Bring Back the Signal: An Evaluation of the Existence of a Digital Public Sphere in the South African Mediascape. By Nkululeko Sibiya, student 9905018F, A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Media Studies. Supervisor: Dr. Cobus van Staden 2017 0 Plagiarism Declaration I, Nkululeko Sibiya (Student Number: 9905018F), declare that this thesis is my own original unaided work. Where other people’s works have been used, this has been fully acknowledged. This thesis is being submitted in the fulfilment of the requirements of the award of the Degree of Masters in Media Studies in the Faculty of Humanities, at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. It has not been submitted before for any degree or examination, or to any other university. Signed ……………………………………………………… Nkululeko Sibiya i Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank my wife Ncamisile and children Nomvula and Sibonginkosi who have supported me throughout my academic career, especially during trying times. I love them for giving me the space to work; I know that my undivided love and attention to them is long overdue. I would also like to say thank you to Dr. Cobus van Staden, for agreeing to take me under his wing and guiding me through this process. Your brilliant insights and calm spirit have been invaluable to me. A big thank you to the Department of Media Studies at Wits, which is staffed by a group of people who genuinely care about their students! Your support and encouragement is much appreciated, keep up this tradition. This work was undertaken during the intensive ‘fees must fall’ protests and this constantly reminded me of the important role played by those who sponsor us. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the National Research Foundation for granting me the bursary, without your support this work would not have been possible. To The University of the Witwatersrand, a big thank you for granting me the PGMA, your recognition of my abilities has been a real and much needed confidence booster. Undertaking such a journey can be a long, lonely and frustrating affair, and having all your members of your extended family rallying behind you and rooting for you is priceless, thank you. Last but not least, a big thank you to a fellow scholar, Mxolisi Mbatha who was at hand to help when I needed him- uya rocka mfana kithi! Centurion, February 2017 Nkululeko Sibiya ii Abstract On the 12th of February 2015, in an unprecedented move, members of the media in South Africa (SA) protested in Parliament and chanted “bring back the signal”, waving their smartphones in the air after discovering that a signal jamming device had been activated to disrupt cell phone signals in the National Assembly. Their protest denied President Jacob Zuma the opportunity to deliver his State of the Nation Address (SONA) until the signal and connection to the internet had been restored. It was the first time in the History of democratic SA the SONA was disrupted. The presence as well as the rapid spread and use of new media technologies in the SA mediascape has led scholars like Yu-Shan Wu to question the nature of their use and impact on government policy decisions. This study contributes to such work as well as long standing debates about the role of new media technologies in advancing democratic ideals in emerging democracies and the internet’s role as a public sphere. It does this by using a case study research method focusing on SONA 2015 to evaluate whether the South African digital space constitutes a digital public sphere. This paper concludes that indeed the South African digital space does constitute a form of digital public sphere. This sphere is largely operated and structured by news media organisations that use their websites, social media and various online platforms to engender it. Key Words New media, internet, democracy, public sphere, deliberation, digital public sphere SONA 2015. iii ACRONYMS ANC African National Congress ANN7 Africa News Network 7 COPE Congress of the People COSATU Congress of South African Trade Unions DA Democratic Alliance EFF Economic Freedom Fighters eNCA eNews Channel Africa EWN Eye Witness News FF Freedom Front Plus GCIS Government Communication and Information System MP’s Members of Parliament NCOP National Council of Provinces SABC News South African Broadcasting Corporation SACP South African Communist Party SANEF South African National Editors Forum SONA State of the Nation Address TV Television iv Table of Contents 1. Chapter One: introduction......................................................................................1 2. Chapter Two: Literature Review............................................................................7 3. Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework......................................................................30 4. Chapter 4: Research Methods...............................................................................67 5. Chapter 5: Findings and Discussion....................................................................71 6. Chapter 6: Conclusion.........................................................................................117 v Chapter 1: Introduction: This paper will evaluate the existence of a digital public sphere in the South African mediascape using the events of the State of the Nation Address (SONA) of 2015 as a case study, as well as highlight the challenges that such technologies bring for established social institutions like Parliament. It will be argued that the advent and subsequent proliferation of smartphones in the South African mediascape, coupled with the growth and use of social media platforms on the internet as well as online news reporting, has had profound implications for institutions and practices of democracy. As a dominant public sphere and a space where the events in question took place, Parliament is used as an example of a democratic institution that is negotiating challenges brought by new media technologies. It is further argued that these technologies have engendered a digital public sphere, albeit not in the Habermasian sense. While the traditional model of the Habermasian public sphere is discussed, the paper uses Rauchfleisch and Kovic’s (2016: 1) hierarchical model of generalized functions of the public sphere to evaluate the South African digital mediascape. This digital sphere in question is in a state of development and morphs into different states from time to time, with varying impacts and consequences. This study seeks to contribute to the understanding of new media technologies and their role in the engendering of a digital public sphere as well as document the challenges that these technologies bring for democratic institutions like Parliament through an analysis of the events and the role played by various stakeholders during SONA 2015, on the 12th of February. The SONA 2015 is used as a case study because the events of this day will arguably be remembered as a watershed moment which, according to the media and various sectors of society, saw the culmination of all the mounting threats to freedom of expression play out and become a significant issue in the public sphere. Activists, various proponents in academia as well as those in the media sector have been warning about a rise in threats to media freedom, waged by the South African government led by the African National Congress (ANC). 1 The SONA is an address by the President of South Africa to the nation and marks the official opening of Parliament. The occasion is used to outline the government’s policy objectives as well as deliverables for the year ahead. The SONA lays the foundation for Government action. It is claimed by Parliament that by being aware of government’s activities, all citizens can be involved and take part in improving the lives of South Africans. The SONA 2015 is pivotal as a case study because of a number of events that took place right through the day on the 12th of February 2015. These events allow one the opportunity to assess the context within which the digital/new media technologies in question were used, thus also capturing the political atmosphere that prevailed leading up to President Jacob Zuma’s address to the nation. It is important to note that these events are not just isolated to the day in question, but are all inextricably linked to media revelations about the exorbitant expenditure on security upgrades at President Zuma’s private residence in eNkandla, Kwa Zulu-Natal. These revelations were followed by Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s investigations and report, which concluded that President Zuma had to pay back a portion of the R246 million spent for upgrades at his home. Parliament tried to dismiss the report through several ad-hoc committees which used the African National Congress’s majority in parliament to veto any arguments from opposition parties. This culminated in the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) staging a protest in the National Assembly on the 21st of August 2014, where they demanded that President Zuma tell the South African public when he was going to pay back the money. The President abandoned the question and answer session, and the EFF was ordered out of Parliament by Speaker Baleka Mbete (Loggenberg, 2014). The EFF subsequently intensified its ‘pay back the money’ campaign and launched an online countdown clock to the SONA 2015 on their website, threatening to disrupt the event if Parliament refused to set up a special sitting for the President to answer questions (Essop, 2015). Journalists like Ranjeni Munusamy (2015), argue that people should not have been surprised by scenes of chaos and violence because the EFF had announced its intention to disrupt in advance. As mentioned earlier, the SONA 2015 is of importance because on the 12th of February 2015, several noteworthy events took place several hours before the President could address the nation. Firstly, the estranged leader of the EFF, Andile Mngxitama decided to host a press conference, against his party’s wishes, with an intention to explain to the media why some of the EFF’s Members of Parliament could not sing ‘pay back the money’.