A critical analysis of the opinions of Daily Voice readers about the South African Defence Force (SANDF) in 2015 and 2019

Abstract

Tabloid newspapers by definition rely on sensationalist headlines and pictures to grab the attention of readers and have often been dismissed for having little news value in comparison to other media (Örnebring and Jönsson, 2004). This newspaper format was only introduced in South Africa in 2001 with the launch of the weekly tabloid newspaper the Sunday Sun (Froneman, 2006). Newspapers in South Africa have since first publication in the 19th Century, been a mechanism for the public to share their opinions on current affairs and issues affecting society. But they were not immune to the oppressive apartheid policies which severely restricted media freedom and banned any independent, critical news media in opposition of the minority white government. The racial classification of coloured was given to anyone of mixed heritage, but specifically to those of Malay (an Austronesian ethnic group native) and Khoisan (a first nation South African ethic group) descent. The South African National Defence Force, the state army in South Africa, was founded in the early 1900’s but as the political landscape changed so did the aims of this branch of state. It was during the apartheid regime which legalised institutional racial classification and segregation of South Africans that the army was used by the state as a violent force. This was done routinely and with brutal force to suppress any opposition to the apartheid regime. The Daily Voice was launched in Cape Town in 2005 and was aimed at a coloured readership. The Daily Voice has a dedicated SMS line via which it encourages readers to comment on published news stories and a selection of these comments are published in the newspaper. These opinions of Daily Voice readers are the main source of data for the study. In South Africa, there is little academic analysis of the interactions between tabloid readers and the newspapers. This study investigates the Daily Voice newspaper's representation of its readers' opinions of the army being deployed to fight crime in Cape Town in 2015 and 2019. The public debate began in 2015, when the SANDF was first touted by politicians as a possible law enforcement tool to assist police in efforts to combat gang violence and crime in specific neighbourhoods in Cape Town. Opinions differed on the effectiveness of the SANDF and its capability of being deployed on home soil to fight crime.