Armstrong-PhD Thesis-Final-2013

367 Pages·2012·2.61 MB·English

The Accidental Centralisation of South African TV, 1990 to 2011:
Policymaking Confuses the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the
Public Interest

PhD Thesis

By Chris Armstrong
PhD Student Number 05-17427/F
Faculty of Humanities
University of the Witwatersrand
[email protected]

Supervisor: Dr. Sarah H. Chiumbu
Media Studies
School of Literature and Language Studies (SLLS)
University of the Witwatersrand
[email protected]
Declaration

I declare that this thesis is my own unaided work and it has not been previously submitted for
a degree or diploma at any other university.

This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for award of the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy in Media Studies, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg.

Signed

Chris Armstrong
August 2012

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 1
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
Dedication

This thesis is dedicated to Merlyn Van Voore, Matthew Armstrong and Adam Armstrong in
Nairobi, William and Barbara Armstrong in Vancouver, and Patricia Van Voore in Cape
Town.

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 2
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................... 5
Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 7
Acronyms and Abbreviations .............................................................................................................. 9
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT ......................................................................... 13
Chapter 1: Seeking the Patterns and Outcomes of South African TV Policymaking .................. 13
1.1 Research Problem and Questions ............................................................................................................... 16
1.2 Research Rationale .................................................................................................................................... 19
1.3 Research Design ........................................................................................................................................ 27
1.4 The “Local Specificity” of the South African “Case” ................................................................................ 32
1.5 Structural Outline of the Thesis ................................................................................................................. 38
Chapter 2: From Broederbond Interests to Public Interest ............................................................ 40
2.1 Radio for the (White) Nation, 1924 to 1975 .............................................................................................. 41
2.2 Broederbond TV ........................................................................................................................................ 46
2.3 The Regional/Local TV Question in the Transitional-Democratic and Early Democratic Eras ................ 52
Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................................... 69
PART TWO: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS AND METHODOLOGY .............................. 70
Chapter 3: The Place of the Regional/Local Question in Public Interest TV Policy .................... 70
3.1 Public Interest Values in TV Policymaking ............................................................................................... 71
3.2 Social Responsibility Approaches to the Public Interest............................................................................ 75
3.3 The Feintuck and Varney (2006) Framework ............................................................................................ 79
3.4 Sub-National TV Delivery on Public Interest Objectives .......................................................................... 85
Conclusions ...................................................................................................................................................... 96
Chapter 4: Theorising the Patterns of Public Policymaking .......................................................... 98
4.1 Theoretical Approaches to Public Policymaking ....................................................................................... 98
4.2 The Kingdon (1995) Framework ............................................................................................................. 104
4.3 Adapting Kingdon’s Framework ............................................................................................................. 112
4.4 Accounting for the “Argumentative Turn” .............................................................................................. 116
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 120
Chapter 5: The “Case” of South African TV Policy’s Regional/Local Question ........................ 122
5.1 Research Questions, Theoretical Frameworks ......................................................................................... 123
5.2 The Case Study ........................................................................................................................................ 124
5.3 Data Collection ........................................................................................................................................ 129
5.4 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................................... 138
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 142
PART THREE: DATA ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS ........................................................ 143
Chapter 6: SABC Interests Trump the Public Interest ................................................................. 143
6.1 Politics ..................................................................................................................................................... 144
6.2 Problems .................................................................................................................................................. 147
6.3 Proposals in the Policy Stream................................................................................................................. 162
6.4 Decisions .................................................................................................................................................. 168
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 176
Chapter 7: TV for South Africans “United in Our Diversity” ..................................................... 181
7.1 Politics ..................................................................................................................................................... 184
7.2 Problems .................................................................................................................................................. 191
7.3 Proposals in the Policy Stream................................................................................................................. 207
7.4 Decisions .................................................................................................................................................. 209
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 218
Chapter 8: Beware the “Bantustan Way of Approaching It” ....................................................... 222
8.1 Politics ..................................................................................................................................................... 224
8.2 Problems .................................................................................................................................................. 226
8.3 Proposals in the Policy Stream................................................................................................................. 243
8.4 Decisions .................................................................................................................................................. 245
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 259

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 3
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
Chapter 9: The Rise – and Confusion – of Community TV .......................................................... 265
9.1 Politics ..................................................................................................................................................... 267
9.2 Problems .................................................................................................................................................. 272
9.3 Proposals in the Policy Stream................................................................................................................. 286
9.4 Decisions .................................................................................................................................................. 296
Conclusions .................................................................................................................................................... 302
Chapter 10: Confused Answers to the Regional/Local Question. ................................................. 310
10.1 Policymaking Patterns, 1990 to 2011..................................................................................................... 314
10.2 Outcomes in Relation to the Public Interest, 1990 to 2011 .................................................................... 316
10.3 Links between Policymaking Patterns and Public Interest Outcomes ................................................... 320
10.4 The Future: Regional/Local TV in 2012 and Beyond ............................................................................ 323
Appendices ......................................................................................................................................... 327
Appendix 1: Pre-Interviews ........................................................................................................................... 327
Appendix 2: Formal Research Interviews ...................................................................................................... 328
Appendix 3: Interview Guide (2006) ............................................................................................................. 334
Appendix 4: Revised Interview Guide (2011-12) .......................................................................................... 335
Bibliography ...................................................................................................................................... 336
Secondary Sources ......................................................................................................................................... 336
Primary Sources (South Africa) ..................................................................................................................... 353
Formal Research Interviews .......................................................................................................................... 365

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 4
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
Acknowledgements

Many people have assisted and supported me towards completion of my PhD research and this thesis.

Dr. Sarah Chiumbu, my supervisor in the School of Literature, Language and Media (SLLM),
University of the Witwatersrand (“Wits”), expertly guided me through to completion between 2010
and 2012. Prof. Richard Collins, at Open University in the UK and Visiting Professor at the Wits
LINK Centre, was a mentor and collaborator in several writing and teaching endeavours between
2004 and 2011. Prof. Nixon Kariithi at Wits SLLM provided initial supervision and support during
development of the research proposal and gave feedback on a draft chapter. Dr. Gordon Gow and
Prof. Sonia Livingstone at the London School of Economics (LSE) provided supervision in 2005-06.
Prof. Alison Gillwald of the Wits LINK Centre, and then the University of Cape Town, provided
academic and moral support. Wits LINK Centre Director Luci Abrahams and Senior Lecturer Charley
Lewis provided academic and moral support, and an academic home, throughout. Dr. Dumisani Moyo
at Wits Media Studies provided important advice. Prof. Jane Duncan, Libby Lloyd, Nadia Bulbulia
and Johann Koster were invaluable during my search for a research topic and during the research
itself. Aynon Doyle provided numerous important inputs. Ylva Rodny-Gumede and William Gumede
provided advice and support in both Johannesburg and London.

Others from whom I benefitted via their work at or with the Wits LINK Centre were Dr. Peter
Benjamin, Prof. Bill Melody, Heather Ford, Steve Esselaar, Prof. Leo van Audenhove, Dr. Christoph
Stork, Dr. Abi Jagun, Beki Nkala, Lauren Fok, Kerryn McKay, Darshana Bhana, Tumi Molefe and
Felicia Currie. Dr. Natalie Hyde-Clark and Dinesh Balliah introduced me to Wits Media Studies in
2005, and Dr. Wendy Willems helped me stay in the loop of activities at Media Studies when I
relocated to Nairobi. Prof. Ran Greenstein of Wits Sociology gave valuable comments as a Reader of
the research proposal. At the Wits Faculty of Humanities, I was supported by the Dean of the Faculty,
Prof. Tawana Kupe, and by Julie Poyser and Hildegaard Chapman. At Wits SLLM, I was helped by
Libby Meintjies and Merle Govind. At the Wits School of Public and Management Development
(P&DM), I received moral and practical support from Prof. Francis Anthony, Prof. Alan Mabin, Prof.
Anthoni Van Nieuwkerk, Prof. Ivor Sarakinsky, Murray Cairns, Prof. Wendy Ngoma, Roshan Arnold
and Tozi Zeka. The book Dissertation Writing (Badenhorst, 2008), by Wits P&DM’s Dr. Cecile
Badenhorst, was of great assistance. While at LSE, I was supported by Prof. Roger Silverstone, Prof.
Terhi Rantanen, Jean Morris, Niall Brennan, Sarah Kamal, Jeong Kim, Frederick Lesage, Patrick
McCurdy, J.J. Otim-Lucima, Ulla Rannikko and Thane Ryland. The book Authoring a PhD, by LSE
Prof. Patrick Dunleavy (Dunleavy, 2003), was a valuable resource. Prof. Mary McGuire of the School
of Journalism, Carleton University, Ottawa, inducted me into the world of broadcasting in the period
1992-94, an induction supplemented in 1994-97 by staff at the CBC National Radio Newsroom,
Toronto, CBC Radio Syndication, and CBC Radio’s As it Happens. Also formative was TV
documentary work with James Cullingham of Tamarack Productions, Toronto, in 1996-97, and
guidance from CBS Africa Correspondent Sarah Carter in Johannesburg. Others who supported me in
Johannesburg were, in alphabetical order, Ngaire Blankenberg, Heloise Emdon, Khaled Fourati,
Ausward Kawamba, Wilson Lee, Hans Muylaert Gelein, Penny Narsoo, Mike Ogawa, Farah Pirouz,
Laila Smith, Norman Strike and Craig Tunbridge.

In addition to assistance from those already listed, I benefitted between 1997 and 2011 from
inputs on African/South African media/broadcasting and related matters from a wide range of
people, via one-on-one interactions or attendance at meetings, workshops, seminars,
conferences and academic courses. These people were, in alphabetical order, Faiza
Abrahams-Smith, Elizabeth Araujo, Anurita Bains, Justine Akman, Mike Aldridge, Jean
Allen, Frank Awuah, Max Bale, Dr. Simon Batchelor, Prof. Guy Berger, William Bird,
Mlamli Booi, Dr. Mashilo Boloka, Marie-Helene Bonin, Steve Buckley, Ben Cashden,
Luckson Chipare, George Christensen, Paddy Clay, Brian Commerford, Rui Corriea, Shareef

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 5
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
Cullis, Willie Currie, Brett Davidson, Lungi Daweti, Nomsa Dladla, Rehad Desai, Ruth de
Vries, Prof. Pedro Diederichs, Blanca Diego, Prof. Christo Doherty, Ndondo Dube, Dingane
Dube, Clive Emdon, Tonie Engelbrecht, Anriette Esterhuysen, Jean Fairbairn, Karl Flecker,
Alan Fransman, Julie Frederikse, Carl Ferreira, Alan Finlay, Tusi Fokane, Havoc Franklin,
Oren Fuchs, Norman Gidi, Ria Greyling, Simnikiwe Guga, Manish Gupta, Prof. Robert
Horwitz, Fenneke Hulshof Pol, Zane Ibrahim, Siraj Jamal, Max Jele, Martin Jensen, Chris
Kabwato, President Kapa, Lara Kantor, Bronwyn Keene-Young, Nkenke Kekana, Frikkie
Kellerman, Christian Kluistermans, Bonita Koff, Prof. Cynthia Kros, Sibongile Kubeka,
Palesa Letlaka, Harry Letsebe, Pfanani Lishivha, Hugh Lewin, Frans Lindeque, Fiona Lloyd,
Jane Lipman, Raymond Louw, Dino Lorimer, Aaron Madadasane, Tambu Madzimure, Hloni
Maboe-Phike, Linda Mahlangu, Mfundo Majozi, Lynn Mansfield, Nkopane Maphiri,
Sithembiso Manzini, Michael Markovitz, Dimitri Martinis, Zolisa Masiza, Nomsa Masuku,
Jude Mathurine, Peter Matlare, Peter Matthews, Linda Mazibuko, Mabalane Mfundisi, Thato
Mfundisi, Raymond Mhlaba, Jeanette Minnie, Joe Mjwara, Solly Mokoetle, Danny Moalosi,
Gilbert Mokwatedi, Aadila Molale, Lumko Mtimde, Tracey Naughton, Dumi Ndlovu,
Thembekile Ndlovu, Ruel Ndwambi, Thulani Njapa, Robert Nkuna, Michelle Ntab, Andrew
Ntsele, Jacob Ntshangase, Nqaba Nqandela, Julia Nzimande, Joshua Ogada, Mike
Overmeyer, Jenny Parsley, Ashraf Patel, Prof. Mikhail Peppas, Gerhard Petrick, Linden
Petzer, Dan Phelan, Themba Phiri, Kogan Pillay, Dr. Gerry Power, Natasha Primo, Noma
Rangana, Tshepo Rantho, Sharoda Rapeti, Elelwani Raphunga, Meril Rasmussen, Peter Rice,
Rene Roemersma, Astrid Schippers, Christina Scott, Muzi Simelane, Kate Skinner, Rene
Smith, Marion Stevens, Manana Stone, Mosotho Stone, Mervyn Swartz, Howard Thomas,
Karen Thorne, Elvira Truglia, Thandi Taye, Minah Thwala, Console Tleane, Marcus Toerien,
Elvira Truglia, Philip Turle, Elize Viljoen, Prof. John Van Zyl, Herman Warren, Mark
Weinberg, Justine White (Limpitlaw), Gabriel Urgoiti, Salim Vally, Bob van der Winden,
Martin Vilakazi, Lynne Muthoni Wanyeki and Peter Zimri.

While acknowledging the assistance and support of all of these people, I accept full responsibility for
the conduct of the research and the contents of this thesis.

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 6
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
Abstract

This thesis analyses the processes and content of South African television policymaking
between 1990 and 2011 in relation to the regional/local (sub-national) TV question. Analysis
is provided of the possible reasons for the gaps between policy intent and policy
implementation on regional/local television matters, and the possible impact of these gaps on
pursuit and realisation of public interest objectives.

The thesis is based on a research case study of a single case: the regional/local question in
South African TV policymaking in the early democratic era. Data were extracted from
primary South African TV policy documents produced in the period 1990 to 2011 and from
semi-structured interviews with stakeholders directly involved in TV policymaking. The
collected data were qualitatively analysed across four periods: 1990 to October 1996;
November 1996 to 2001; 2002 to 2006; and 2007 to 2011. Two theoretical frameworks were
deployed in the data analysis. An adapted form of Kingdon’s (1995) “policy streams”
framework – a framework for analysing deliberative public policymaking in democratic
states – was used to organise the data collected for each of the four periods of study and to
analyse the patterns, and potential causalities, in TV policymaking in each period in relation
to the various South African regional/local TV policy matters. A second framework, a social
responsibility-oriented, democratic citizenship-focussed public interest media policy
framework derived from the work of Feintuck and Varney (2006), was used to evaluate the
degree to which public interest objectives were achieved via South African TV policymaking
in relation to the regional/local question.

The research found that South African television policymaking between 1990 and 2011 failed
to adequately answer the regional/local TV question. Via the research project’s application of
the adapted Kingdon (1995) framework to the data collected, evidence was found of ruptures
in deliberation in the TV policymaking space – instances which steered policymaking activity
away from full, multi-stakeholder deliberation, narrowed the scope of consideration of policy
options, and led to ad hoc policymaking, policy confusion and policy missteps. Via
application to the data of the public interest framework derived from Feintuck and Varney
(2006), the research found that sub-national TV delivery on the key public interest objectives
of access, diversity and stewardship was not effectively pursued in TV policymaking, and

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 7
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
that pursuit of the central public interest principle of democratic citizenship was not adhered
to. The research also found that there were apparent causal links between non-deliberative, ad
hoc policymaking and failure to effectively pursue the public interest.

The value of the research project, and of this thesis, lies to some extent in the application of
an innovative political science-oriented framework (adapted from Kingdon, 1995) to uncover
the patterns and some of the potential causalities in TV policymaking in relation to a specific
subset of TV policy matters (sub-national TV deliverables). Also of value is the application
of a second conceptual framework to the data – a social responsibility-oriented public interest
framework based on the work of Feintuck and Varney (2006) – to the outcomes of the
policymaking. Third, this thesis offers a longitudinal perspective on early-democratic-era
South African policymaking on a matter (television) central to the democratic transformation
project, thus providing insights into several of the political, socio-cultural and economic
discourses/arguments (and the tensions within and among the discourses/arguments) which
were prominent in the first two decades of South Africa’s democratisation.

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 8
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest
Acronyms and Abbreviations

AGM – annual general meeting
AM – amplitude modulation
AMB – AMB Recordings and Transcriptions
ANC – African National Congress
ANCYL – African National Congress Youth League
ANC DIP – African National Congress Department of Information and Publicity
APC – Association for Progressive Communications
BBC – British Broadcasting Corporation
BDM – broadcasting digital migration
BEE – black economic empowerment
BEMAWU – Broadcasting Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union
Bop BC – Bophuthatswana Broadcasting Corporation (or Bop Broadcasting)
Bop Broadcasting – see Bop BC
BPAB – Broadcast Production Advisory Body
BASIC – Brazil, South Africa, India, China
CASE – Community Agency for Social Enquiry
CBC – Community Broadcast Channel (South Africa), or Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation
CBO – community-based organisation
CCC – Complaints and Compliance Committee
CCV – Contemporary Community Values
CCMS – Centre for Cultural and Media Studies, formerly Contemporary Cultural Studies
Unit
CDC – Centre for Democratic Communications
CEO – Chief Executive Officer
CGH – Content Generation Hub
CIB – Campaign for Independent Broadcasting
CIS – Content Industries Strategy
CEM – Community Electronic Multimedia
CMS – Community Multimedia Services
C-PEG – Commercial, Public access, Education, Government
CODESA – Congress for a Democratic South Africa
COM – Campaign for Open Media
COO – Chief Operating Officer
Comtask – Task Group on Government Communications
COSATU – Congress of South African Trade Unions
CRTC - Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
CTN – Community Television Network Holdings
CTV – community television, (or, in Canada, the name of one of the national private TV
networks)
CTVC – Community Television Collective
CVET – Community Video Education Trust
CWU – Communication Workers Union
DAC – Department of Arts and Culture
DBAB – Digital Broadcasting Advisory Body

A rmstrong – The Accidental Centralisation of Sout h African TV, 1990 to 2011: Policymaking Confus e s 9
the Regional/Local Question and Undermines the Public Interest