Drawing on all the available media, be it electronic or not, what type of news is being portrayed of S. Africa

Question

Think of websites (if you can also include it that would be great), broadcasting stations (like CNN, BBC, ESPN, etc) and radio. Tell me whatever you know about South Africa and how you attained this knowledge.

Answer 1

Well from what I've seen on Korean television, South Africa still doesn't have any tarred roads. Isn't it a shame that people use television to influence a whole nation into thinking that we are a country made up of fools that still think taming lions in our backyards is the only way to make a living?

I am a Proud South African that believe we can make a difference in this world if only we can get that stigma removed from our beloved country.

I watch a lot of TV and I can tell you that the programs on the Korean KBS and others alike are programs I saw when I was a teenager. And then they were considered reruns. Is there any way we can get some new documentaries out into the world about SA?

The Korean news shows 99% good and positive news before 11 o'clock. After eleven the bad side of Korea is shown. When everyone is asleep. We should learn from these guys and get our people in the game of watching positive programs more often. Like programs about individuals making a difference daily. Not "Backstage" and "Egoli", but rather good programs on the people. Also the news should show this.

Every single day I have to explain on how more developed SA is than most people think it is.

And if it's not AIDS and lion programs...it's programs on the San. How many times do we have to see that. This one guy asked me if we go nude at home, because he saw this one program on the San walking around naked in SA. Goodness me!

This is what I propose: Create enough jobs for television reporters and crews to truly document the South Africa we grew up in and not what our grandparents called SA. This way we can put something positive on TV for people to see and for other countries to buy.

And what is up with our movie and music industries? Walk into any music store or video store in Korea and you'll find Leon Schuster, The Gods Must Be Crazy and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. And only that! Why aren't there any Springbok Nude Girls or Mandoza in any stores? And what about "Tsotsi" and other great South African movies like "Cry Me A Baby" and such?
These movies and music needs to get out into the world so that people can see and hear the urban side of a country with potential to overshadow most other artists.

Don't get me wrong. I love Leon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. But we have so much more to offer. Just the other day I played Nkalakatha and Shibobo to a young Canadian and he has been ordering South African music from the stores here. My American buddy, Peter, saw Tsotsi and couldn't stop talking about the movie. He also watched "Mama Jack" and forgot it as soon as he left my home.

The world needs to wake up and it's up to us South Africans to make it happen. Because the way it's going now, I foresee only ignorant people attending the World Cup in 2010!

Porgie

Answer 2

Hi Emma-Leigh,

PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME ON CRIME EXPO!

I read every body's comments and I agree. Mostly the news on South Africa is very bad.

I went to Bangkok a few years back, to Brazil and Argentina last year, and the overall view I got from the people living there was that they thought South Africans are a bunch of barbaric creatures. (WHICH I MUST SAY IS SO NOT TRUE)

Why does people outside South Africa or Africa, think we still ride elephants, get hunted down by leopards, lions or what ever the case may be? That is uterly nonsense! (In some parts of Africa, yes, but South Africa definately not!)

Go put on the TV and you will see the rural areas which is flooded, or the poverty, or news on a guy raping a 6 months old baby because he thinks that a virgin migth cure him of AIDS, you will seldom see the cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town or Pretoria growing in economics, culture relations ext. Yes, I've been hi-jacked, smash and grabbed, in one of those cities, but we still have the beauty in those cities just as New York, Dubai where ever! And besides no matter where in the world, YOU WILL FIND CRIME!

I wish there is someone, other than a South African, than can do a documentary on the GREAT EXTRAORDINARY parts of South Africa. Besides the crime and bad stuff, we are a positive, growing, beautiful, kind and brilliant country!

We've got so many cultures in South Africa, and you must be here to really appreciate it. Every culture has got it's special characteristic! White, Black, Colored, Indian, Portuguese, Greek, to name a few! That is just the cultures, not even the religions!

Maybe that, Porgie is why we are called the rainbow nation, we've got lots of "colors"! Ain't we just an interesting nation?

Man I luv this country!

And Confused, I work in a media group, (Newspaper), any news is good news, not just bad news! (You said that bad news sells, sex sells, not bad news)!

Have a great day!

Answer 3

I see that your other question on SA and the 2010 cup was closed to answers before I had the time to respond and that you have already looked at the websites which Dr Beetroot (who also goes under many other names on this site, at the moment he is using yet another name "comrade tony"....) suggested you look at. Like with most of the media, news is always one-sided, very sensationalist and generally driven to what people really want to hear (which is generally horror, blood and gore). The websites posted by Dr Beetroot on here is very one-sided. You should also look at websites such as:

www.safrica.info
www.news24.com
www.702.co.za (a talk-radio station that you can stream to listen to the news, opinions, etc)

I have lived in many different countries and still travel very widely. I now live primarily in SA. I have found that most countries will mostly cover foreign countries (such as SA, Australia, or the middle east) only if something horrific has happened in that country and seldom if something good has happened. This is not limited to coverage of SA but of any news that is not local. Foreign news is only valuable if it is sensationalized (thus must be blood, gore, terrorist arrest, or something funny or cute like a sheep adopting an elephant baby, etc).

South Africa is a country that has overcome the worst of human rights violations by a country's government against its own people and has managed to make a peaceful transition. The country is in the midst of addressing the wrongs of at least a hundred years of wrongs against the majority of its citizens - to make the wrongs into a right takes time. The country has crime (everyone, including the government acknowledges that this is a problem), yet the country has produced an oscar winning actress, oscar winning movies, three Nobel Peace Prize winners, economic growth, stabalizing force in the region and across the continent, etc. These things are seldom covered by international press because only bad news sell. And like most countries we have bad news: poverty, crime, AIDS, etc.

Also google "South Africa news" and see more websites. You will also see that even though there is crime in SA that there is also criminals being sent to jail, whether they are common men or politicians.

Good luck with your project. I hope you will learn something valuable through this project.

Answer 4

Good day!

The news that is being portrayed about South Africa is nothing good! People are focusing on bringing down this country. Some of the news is wrong and some are right. We do have crime here in South Africa! Yes, i know we should not even have crime here but every other country has their problems too!

There are a lot of people who are doing reports on South Africa that have never even been here for at least one day!! To me this is absolute rubbish! You need to be here to be able to do reports on South Africa.

Go on to the website news24 and you will see the news about South Africa. News24 is correct and not false. Websites like that crime expo of South Africa is false! They got all those pictures from rotten.com and people are using that website against us.

I know all this information about South Africa because i live here! I live in Gauteng, Jhb. I've lived here all my life and I'm not going anywhere because i love this country! Besides for all the crime this is a wonderful place with so much love!

Kim

Answer 5

Unfortunately much of the crime in SA is not reported by the Media and sites such as www,crimexposouthafrica.org are inviting individuals to post their personal experiences which have in many cases gone unreported. The response has been overwhelming and says much about how many South Africans feel about the constant threat and fear they live under. Then there are those in denial who have already answered you who will grasp at any straw to give credence to their fantasy. They are unable to distinguish between reality and a perceived sense of patriotism.In an answer to another question " confused" stated that the SA Government recognises the crime problem. Well judging by todays report on the normal news sites many of them,including Cabinet Ministers, the Parliamentary Speaker and the Western Cape leader of the ANC are unable to recognise criminal behaviour and actively support it. Besides the recent admission on the crime problem came from a Tourism Board Deputy and in the same report it was noted that Thabo Mbeki is irritated that South Africa is accused of being unfit to host the World Cup because of the crime problem. South Africa was not making any kind of news( other than sporting) in the UK media until the World Cup was awarded to them and news of the crime epidemic started to filter out. It also did not help when the FIFA representative for Botswana sold his ticket allocation on the Black Market and was susequently identified as a South African,Ishmail Bhamjee ,whose brother had also served a prison sentence for defrauding the Professional Soccer League.Now that does not say that all South Africans are criminals but it does create a perception overseas that all is not well particularly when SA citizens feel it necessary to voice their concerns about crime outside of the normal manner in which they should be addressed. Statements from Ministers and intransigence on the part of the Government are projecting a position that they want to make money out of Tourists seemingly no matter the cost. Their marketing conveniently omits vital tourist information but the numerous attacks on tourists be it British schoolboys or Japanese,American,Mexican and Germans cannot escape attention forever.The South African Media are dependant on obtaining a licence to operate from the Government which could be revoked at any time. The radio station 702 or Cape Talk spent 25 years being declined a licence to broadcast on FM and were granted one this year. Coincidentally their reporting on South Africa took a different line and became far more cooperative with Government wishes. Smell a rat? Currently a proposed amendment to the Film and Publications Amendments Bill has been described by the SA National Editors Forum as "the Government's intention to impose censorship." This can only be ascribed to the SA Government's fear of the reality of South Africa being exposed to the outside World and the risk that such exposure poses to the hosting of the 2010 World Cup. Not only for South Africa but for the African continent it would be a wonderful opportunity to host the World Cup but the crime problem needs to be addressed before it is remembered for all the wrong reasons. It is still early days but if their is no genuine inprovement in the crime rates to an acceptable level then FIFA will have no choice other than to seek an alternative venue as football fans will not travel to a destination that presents a risk to their life. Lastly it is not only Media reports but the British Foreign Office and the Tourist Authorities of the US,Canada and Australia are already issuing warnings to their citizens.

Answer 6

Have you never noticed that whenever South Africa hits the news all you see is starving black kids and riots from the apartheid era...

man its completely incorrect. I wish they would just and have a look at this country and portray us correctly.