Blogging

: Investigating the role played by blogs in contemporarySouth African Journalism and the Public Sphere.

Michelle Ishioma Atagana

Submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Masters of Art inthe School of Literary, Media Studies and Creative Arts, in the University ofKwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.

Unless otherwise specified in the text, this dissertation is the author’s own

original work.

Acknowledgements

I am very grateful to my family and friends for all their support throughout thisresearch, I am not the easiest person to deal with while under stress but they sawme through. A special thank you to my father who continually encourages me topursue my academic dreams, to my mother who always asked how my day was andto my little sister Chinxy for being my slave when I needed one. To my brother Hilaryfor always being there, to Helga and Vivian for remembering to press play.A special thank you to Nic Haralambous, Laurian Clemence, Vincent Maher,Matthew Buckland, Mike Stopforth and the folks from Thought Leader for letting meinvade their blogs and lives for two years. Also a special thank you to thecontributors of the blogs and the readers for their willingness to take time out of theirday to answer my questions. To Rafiq Phillps for pointing me in the right direction.Lastly my supervisor, Dr Nicola Jones, who encouraged me to achieve greatnesseven when I changed my mind for the twentieth time. Also to my co-supervisor DrLincoln Michell who stepped in for a second pair of eyes. I am forever grateful to youboth.I dedicate this thesis to my mother who passed away before the final correctionswere completed.