say that print media “enhances their accountability and can help improve their reporting,” according to the blog, "South Africa Debate Over Media Controls." While the South African apartheid began decades ago by the National Party to restrict the public’s access to social and economic outlets; this horrible system has been outlawed by South Africa’s first African American president, Nelson Mandela. This, in turn, has helped the country develop its media outlets to a much fuller extent. The main reason that the government feels they need to monitor their country’s media usage is to prevent the investigative reporters who are in business for the sole purpose of corrupting their current government.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">As for the future of media in South Africa, things may be looking up. Since the World Cup of summer 2010, South Africa has broadened their reporting. This is due in large part to other countries challenging their country to open up and grant the rest of the world access to their media information. South Africans are tired of other countries taking control over media stories that they (South Africans) have greater access to cover. There are many different media outlets where Africans sell their stories to other reporters, through various online software that connects all of the information from different countries across the world. Even with some of the biased media being reported during the World Cup, it still helped the general public to understand numerous unknown facts about the history of soccer played across the world.

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are many contrasting opinions about what is considered to be biased; if one person disagrees with what is written they can write it off as behaving “biased.” Being the watchdog (or the government in control) of citizen’s rights in the media realm takes an important turn concerning the final rulings that are made by the party in charge. However, if this is the outlook that people wish to take, the government, people, and journalists can all be considered biased in their views and reporting.Therefore, it is crucial to make sure the publishing source is credible so that the public can make the decision based on accurate and truthful facts rather than heresay.