From his master's voice and back again? Presidential inaugurations and South African television - the post-apartheid experience

Abstract

This article examines the SABC television news coverage of the three presidential inaugurations in post-apartheid South Africa (Mandela 1994, Mbeki 1999 and 2004). The main question addressed is how the nation-building process and the broadcaster's relationship to government are reflected in the national television news. The news stories reporting the same national socio-political event at three different stages constitute a case through which to analyse the changing discourses of nation building. The aim of the article is to speak to discussions about nationhood, presidency, and politics in South Africa. The findings have a direct bearing on debates about the establishment and enhancement of democracy and nation building in contemporary South Africa, and emphasize how a serious reassertion of media control took place towards the end of the first decade of democracy.