Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Wasserman, H.
Right arrow Articles by Boloka, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Parliamentary Affairs Vol. 57 No. 1, 2004, 185-195
© Hansard Society for Parliamentary Government 2004; all rights reserved

Privacy, the Press and the Public Interest in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Herman Wasserman and Mashilo Boloka

In post-apartheid South Africa, the media enjoy a newfound freedom. The repressive censorship laws under which the media had to operate before democratisation have been replaced by a constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech. However, there is no final consensus about what the media's role in this new democracy should be, and what its relationship with government should entail. This uncertainty about the limits of media freedom has also influenced the extent to which the media have been willing to invade the privacy of politicians. While the privacy of a post-apartheid leader like Nelson Mandela was by and large respected, other politicians have not been treated with similar reverence. This article examines some of the legislative and normative changes that affected the media in South Africa after democratisation, and looks at some case studies to outline the different approaches to the issue of privacy invasion.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.