Synopses & Reviews
The book examines the reform of the communications sector in South Africa as a detailed and extended case study in the transition from apartheid to democracy. The reform of broadcasting, telecommunications, the state information agency, and the print press from apartheid-aligned apparatuses to accountable democratic institutions took place via a complex political process in which civil society activism, embodying a post-social democratic ideal, largely won out over the powerful forces of formal market capitalism and older models of state control.
Review
"the analysis is persuasive and compelling." CHOICE Jan 2002"...well researched book...Horwitz's research and observations provide a rare resource for historians interested in international communication, communication policy, democratic reform, and the importance placed in an emerging democracy of 'getting it right' when dealing with one of the most powerful means of literacy, political control, and economic growth." Ken Waters, Journalism History"The book is well organized." International Journal of African History"The book is useful not only in analyzing the role of communications under apartheid but also its role in building a new civil society." African Studies Review
Synopsis
The book examines the reform of the communication sector in South Africa.
Table of Contents
List of tables; Preface and acknowledgments; List of acronyms and abbreviations; 1. Introduction and overview; 2. The ancien régime in the South African communications sector; 3. âSharing power without losing controlâ: reform apartheid and the new politics of resistance; 4. âControl will not pass to usâ: the reform process in broadcasting; 5. 'All shall call': the telecommunications reform process; 6. Free but âresponsibleâ: the battle over the press and the reform of the South African communications service; 7. Conclusion: black economic empowerment and transformation; Appendix; References; Index.