Reading tabloids in Zulu: a case study of Isolezwe
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Date
2015
Authors
Wasserman, Herman
Ndlovu, Musawenkosi
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Communication Science, University of the Free State
Abstract
This article revolves around an analysis of the relationship between Isolezwe
newspaper, a South African mass-market tabloid, and its consumers who are mainly
Zulu-speaking black readers. In view of the decline in newspaper readership in
general, the phenomenal growth of Isolezwe in particular and the absence of
scholarship that examines the relationship between Isolezwe and its consumers,
the authors set out to explore why the newspaper has become and continues to
be highly popular. To answer the question about the reason for its popularity,
focus group interviews with readers were conducted to identify why readers chose
to read the newspaper. The authors conclude that the comparative preference of
Isolezwe over other newspapers in the market is influenced, in part, by mutually
reinforcing factors such as social/cultural identity and cultural capital, semantic
noise avoidance, language use, gratification of cognitive needs and the audiencecentred
definition of news.
Description
Keywords
Gratification of cognitive needs, Semantic noise avoidance, Cultural capital, Newspapers, News, Zulu, Tabloids, Isolezwe, Social/cultural identity
Citation
Wasserman, H., & Ndlovu, M. (2015). Reading tabloids in Zulu: a case study of Isolezwe. Communitas, 20, 140-158.