A CASE STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC DEBATE ON PEOPLE’S CHOICE (PC) FM “THAHAMESO” AND HARVEST FM “TSA MABATOOA” IN LESOTHO By MAMOLISE MARTHA FALATSA PROMOTER: DR JANINA WOZNIAK CO-PROMOTOR: PROF. HENRY THIPA Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University April 2016 1 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................... 3 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................ 5 Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. 7 CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 9 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY ................................................................................................................ 9 1.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 9 1.1. Background to the study ........................................................................................................... 11 1.2. Media freedom and civil liberties status in Lesotho ................................................................ 14 1.3. The state of the media in Lesotho ............................................................................................ 15 1.4. Laws, ethics and code of conduct relating to the media in Lesotho ....................................... 16 1.5. The role of media in democratic society .................................................................................. 17 1.6. The role of radio in promoting audience participation ............................................................ 18 1.7. The role of South African media in shaping the Lesotho media landscape. ........................... 19 1.8. The situation of People‘s Choice (PC) FM and Harvest FM ...................................................... 20 1.9. General objective of the study .................................................................................................. 21 1.10. Specific objectives of the study .............................................................................................. 21 1.11. Research questions ................................................................................................................. 21 1.12. Delimitation of the study ........................................................................................................ 21 1.13. Assumption of the study ......................................................................................................... 22 1.14. The rationale of the study. ...................................................................................................... 22 CHAPTER TWO ...................................................................................................................................... 23 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................. 23 2.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 23 2.1. Relationship between broadcast media and politics ............................................................... 25 2.3. Roles of the Media in the transition to democracy.................................................................. 29 2.4. The legal environment for media ............................................................................................. 36 2.5. The Lesotho political landscape ................................................................................................ 40 2.6. The Lesotho media landscape ................................................................................................... 41 2.7. Role of media in education for liberation................................................................................. 42 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................... 44 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 44 3 3.0. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 44 3.1. Research approach .................................................................................................................... 44 3.2. Data collection technique ......................................................................................................... 45 3.2.1. Instruments for data collection ......................................................................................... 45 3.3. Sampling .................................................................................................................................... 46 3.4. Data analysis .............................................................................................................................. 46 3.5. Target population ...................................................................................................................... 47 3.6. Reliability and validity ............................................................................................................... 48 3.7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 48 CHAPTER FOUR ..................................................................................................................................... 49 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA .............................................................. 49 4.0. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 49 4.1. Data presentation and analysis .................................................................................................... 49 4.1.1. Show host questions and comments on Lesotho colonial political affairs in the debates .. 49 4.1.2. Guest comments on Lesotho colonial political affairs in the debates ................................. 49 4.1.3.Caller comments on Lesotho colonial political affairs in the debates .................................. 49 4.1.4. Show host comments and questions on Lesotho political affairs from independence to 1993 in the debate ........................................................................................................................... 50 4.1.5. Guest comments on Lesotho independence political affairs to 1993 in the debate ......... 50 4.1.6. Caller comments on Lesotho’s independence political affairs up to 1993 in the debates .. 58 4.1.7.Show host comments and questions on Lesotho political affairs from 1994 to 2014 in the debates ............................................................................................................................................. 59 4.1.8. Guest comments on Lesotho political affairs from 1994 to 2014 in the debate ................. 66 4.1.9. Callers comments on Lesotho political affairs from 1994 to 2014 in the debate ................ 76 4.2. Interpretation ................................................................................................................................ 87 4.2.1. Show host’s comments .......................................................................................................... 87 4.4.2. Guest comments .................................................................................................................... 89 4.4.3. Callers comments ................................................................................................................... 90 CHAPTER FIVE ....................................................................................................................................... 92 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 92 5.0. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 92 5.1. Discussion .................................................................................................................................. 92 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 100 5.3. Recommendations ....................................................................................................................... 101 4 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................ 102 Acknowledgements I would like to express my gratitude to my Supervisor, Dr. Janina Wozniak, and