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An analysis of how South African professional journalists perceive their identities on social media
Author(s)
Tyhalibongo, Xolo Luthando
Date Issued
2022
Type
Thesis
Publisher
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Abstract
Professional journalists in South Africa occupy a very tenuous space. The advent of
digital media has fundamentally disrupted journalism and how professional journalists
practice their work, and, more importantly, how they perceive themselves. While on
one hand professional journalists are citizens with a wide range of views and opinions
on a wide range of issues, on the other hand, they are employees of media institutions
whose editorial policies set limits on the views and opinions they can articulate. This
tension is often confusing not only to journalists but also to ordinary citizens when
journalists express their opinions on social media. It is not usually clear whether they
share views as citizens or as professional journalists. Premised on the liquid
journalism theory and the social self-theory, this study sought to understand how
South African journalists perceive their identities on social media and the mechanisms
media institutions in the country have developed to assist journalists to negotiate their
identities on social media. The data informing the qualitative study was collected using
virtual ethnography, qualitative content analysis and semi-structured interviews with
purposively selected journalists and editors. The findings of the study show that South
African journalists perceive themselves differently on social media. While some
journalists perceive themselves as citizens with rights to freely share their views on
social media, other journalists view themselves as professional journalists whose
identities are tied to their profession and media institutions. The findings reveal
tensions and conflict amongst journalists in negotiating their identities on social media.
While on one hand they strive to express their views as citizens on the other hand they
are constrained by the press code and media company standards that view social
media as an extension of their practice as journalists. The study further finds that
media institutions in South Africa have not developed comprehensive, consistent and
coherent mechanisms to assist professional journalists to negotiate their identities on
social media.
digital media has fundamentally disrupted journalism and how professional journalists
practice their work, and, more importantly, how they perceive themselves. While on
one hand professional journalists are citizens with a wide range of views and opinions
on a wide range of issues, on the other hand, they are employees of media institutions
whose editorial policies set limits on the views and opinions they can articulate. This
tension is often confusing not only to journalists but also to ordinary citizens when
journalists express their opinions on social media. It is not usually clear whether they
share views as citizens or as professional journalists. Premised on the liquid
journalism theory and the social self-theory, this study sought to understand how
South African journalists perceive their identities on social media and the mechanisms
media institutions in the country have developed to assist journalists to negotiate their
identities on social media. The data informing the qualitative study was collected using
virtual ethnography, qualitative content analysis and semi-structured interviews with
purposively selected journalists and editors. The findings of the study show that South
African journalists perceive themselves differently on social media. While some
journalists perceive themselves as citizens with rights to freely share their views on
social media, other journalists view themselves as professional journalists whose
identities are tied to their profession and media institutions. The findings reveal
tensions and conflict amongst journalists in negotiating their identities on social media.
While on one hand they strive to express their views as citizens on the other hand they
are constrained by the press code and media company standards that view social
media as an extension of their practice as journalists. The study further finds that
media institutions in South Africa have not developed comprehensive, consistent and
coherent mechanisms to assist professional journalists to negotiate their identities on
social media.
Additional information
Thesis (MTech (Public Relations Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2022
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