ABSTRACTThis article presents and makes a case for the audience-centred approach to media policymaking and research, and situates this discussion within the South African revision of the regulatory mechanism for the press. In South Africa the press accountability mechanism, the Press Council of South Africa, has been subject to a near constant process of review and restructuring since 2010. This article discusses and contextualises these various South African reviews, with particular emphasis on the Press Freedom Commission, and weighs them against the audience-centred approach to media policymaking which adopts a ground-up public-focused method in keeping with the principles of a participatory democracy. The findings indicate that however well intentioned, the various different attempts to review and restructure the press accountability system for South Africa fell short of substantive and meaningful audience or public participation, and resultantly the value and richness of public input and participation, which may have infused the process of policymaking with audience ownership, was lost.