Abstract
M.A. (Communication Studies)
SABC television coverage of general and municipal elections is
regularly subjected to close scrutiny. The analyses made in
these instances often concentrate on quantitative research of
the time allocated to political parties, or analyses of the
content of news reports, and items which are either ignored or
used by the SABC. The controversy surrounding approaches such
as this (and hence the motivation for this dissertation) is
emphasised in Adams et al (1986: 155): "The irony of television
news research in the social sciences is, that instead of
producing studies of the audiovisual content of newscasts, it
has largely resulted in research on verbal content alone." It
is readily apparent, as attested by Adams that a lack of visual
media research is a general phenomenon throughout the world.
Quantitative research is practised with the use of stop watches
and verbal analysis of content, but an important element of
bias, viz. visual manipulation, is largely neglected. This
study endeavours to create a broad framework for the analysis of
visual bias. The handling of the 1987 and 1989 election
campaigns on television by the SABC serves as material.
Initially, the concept "propaganda" is discussed. It is noted
that universally, "propaganda" has a negative. connotation in
both research and practice. Due to the negative connotation of
"propaganda", it is altogether underrated in the field of
communication: it describes a phenomenon that occurs in
totalitarian regimes and very seldom, it is assumed, in liberal
democracies. The methods, applications, history and definitions
of the term "propaganda" are discussed.
Semiology and the possibilities of visual manipulation are
subjects of discussion. It is noted that the viewer's
experience of visual signs is naturally subjective. Andre
(1984: 21) suggests that television can communicate truth or it
can serve to present an aesthetic code, but it never engages the
viewer directly with reality: "the camera never lies"; but the
humans who manipulate it may do so...