Vol 39, No 1 (2020)

Based on the 2016 presidential election in Uganda as covered on the NTV Facebook page,
this paper, emanating from a doctoral study, shows how the medium of television has mass
mediatised Facebook. The onset of social media has meant that audiences increasingly turn
to such platforms for their information needs, including news. As a consequence, the traditional
media’s role of providing such news and information updates is demoted and threatened. In order
to stay relevant, mass media has had to join social media platforms to provide the aforementioned
information/news. In attempting to do so, mass media has consequently mediatised social media,
especially as seen through the lens of the agenda-setting theory, which this paper argues is in
contrast with the discursive nature of social media as a public sphere.

HIV and AIDS remain one of the leading public health challenges in the world, with young women in sub-Saharan Africa bearing the brunt of HIV infection. Female vulnerability to HIV infection is exacerbated by socio-cultural, economic and biological dynamics. Vaginal microbicide, one of the first topical pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) innovations for HIV prevention can offer new hope for women, but an understanding of the local cultural context and its influence on product acceptability is fundamental for effective HIV communication strategies. Critical health communication navigates through the complexities of cultural discourses to create awareness among women in dominant cultural settings. As a means of understanding the key determinants for effective HIV communication, this paper used thematic analysis of data from a study among female students at the University of KwaZulu-Natal regarding their preferences and the acceptability of two microbicide technologies: the tenofovir gel and the dapivirine ring. Key
findings indicate that microbicides give women more options for self-protection and cater for diverse sexual encounters, and that their covert use empowers women to use the products even if male partners do not support this. However, women felt more empowered with “male-supported, female-initiated” HIV prevention options. The study suggests that in providing HIV prevention
options to women, culturally appropriate messages must be considered. We suggested that topical PrEP must be communicated as a “male-supported, female-initiated” HIV prevention option in rural KwaZulu-Natal contexts.

Out-of-home advertisers demand measurable and reliable results to better determine and control
the success both before and after the launch of an advertising campaign. The evaluation of outof-
home media effectiveness as part of advertising campaigns remains a largely unexplored
field of study, especially in an emerging market like South Africa’s. By analysing the contents of
out-of-home advertising campaigns’ media planning strategies and results, this study aimed to
investigate whether the effectiveness of out-of-home media formats are evaluated and validly
confirmed by South African advertisers. Findings of the study revealed the general lack of
effective evaluation techniques for reliably measuring out-of-home media formats’ effectiveness in
achieving stated communication objectives. Furthermore, results confirm the significant campaign
evaluation opportunities provided by the integration of out-of-home media with technology and
other mechanisms to receive on- or offline interactivity from audiences with advertised brands.
This is particularly useful while the development of reliable out-of-home media measurement
metrics is still underway across the globe.

It is posited that this article is an important theoretical addition in the field of strategic communication as it seeks to eradicate the conceptual tension between the two dominant discourses, namely modernist and postmodernist explanations of how organisations should manage stakeholder relationships. Modernists believe in a single truth, accept metanarratives and believe that grand theory represents knowledge and can explain everything, whilst postmodernists reject the absolute standards and grand theories typical of modernism in favour of awareness and tolerance of differences, ambiguity and conflict. This article links these two perspectives in a new metamodern model for stakeholder relationship management, aimed specifically at the South African non-profit sector. A conceptual theoretical framework was developed and tested by means of exploratory qualitative and interpretative research through interviews with senior management in the non-profit sector. The findings suggest that a metamodern perspective requires constant negotiation between modernism and postmodernism. We also highlight the need for formal
training in stakeholder relationship management. This entails adopting a micro-perspective by regularly identifying current strategic issues, mapping the stakeholders involved and linking them to these issues, and designing focused communication strategies to manage stakeholder relationships. The main research implications are that stakeholder relationship management is a
function which should not simply be delegated to the communication specialist, and that it should be practised from a metamodern perspective and not a modernistic or postmodern perspective. The originality and value of this research initiative lies in the development of a metamodern model for stakeholder relationship management for the non-profit sector which has been proposed and tested in practice.

The African National Congress, South Africa’s ruling party since its liberation from apartheid in
1994, has one of the most compelling stories in modern political history. Few political parties
in the world have such a momentous, historically moving narrative; and few have used it to
such effect. The party has specialised in associating itself with the “collective memory” of the
South African people, ensuring that the ANC has been strongly associated with the South African
struggle narrative of the twentieth century. This is the heart of the “good story” that has kept the
ruling party in power since 1994 and made it very difficult for other political groupings to claim to
have played a major role in the struggle for freedom in South Africa.