THE RAND DAILY MAIL AND THE 1976 SOWETO RIOTS. AN EXAMINATION 
OF THE TRADITION OF LIBERAL  JOURNALISM IN SOUTH AFRICA AS 
ILLUSTRATED BY THE RAND DAILY MAIL COVERAGE OF THE SOWETO 
UPRISING ON JUNE 16, 1976. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Submitted by Samantha Keogh 
 
 
 
 
 
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of the Witwatersrand, 
Johannesburg, South Africa, in partial fulfilment of the degree of Master of Arts in 
Journalism and Media Studies. 
 
Johannesburg 2005 
 ii
 ABSTRACT 
This research examined the notion of liberal journalism in South Africa during apartheid 
as practiced at the RDM. It considered whether the paper, facing government scrutiny and 
restrictive laws, adhered to the principals of liberal journalism and how successfully it did 
so. The 1976 Soweto Uprising was used to assess the newspaper?s performance and the 
merits of arguments for and against the notion of it being a successful example of a liberal 
newspaper. Content analysis and interviews with RDM staff members, was used to assess 
the paper?s conduct. These primary sources were examined in conjunction with available 
literature and criticisms against the English press and RDM presented in testimonies at the 
TRCMH to assess the paper?s reportage and how valid criticisms against it were. The 
researcher concluded that, due to serious shortcomings, which included its reporting of the 
uprising, the RDM was not a successful liberal newspaper.   
 iii
 DECLARATION 
 
I declare that this dissertation is my own unaided work. It is submitted for the degree of 
Master of Arts in Journalism and Media Studies to the University of the Witwatersrand, 
Johannesburg, South Africa. It has not been submitted before for any other degree or 
examination in any other university. 
 
__________________ 
Samantha Keogh 
This 31st day of January 2005 
 iv
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
I would like to extend my thanks to the following people, without whom the completion of 
this work would not have been possible. 
 
? My parents, Kevin and Avril Keogh, for their help, love and support and the 
encouragement they gave me throughout. 
 
? My grandmothers, Jean Wesson for her infinite faith in me and her support during the 
research and writing of this thesis and Joyce Keogh for proof reading the work and 
showing such interest in and enthusiasm for the project. 
 
? Supervisors, Prof Anton Harber and Prof Peter Delius for their guidance. 
 
? My friends Kerry-Lee Schwikkard, Rian Pretorius and Nico Fouche for their support 
and encouragement. 
 
? The interviewees who agreed to share their memories and time with me. 
 
? The staff at the Wits library ? African Collection and Historical papers for their help in 
finding and accessing secondary research material needed for this research.  
 
? The staff of the South African National Library (Pretoria) for all their help in accessing 
copies of the Rand Daily Mail and helping with the photocopying of newspaper 
content. 
 v 
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 
Chapter 1: Introduction    1 
1.1 Liberalism   3 
1.2 Liberal Journalism    4 
1.3 Liberalism in South Africa and at the RDM    5 
1.4 Literature   6 
1.5 Methodology   8 
1.5.1 The Truth and Reconciliation Media Hearings   8 
1.5.2 Content analysis                  10 
1.5.3 Interviews                  13 
1.5.4 Reliability and validity of interview transcripts                  16 
1.6 Chapter breakdown                          17 
Chapter 2: Critiques of the Rand Daily Mail                                                             19 
2.1 Editorial department            21 
2.1.1 Editors              21 
2.1.2 Editorial policy             22 
2.1.3 Views of Liberal Journalism           25 
2.2 Advertising and readership           26 
2.3 Owner and management control           30 
2.4 Prisons stories and trial             30 
2.5 Opposition press             33 
Chapter 3: Critiques of the RDM           35 
3.1 Legislation                        36 
3.2 Human rights violations                37 
3.3 Working conditions            39 
3.4 Detained                         40 
3.5 Training              41 
3.6 Township Extra             42 
3.7 Principals                         42 
Chapter 4: How valid were these critiques?         46 
4.1 Effects of government legislation                      46 
4.2 Township Extra             51 
4.3 Spies              56 
4.4 Human rights violations                       58 
 vi
 4.5 Working conditions and separate amenities         60 
4.6 Training              61 
4.7 Fired while in jail             64 
4.8 Media?s role in apartheid society                      65 
Chapter 5: The RDM in action           66 
5.1 Research design                  66 
5.2 What could be expected from the RDM ?          70 
5.3 The lead up to the Soweto Uprising          71 
5.3.1 Warnings              73 
5.3.2 Fair and adequate coverage            75 
5.3.3 Language              78 
5.3.4. Police Brutality             79 
5.3.5 Treatment of headlines and photos           81 
5.4 Coverage of the Soweto Uprising           83 
5.4.1 Fair and accurate reporting           84 
5.4.2 Language              86 
5.4.3 Police brutality              87 
5.4.4 Student violence            90 
5.4.5 Treatment of headlines and photos                     91 
Chapter 6: Conclusion            96 
6.1 Meeting the challenge           97 
6.2 Falling short          101 
6.3 A final analysis         104 
References          107 
Bibliography          112 
Appendix A: Laws that bound newspapers     121 
Appendix B: Interviews        133 
B1. Gordon Amos          135 
B2 Doc Bakitsha          146 
B3 Patrick Laurence          158 
B4 Raymond Louw          166 
B5 Peter Magubane          204 
B6 John Mojapela          214 
B7 Benjamin Pogrund         223 
 vii
 B8 Gavin Stewart          245 
B9 Gabu Tugwana         252 
B10 Transcript comparison        266 
Appendix C: Content analysis       267 
 viii
 ABBREVIATIONS 
The following is a list of abbreviations used in this research: 
? ANC ? African National Congress. 
? NP ? National Party (also known as the Nats). 
? NPU ? Newspaper Press Union. 
? PP ? Progressive Party (also known as the Progs). 
? RDM ? Rand Daily Mail. 
? SAAN ? South African Associated Newspapers. 
? SAHRC ? South African Human Rights Commission. 
? TRCMH ? Truth and Reconciliation Commission Media Hearings. 
? UP ? United Party.