Tabloid Journalism in South Africa: True Story! [Paperback]

Less than a decade after the advent of democracy in South Africa, tabloid newspapers have taken the country by storm. One of these paperstheDaily Sunis now the largest in the country, but it has generated controversy for its perceived lack of respect for privacy, brazen sexual content, and unrestrained truth-stretching. Herman Wasserman examines the success of tabloid journalism in South Africa at a time when global print media are in decline. He considers the social significance of the tabloids and how they play a role in integrating readers and their daily struggles with the political and social sphere of the new democracy. Wasserman shows how these papers have found an important niche in popular and civic culture largely ignored by the mainstream media and formal political channels.

Wasserman's sound research and keen analysis make this book valuable as a sociological source on race and ethnicity in South Africa, as well as a resource on communication and journalism. Studying the tiers of racial communication in a country emerging from decades of apartheid, Wasserman (Univ. of Sheffield, UK, and Univ. of Stellenbosch, South Africa) includes insights into political strife on the African continent in general and how that strife correlates with a high illiteracy rate among the indigenous population. One gains understanding of the status and value of tabloid papers in the recently democratized country, and also of their connection to the marginalized black majority. The author addresses the question of whether tabloids are a lesser form of journalism and argues convincingly that they are not, at least in South Africa. Wasserman's close study and comparison of the various styles in, and changes to, newspapers in general expand the volume's usefulness to those interested in print journalism in the 21st century generally. And his discussion of various well-known newspapers and formats provides solid journalistic background for those interested in intl3ˆ