The first Southern African cartoonists were probably the Stone Age Bushman whose drawings adorn rock faces in this part of the continent. Modern cartoonists may use more sophisticated equipment but their drawings, although on recyclable print, also reflect a particular part of our history. The following view of Schoonraad et al (1989:15: "A collection of cartoons covering a particular period, will present an unequalled graphic history of political and current events" They also add that the state of any nation is reflected by its newspaper cartoons Geipel 1972 argues that to the historian, cartoons represent priceless primary source of information about fleeting modes and morals of the passing generations. Few commentators Pretoria will disagree that the run-up to the 1994-election can be regarded as one of the most crucial moments in South African history. The focus will only be on the editorial cartoon usually found on the centre pages of Sunday and daily newspapers and not on comic strips of which the majority are from US-syndications. The only local comic strips that provide (198 social and political commentary are "Ben, Babsie en Famille" and "Louis die Laeveld Leeu".

A CHANGING political culture in South Africa has seen in recent years a massive ex pansion in the use of political advertising - both by extra-parliamentary pressure groups and establishment mainstream parties. Standards of commercial advertising in South Africa are controlled by the Trade Practices Act and editorial copy by the terms of the Media Council's Code of Conduct. Remarkably, political advertising is subject to neither. This article examines the impact of political advertising in three aspects: effects on the political debate itself, the audi alteram partem rule of journalistic balance and the over-all impact on the culture of the newspapers in which the advertisement ap pears. A brief survey of the role of political adver tising in other countries is included as well as some observations on the way in which ma jor foreign newspapers approach political advertising. The author argues against further statutory controls on the content of political advertising but suggests that the newspaper industry itself has a responsibility to counter patently false or tendentious political adver tising in its columns.