Abstract
M.A. (Communication)
Urban informal settlements are commonplace in the South African landscape. In fact,
just under ten percent of the South African population lives in informal settlements.
This does not suggest, however, that much is understood about individuals residing
in these communities. One aspect of their lives that has received minimal attention in
the form of empirical research is their news media consumption – this includes their
own interpretation of what constitutes news, their reasons for engaging with or
disengaging from news media, and how they interpret their own news media
consumption habits.
This study explored the news media consumption of residents of Pango Camp to
gain insight into their understanding of news and their preferred news media
sources, as well as the reasons for their selection of news media. Through in-depth
interviews, it was found that the Pango Camp participants demonstrate a unique
differentiation between “inside news” (what happens in Pango Camp) and “outside
news” (anything that occurs outside of the immediate Pango Camp boundaries).
Most participants indicated a strong and overwhelming preference for inside news.
This raises the question whether traditional or conventional news values can be
applied to marginalised communities. Although participants of this study prefer news
within close, and almost immediate, proximity, they appear to have constant access
to a myriad of news media sources such as newspapers, paid-for television
channels, radio and the internet that can provide them with valuable information
about the outside. The internet and social media are so readily available that
Facebook was cited by most participants as their preferred source of outside news,
while television and radio were mostly used for entertainment. Not only was
Facebook used as a source of information relevant to participants, it was also
frequently used as a platform to voice and express their opinions and to ask for help.
This calls into question the understanding that people affected by income poverty
most often also suffer from information and voice poverty.
Even though this study provides rich insight into the news media consumption of a
community living in an urban informal settlement, its findings cannot be generalised...