SHAPING PUBLIC OPINION: AN INVESTIGATION OF MEDIA FRAMING OF TREVOR MANUEL IN 1996 AND IN 2007, IN THE FINANCIAL MAIL By Lindani Mbunyuza Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters in Media Studies (Coursework) at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University January 2011 Supervisor: Dr J Wozniak DECLARATION I, Lindani Mbunyuza, student no. 9604576, hereby declare that the treatise for MA Applied Media is my own work and that it has not previously been submitted for assessment to another University or for another qualification. ________________ Lindani Mbunyuza Date____________ I wish to thank my parents for instilling in me the courage to go on despite the potholes on the way. My sincere thanks also go to my husband and two kids for their unending understanding of the pressures of conducting this research. Thanks are due to my colleagues at work for pretending not to see that I was studying and not working and to my boss for allowing me the space and time needed to complete this paper. Lastly, I owe my most and sincere gratitude to my supervisor Dr Wozniak for helping shape my thinking and this study. ABSTRACT The discussion that follows seeks to critically examine the manner in which a South African financial publication, the Financial Mail (FM) magazine, reported on the country’s Finance Minister over two time periods. The specific time periods are April – June 1996, and February – April 2007. This will be done to assess whether the style of reporting changed over time. In order to accurately analyse the coverage, a content analysis of a number of articles published by the FM over two periods will be conducted. The first period to be examined correlates with Manuel’s first three months in office (April to June 1996) as finance minister, a role he took over after the resignation of then Finance Minister Chris Liebenberg, and the subsequent cabinet re-shuffle. This time period also coincides with the adoption of the internationally acclaimed South African constitution which pre-supposes, amongst others, freedom of the press. Manuel’s first three months in office furthermore coincided with the African National Congress’ (ANC) first period in government under the stewardship of President Nelson Mandela, having taken over power in 1994. The second time period selected is during Manuel’s 11th year in office (February to April 2007). The second time period coincides with a different economic and social situation, with the country’s economy having strengthened to the extent of recording a budget surplus. Relevant media theories and principles will be studied to evaluate which theories, if any, reflect the Financial Mail’s style of writing, language use and choice of stories to cover regarding Minister Manuel. An analysis of the first time period will include a look at the socio-economic conditions that prevailed at the respective times, against the background of the political situation during both periods. Dominant economic policies implemented and decisions taken during both periods relevant to the particular office Manuel held will be critically examined, since FM is a financial publication mostly covering financial and economic news. Research conducted will be qualitative in nature, and include an in-depth content analysis of articles. CONTENTS PAGE 1. INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Aim and rationale .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background to the SouthAfrican political economy: 1996 and 2007 .......................... 3 1.2.1 Overview of the situation in 1996 ............................................................... 3 1.2.2 Overview of the situation in 2007 ............................................................... 4 1.3 The South African media and regulatory aspects ...................................................... 6 1.4 The Financial Mail ...................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Background on Trovor Andrew Manuel as a Finance Minister .................................. 9 1.6 Representation of politicians in the media ................................................................ 11 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 13 2.1 Theoretical foundations ............................................................................................. 13 2.1.1 (a) Democratic-participant media theory ........................................................ 14 2.1.1 (b) Libertarian theory ...................................................................................... 16 2.1.1 (c) Social responsibility theory ....................................................................... 17 2.1.1 (d) Developmental theory ............................................................................... 19 2.2 Critical principles of journalism relevant for this study .............................................. 21 2.2.1 Framing theory .......................................................................................... 22 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 26 3.1 Research approach ................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Method ...................................................................................................................... 27 3.3 Sourcing the data for the sample .............................................................................. 28 4. RESEARCH ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 34 4.1 Analysis of the 1996 coverage .................................................................................. 34 4.1.1 Positive framing ........................................................................................ 34 4.1.2 Negative framing ....................................................................................... 35 4.1.3 Recurring descriptivephrases and words used in articles ......................... 38 4.1.4 Oppositional voices ................................................................................... 38 4.1.5 Academic/Economic voice ........................................................................ 39 4.1.6 The ANC voice .......................................................................................... 40 4.1.7 International voice ..................................................................................... 42 4.2 Reflections of theories of media functions in the 1996 sample ................................. 43 4.2.1 Social responsibility theory ....................................................................... 43 4.2.2 Democratic participant theory ................................................................... 44 4.2.3 Libertarian theory ...................................................................................... 44 4.2.4 Development media theory ....................................................................... 44 4.3 Analysis of the 2007 coverage .................................................................................. 45 4.3.1 Positive framing ........................................................................................ 45 4.3.2 Negative framing ....................................................................................... 47 4.3.3 Recurring descriptivephrases and words used in articles ......................... 49 4.3.4 Oppositional voices ................................................................................... 49 4.3.5 Economic/Business voice ......................................................................... 50 4.3.6 The ANC voice .......................................................................................... 50 4.3.7 International voice ..................................................................................... 50 4.4 Reflections of theories of media functions in the 1996 sample ................. 51 4.4.1 Social Responsibility ................................................................................. 51 4.1.2 Democratic participant theory ................................................................... 51 4.1.3 Libertarian theory ...................................................................................... 51 4.1.4 Development media theory ....................................................................... 52 5. CONCLUSION 53 5.1 Suggestions for further research ............................................................................... 54 BIBLIOGRAPHY 55 APPENDIX INTRODUCTION 1.1 Aim and rationale The study is a content analysis of articles published in a South African English-language financial magazine Financial Mail from 5 April 1996 to 28 June 1996, and 23 February 2007 to 13 April 2007. Different authors have differing views about this type of research. While content analysis has its limitations, it has been chosen for its relevance in this type of study. Krippendorff (2004:40) suggests that content analysis is an “unobtrusive technique. Babbie (1989:309) elaborates that the researcher “seldom has any effect on the subject, that is, the content being studied, because the method uses texts that are already made.” This, according to Babbie, “reduces the researcher’s own ideological position.” Bryman (2001) agrees with Babbie and further observes that content analysis is nonreactive. The study pays particular attention to articles that focused on the country’s finance minister, Trevor Manuel, and articles specifically related to the performance of the economy, the depreciation of the currency and the economic framework