Electronic Theses and Dissertations (Masters)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/10539/37994

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    Exploring factors leading to journalists leaving the profession in South Africa
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Musi, Mampholodi Glorious; Sithole, Enock
    This research looks into factors that lead journalists in South Africa to leave the profession to pursue other careers. Some journalists who have been bringing news to South Africans have been seen taking on jobs such as spokespersons and other roles in government and the private sector. This adds to the loss of skills newsrooms suffer due to the widespread retrenchments in the sector. A qualitative research method was used to gather data from 20 former print and broadcast journalists across South Africa, who shared their experiences in in-depth semi- structured interviews. The interviews were conducted over Zoom video link with journalists who left the profession between 2018 and 2023. This period covers the period before the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been a catalyst for some of the changes in the media landscape and the period post-pandemic. Using Herzberg’s two-factor theory of motivation, this study reveals that the lack of financial resources in many media houses has created a toxic mix that is pushing journalists out of the jobs they love, mainly because of poor salaries, added work responsibilities that are not matched with compensation, job insecurity, a toxic work environment, poor work-life balance, and unethical management. In general, the former journalists still love journalism but are moving away from the working conditions they were subjected to. Most journalists who have left the profession have more than 10 years of experience in the field. They take with them the skills and institutional memory built over the years – much to the detriment of the society they serve. Many say they are using the skills they have gathered in journalism to build new careers in the private sector corporate communications field and government, while others are running their businesses.
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    The link between economic and digital diplomacy: The case of US-South Africa relations on LinkedIn
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2024) Ramonoedi, Tshepo; Wekesa, Bob
    In recent years, there have been several studies focusing on economic diplomacy while using a global communication frameworks. However, there have been limited studies integrating economic diplomacy, perceptions (representation), and digital diplomacy. The study therefore delved into representation held by LinkedIn followers of the selected US entities in accordance with the economic relations between South Africa and the United States of America (US). Thus, the two key pillars of the study are economic relations and perceptions, with a focus on how these pillars converge and diverge. An initial review of the literature shows gaps in studies linking US economic diplomacy and digital diplomacy which the study looks to fill. The study adopted second-level media agenda-setting, third-level media agenda-setting; and media framing which was complemented with analysis of the extent to which the recurrent themes have been featured in the LinkedIn accounts of US entities such as US Mission in South Africa, the US Agency for International Development, the US Commercial Service, the Prosper Africa, the International Development Finance Corporation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, Power Africa, the US African Development Foundation, and the US Trade and Development Agency. The study found that the US successfully used its entities to promote its economic diplomacy through LinkedIn. The study further revealed that the US economic diplomacy towards South Africa was appealing, particularly concerning the energy transition project in South Africa. The findings also revealed that the US effectively applied media framing; second-level media agenda-setting; and third-level media agenda-setting theories to strengthen its economic diplomacy towards South Africa using the LinkedIn platform.
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    Consumption, Femininity and the City in the Real Housewives of Johannesburg: A Content Analysis of a Franchise
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021) Hellberg, Tessa; Iqani, Mehita
    The following study explores how consumption, femininity and theorizations of the city are presented to the audience in The Real Housewives of Johannesburg. While the Real Housewives franchise is a global text with numerous iterations in a range of countries, The Real Housewives of Johannesburg is the first South African (and African) version of the programme. The study begins with an outline of the ways in which the city is represented, before moving to define the ‘spirit’ of Johannesburg. As will be demonstrated through the findings of a quantitative content analysis, this is inherently tied to automobility. By way of a subsequent textual analysis, challenges to automobility are also discussed, along with an analysis of luxury consumption in Johannesburg, and the ways in which it is racialized. This research then considers how the postfeminist undertones for which the Real Housewives is known translate into a South African context. Issues like sexual respectability are explored in-depth, as is the concept of being the ‘perfect’ hostess. The thesis concludes with a note concerning how The Real Housewives of Johannesburg highlight local South African cultures through glocalization of a global media text.