Ebook: Fight for Democracy

In her penetrating and critical scrutiny of the African National Congress's (ANC) treatment of the print media since the inception of democracy in 1994, Glenda Daniels does not hide behind a veil of detachment. Instead, she makes a passionate argument for the view that newspapers and journalists play a significant role in the deepening of democratic principles. Daniels' study goes to the heart of current debates and asks why the ANC, given its stated commitment to the democratic objectives of the Constitution, is so ambivalent about the freedom of the media. What would be the consequences of a revised media policy on democracy in South Africa, and at what cost to freedom of expression? Daniels examines the pattern of paranoia that has crept into public discourse about the media and the ANC, and the conflicting relationship between the two. She argues that the ANC's understanding of democracy, transformation and development entails (amongst other things) the rallying of the...