News framing of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki in South African media
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Date
2005
Authors
Botha, Nicolene
De Beer, Arnold S.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State
Abstract
South Africa'sfirst two democratically elected presidents, Nelson Mandela and Thabo
Mbeki, are portrayed very differently by the media. Since the 1999 transfer of the
country's leadership to Thabo Mbeki, the two leaders were frequently compared by the
media. Reports that appeared in the study period of 2002 to 2004 in mostly South
African newspapers depicted former president Nelson Mandela as the "magic man"
who is revered by celebrities and street children alike for his warmth, humanity and
statesmanship. President Thabo Mbeki on the other hand was portrayed as the rather
cold and distant "mystery man": the highly intelligent politician who plays clever word
and political games. Jn this article a number of theoretical framing tools are developed
to compare the apparent assumptions about, and portrayal of, as well as the hugely
disparate public media images of, the character and personality of Mandela and
Mbeki. Elements of literary characterisation, such as appearance, behaviour, and effect
on others, are used to determine the frames of reference created by the media in their
reports on the two men. These tools are universally applicable in the analysis of media
personalities and may prove helpful to other researchers working in this field of study.
Description
Keywords
Nelson Mandela, Thabo Mbeki, South African presidents, Political figures
Citation
Botha, N., & De Beer, A. S. (2005). News framing of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki in South African media. Communitas, 10, 37-52.