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Muting the voices of the protesters: News24’s framing of the 2015 Malamulele service delivery protest in South Africa

News24’s framing of the 2015 Malamulele service delivery protest in South Africa

Betina Mawokomayi
University of Fort Hare
Bevelyn Dube
University of Venda
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Muting the voices of the protesters: News24’s framing of the 2015 Malamulele service delivery protest in South Africa. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 37(1), 38-55. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v37i1.1581
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  • Submited: October 13, 2022
  • Published: October 13, 2022

Abstract

The study interrogated News24’s framing of the 2015 Malamulele service delivery protest in
South Africa. The study sought to find out what frames were used, why they were chosen and
with what effect. Twenty newspaper articles published by News24 on the protest were purposively
selected for inclusion in the study. The articles were analysed using quantitative and qualitative
content analysis. Findings revealed that the reporters chose episodic frames which conformed
with the protest paradigm and which depicted the protestors as violent, destructive, unreasonable
and a threat to the economy of the local community and of the nation. The paper argues that the
choice of sources and frames was largely informed by journalistic principles of news production
and that this resulted in the voices of the protestors being stifled.

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How to Cite
Muting the voices of the protesters: News24’s framing of the 2015 Malamulele service delivery protest in South Africa. (2022). Communicare: Journal for Communication Studies in Africa, 37(1), 38-55. https://doi.org/10.36615/jcsa.v37i1.1581

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