5/7/2023 Alde 112-FA5 C4

GONNEKE GROENEN

Kyla-Marie Mostert, 41771788

Yzanne Schmid-Casarotto,
46411860
Amukelani Masilela, 42604656
Emma Branco Lizen, 45749280
Thato Bosiu, 42161258
GROUP 5
Table of Contents

Title: Corruption in the South-African corporate media....................................................................2

Introduction..............................................................................................................................................2

Media ownership as a reason for corruption......................................................................................2

Propaganda and how it proves that corruption in media cannot be combatted...........................3

Counter argument..................................................................................................................................3

Conclusion...............................................................................................................................................4

Reference list..........................................................................................................................................5

Attachments.............................................................................................................................................7

Group page.........................................................................................................................................7

Proof of meetings...............................................................................................................................7

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Title: Corruption in the South-African corporate media

Introduction

Corruption is the abuse of power that is granted by the public for personal gains (Liu,2016).
Corruption in the South African corporate media began during the apartheid regime to push
and promote the era’s agendas and oppression, but it has continued to perpetuate even
further in the era of current state democracy(source?). According to Mantzaris and Pillay
(2019:40), the roots for corruption are the “loss of ethical standards, lack of honesty and
cohesive leadership as well as organizational gaps.” The problem with corruption in the
concentration of media is that it delays the improvement of the quality distribution of media to
the public as well as free press and the parties who engage in it, do it to meet their personal
gains (Prasad et al.,2019:96) without considering the dire consequences. In this way it
cannot be combatted due to media ownership that is mostly influenced by political
interference as well the ever-perpetuating propaganda. Therefore, this essay aims to argue
the reasons why corruption cannot be combatted by providing relevant evidence using
academic journals, newspaper articles and other related lay sources as well as providing
examples that further proves the point.But what exactly are you going to discuss?

Media ownership as a reason for corruption

Media ownership in South-Africa alleviates the perpetuation of corruption in the country.

(please explain this) According to Mayo and Ndlovu Gatsheni (2013), media ownership in the
country is concentrated in the hands of a few powerful conglomerates with close ties to the
ruling party, The African National Congress (ANC). This concentration of ownership has led
to concerns about the impartially and independence of the media, particularly in the
coverage of political and economic issues. Furthermore, there have been allegations of
corruption and unethical behaviour by journalists and media owners in South-Africa, as
highlighted in a report by The South-African National Editors Form (SANEF) (2019).

These allegations include instances of journalists being paid to write favourable articles,
media owners using their outlets to push their own political agendas, and advertisers exerting
undue influence over editorial content(source?). An example of this can be seen in South-
Africa`s ‘state capture’ which has been influential in damaging public trust in all ranks of
society (Mantzaris and Pillay, 2019:54) Due to the Guptas and the former president Jocob
Zuma`s, influence, and power, the SABC was deeply involved in the state capture (Mahlaka
Davis and Payne, 2021). With all the events that occurred the SABC lost more than 62
million as a result and their high-esteemed reputation and public trust.

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Ok, but how does this support your thesis that corruption can’t be combatted?

Propaganda and how it proves that corruption in media cannot be combatted

Mass communication has been present in society throughout all human history. As such the
development of media allowed for businesses and government a way to influence public
opinion more effectively. This is done through propaganda. Propaganda is the act of
spreading information with the intent of swaying public opinion to support something or be
against it(source). It also includes the suppression of information to protect the image of an
individual or business. Propaganda is a form of corruption in media because for it to occur
powerful entities in the corporate or political world must abuse the power, they have argued
by Collison (2003:21) that propaganda is a manifestation of corporate power. Propaganda
perfectly encapsulates what media corruption looks like and why it happens. Corporate
propaganda came to exist as a means of protecting business interests from democracy
according to Alex Carey (1995:137). These interests include public image which can directly
affect profit.

In the US propaganda was used by businesses to create a stigma around unions to try and
bypass the rights workers would be given as union members(source?). This campaign began
a decline in union membership for a significant time which benefited businesses in the
US(source?). In South Africa corporate propaganda has taken place through the Gupta
family. The Gupta `s had a close relationship with the former president Jacob Zuma and as a
result used the news channel and newspaper outlet that they owned to spread fake news and
push a narrative in an attempt to protect Zuma from the negative publicity he had been
receivingg. (Mahajan, K; year? Page?)) They attempted to slander a minister that Zuma had
fired as he had publicly taken a stand against the former president. This was all done to
protect the business interests of the family since having the president as an ally was an
advantage in the corporate world.(source?)

Again how does this support your thesis?

Counter argument

Combating corruption in South Africa is not an easy task. Even though there are a couple of
non-governmental organisations like the Public Protector or the Open Democracy Advice
Centre where you can go to report someone who is suspected of criminal
behaviour.,However, it does not have a big enough impact to completely get rid of corruption.
You can contact a company like Corruption Watch, a transparency international chapter
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working to fight corruption in South Africa and get their website link added to your company’s
website or even to your company computers. This can make reporting corruption much
easier, and it can help to minimise corporate corruption. (Corruption Watch, 2022). Another
example of an organisation fighting against corruption is the African Union Convention on
Preventing and Combating Corruption or ACUPCC for short. The ACUPCC serves as serves
as a directive for all 55 of the members States of the African Union and they ACUPCC can
help to minimise corruption on a bigger scale since they are focused on Corruption
corruption on a more international scale (African Union, 2022). Even though there are all
these efforts to minimise corruption in
South Africa, corruption is still increasing (Mantzaris, 2019).

Conclusion
Corruption in south South Africa as well and within the world is an obstacle that will never be
combatted. With evidence provided it is clear to see that corruption hinders quality
improvement of media distribution to the public, reasons such as media ownership and
propaganda are seen as supporting confirmation that it unattainable to completely rid the
world and well as South Africa of corruption. However difficult the task may be there is
always a contradictory opinion or fact. As challenging as it may be there are ways to battle
corruption which are often overlooked or not seen as efficient enough. No matter the reasons
for corruption or the methods of combatting it, corruption exists and will always exist.

Words: 966

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Reference list
African Union. 2022. The role of the Media in advancing anti-corruption practices remains
critical: AUABC. https://au.int/en/pressreleases/20221017/role-media-advancing-anti-
corruption-practices- remains-critical-auabc. Date of access: 30 April. 2023

Carey, A 1996. Taking the Risk Out of Democracy: Corporate Propaganda vs Freedom and
Liberty edited by Andrew Lohrey. University of Illinois Press

Collison, D 2014. Corporate propaganda: Its implications for accounting and accountability.
Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal doi 10.1108/09513570310505989

Corruption Watch. 2022. THE FIRST STEP IN BRINGING AN END TO CORRUPTION

STARTS WITH YOU: OBEY THE LAW AND ENCOURAGE THOSE AROUND YOU TO DO
THE SAME. https://www.corruptionwatch.org.za/learn-about-corruption/what-is-
corruption/how-to-stop-it/ Date of access: 30 April. 2023.

Liu X. 2016. A literature review on the definition of corruption and factors affecting the
risk of corruption. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 4(6):171-177. 10.4236/jss.2016.46019
Mahajan, K 2019 "State Capture": How the Gupta Brothers Hijacked South Africa Using
Bribes Instead of Bullets. Vanity Fair

Mahlaka R, Davis R, Payne S. 2021. What is left after the state capture wrecking ball? Daily
Maverick, 05 June. https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-06-05- top-10-sites-of-state-
capture-what-the-guptas-really-cost-our-country/ Date of access: 04 May 2023

Mantzaris E, Pillay P. 2019. Corruption: Consequences for Socio-economic Well-

being in South Africa. Alternation, 26(1):40 62.mhttps://doi.org/10.48741/mut.190 70186.v1

Mantzaris, E & Pillay, P. 2019. Corruption: Consequences for Socio-economic Well-

being in South Africa. Alternation, 26(1):40-62

Moyo, D., & Ndlovu-Gatsheni, S. J. 2013. The media and the rise of African nationalism:
Reflections on the case of South Africa. Journal of Asian and African Studies, 48(4), 447-460.

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Prasad M, Martins da Silva M.B, Nickow A. 2019. Approaches to corruption: a synthesis of
the scholarship. Studies in Comparative International Development, 54:96-132
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12116-018-9275-0

South African National Editors; Forum (SANEF). 2019. State of the Newsroom 2019: The
corruption plague. https://www.sanef.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/State-of-the-
Newsroom-2019.pdf Date of access: 03 May. 2023.

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Attachments

Group page

Proof of meetings

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