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Framing of the San People by the Namibian Print Media A FRAMING OF THE SAN PEOPLE BY THE NAMIBIAN PRINT MEDIA A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MEDIA STUDIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NAMIBIA BY MOSES E.D. MAGADZA 200844563 MARCH 2016 MAIN SUPERVISOR: PROF E. AKPABIO CO-SUPERVISOR: DR RUTH ABANKWAH ii DEDICATION To my mother Rosemary, Morlen, Andra and Joshua who quietly submitted to a life of extreme deprivation while I skidded over the banana skins of postgraduate studies to increase my scarcity value. To Andra and Joshua: Thus far has the Lord helped me. May the ceiling of my academic exploits be your footholds! Live long and prosper. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research would not have been completed were it not for the help and encouragement I got from many people and institutions. A few deserve special mention: Nuran; my supervisors, Prof Eno Akapabio and Dr Ruth Abankwah; Dr Tom Fox who supervised my BA Honours in Media Studies mini thesis and laid the foundations upon which I am trying to build on through further studies; Dr. Catherine Chipo Amoo who prayed for me and my entire family while helping me locate relevant literature; the inimitable Prof John Ernest Odada who initiated me into university education and made it his mission in life to closely monitor my progress; Prof Percy Chimwamurombe who made me believe that the sky is the beginning; my friends who kept inspiring me through their incredible work ethics; the University of Namibia managers; my family and the Great Omniscient Being above for all the guidance and protection. iv DECLARATION I, Moses E.D. Magadza, declare that the study “FRAMING OF THE SAN PEOPLE BY THE NAMIBIAN PRINT MEDIA” is a true reflection of my own research and that this work or part thereof has not been submitted for a degree in any other institution of higher education. No part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in any retrieved system, or transmitted in any form or by means (e.g. electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior permission of the author, or the University of Namibia. I, Moses E.D. Magadza, grant the University of Namibia the right to reproduce this thesis in whole or in part, in any manner or format, which the University of Namibia may deem fit, for any person or institution requiring it for study and research; providing that the University of Namibia shall waive this right if the whole thesis has been or is being published in a manner not satisfactory to the University. ………………………………………………………………………………………………… Moses E.D. Magadza Date v ABSTRACT This largely qualitative and partly quantitative study is a critical analysis of the representation of San people of Namibia in selected stories published in The Namibian, New Era, Informanté, The Southern Times, The Villager, The Windhoek Observer and Namibian Sun newspapers over two years from January 2012 to December 2013. The aim was to evaluate the economic, socio-cultural and political situation of the San people as reported by the seven newspapers. A purposive sampling technique was used to select the stories. Content analysis and critical discourse analysis (CDA) were used to analyse data and point out binaries and dichotomies inherent in selected articles. The framing theory and CDA informed the study. Recurrent themes from the literature review were compared and contrasted with media stories. The study found that media coverage of San people and issues that affected them was grossly inadequate, and that San people were a peripheral ethnic group when it came to access to health, media rights, education, land, self-identity and dignity. It also found that the media glossed over San-related issues. It concludes that there was a disconnection between non-journalistic writers and the media on San issues. San people were heterogeneous yet the media treated them as homogenous. Balanced reportage of issues that affect San people was conspicuously absent. Much of the reportage was event- driven, lacking analysis and balance. The study recommends a revision of the intermediary role of the media, journalistic ethics and a shift from symptoms to causes and viable solutions. It further recommends new media discourses that shift from stereotyping to a discourse that restores and upholds the identity of San people. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................................. III DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................... IV TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. VI LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................... XI LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... XII ACRONYMS................................................................................................................................... XIII CHAPTER ONE................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Orientation of the study .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the problem ....................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Objectives of the study ............................................................................................................................ 4 1.4 Significance of the study .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.5 Limitations of the Study .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................... 6 1.7 Definition of terms and concepts ............................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................... 9 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .............................................. 9 vii 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 9 2.1 Theoretical framework ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Introducing the Republic of Namibia ..................................................................................................... 12 2.3 The San people of Namibia .................................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Things from the bush? ........................................................................................................................... 23 2.5 The role of the film industry in determining San identity ...................................................................... 24 2.6 A crisis of identity and stereotypes ........................................................................................................ 28 2.7 The role of the media ............................................................................................................................ 33 CHAPTER THREE ......................................................................................................................... 36 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................................... 36 3.0 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 36 3.1 Research design ..................................................................................................................................... 36 3.2 Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 36 3.2.1 Quantitative Content Analysis ............................................................................................................ 37 3.2.2 Population .......................................................................................................................................... 37 3.2.3 Selection and Sample (Content Analysis) ............................................................................................ 38 3.2.4 Applying content analysis ..................................................................................................................
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