1

File: Rubicon

THE VISUAL ROLE OF `THE RUBICONS' AS PART OF THE REFORM STRATEGY

Daniel Daran, Ansuya Chetty, Jeanne Prinsloo and Mark Allison-Broomhead

(Honours project supervised by Ruth Teer-Tomaselli)Presented at the 1986 Conference of the Association of Sociology in Southern Africa, University of Natal.

Our investigation explores the `major reform' initiatives of the South African State during the late 1980s. We examine media coverage of the so-called Rubicon speeches delivered by the then State President, PW Botha. We attempt to expose the major elements, to explain these in context and, by comparison, to elicit the nature of any development contained therein.

The name given to the speeches was coined by the media from the conclusion of the opening speech given by President PW Botha at the Natal National Party Congress in Durban on 15 August 1985. He claimed: "We are today crossing the Rubicon. There can be no turning back." The historical reference to Caesar crossing the Rubicon in defiance suggests a scenario of great initiative and confrontation. This speech was to have been a major image building exercise and this was hinted at by both press and television coverage of Pik Botha's visits to foreign heads of state to explain its significance.

The need to replay the Rubicon policy speech at the second opening of the Tricameral Parliament on 31 January 1986 in Cape Town arose from a serious miscalculation in the earlier address. The press had been was attacked by P W Botha in Rubicon I as the enemy of the State. So vehement was the attack that it provoked the almost total rejection of the speech by capital and the English press alike. Our study has been divided into four broad sections in order to facilitate our analysis:

* Firstly, we compare and contextualise the Rubicon speeches to reveal the underlying developments of the reform

propaganda.

* Secondly we provide a brief overview of the South African

2

English Press coverage of the reform process from August 1985 to February 1986 (i.e. just before Rubicon I to just after Rubicon II). The purpose is to illustrate the role of the press in the promotion of the reformist image of the State while maintaining a seemingly detached and critical relationship with the State.

* Thirdly, we offer semiotic analyses of the televised Rubicon speeches. These include detailed examination of the visual images, produced by the cameras, in relation to the message content.

* Fourthly, we have conducted a comparative semiotic analysis of the television coverage around the Rubicon speeches. This attempts to illustrate how the seemingly objective techniques of reporting events and representing them visually are manipulated to reinforce a particular view of the event.

It is our argument that there is no fundamental difference in content in the Rubicon speeches and that the reform process did not presuppose an intentional transformation or restructuring of the power relations of the state. Furthermore, we argue that the initiatives are rather an attempt to mediate the crisis of the State at one level by engaging the media in the promotion of the apparent restructuring of the State. The marketing techniques of the National Party used in the promotion of Rubicon II are a further reflection of this trend.

Thus, the Rubicon speeches should be seen as a survival strategy of a threatened order.

Reform and the English Press

The coverage by the press of the Reform process from just before Rubicon I to just after Rubicon II can only be described as inconsistently consistent. We chose a selection of clippings to illustrate the general trends reflected in the English commercial press from the following newspapers:

*Sunday Star*Sunday Tribune*Sunday Times*Natal Mercury

3

*Daily News.

The study is divided into five sections starting with the lead up to Rubicon I and following in order with; post-Rubicon I; the interim period; lead up to Rubicon II; and ending with the period after Rubicon II.

Lead up to Rubicon I

The two week period prior to Rubicon I was a period of barely concealed hope and excitement in the homes of the English Press. Typical of the reportage of this period is the "comment" in the Sunday Star of August 11 1985 (page 1) entitled "Portents of Hope". The first two paragraphs reflect on the developments around the state of emergency and the threat of sanctions. However the third paragraph reads: "And yet, are things really as bad as they seem? It is extraordinary how resilient the country and its economy are." This establishes as the preferred reading of the previous two paragraphs the fact that the crises in South Africa are no cause for concern. This notion is reinforced in the paragraph that follows, through references to instances of success on the part of the State in the area of crisis management and to the support of the Reagan and Thatcher regimes. The message of hope which the reader anticipates and is made receptive to as a result of the headline, emerges clearly in a list of actions which the government could take, to reverse what the editor refers to as "this dark moment in our history". These include:

*the relaxation of the pass laws (which have been talked of for nearly a year)

*lifting of the state of emergency *initiation of discussions (both Inkatha and the ANC

are mentioned)*the unconditional release of Mandela*the announcement of common citizenship.

The final paragraph concludes with: "It could neutralize any group trying to stir up violence, and it could help to restore business confidence." This reinforces the reformist notions of change within the framework of the system and the solution to the problems facing South Africa as a matter of conflict resolution rather than the radical restructuring of the system as a whole.

4

While all but two of the clippings reflected positive titles, they all made allowance for some possible let down. However, the only negative headings were in the Natal Mercury, 12 August 1985, "Media 'creating unwarranted expectations'" and in the Daily News, 12 August 1985, "PW won't reveal all in Durban". Both articles indicated positive reforms albeit at a slower pace than was being expected.

The reasons for the responses can also be found historically in the relationship between the state and the press where the major demands of capital, expressed through the press, often take some pressure and time to be transformed into policy and legislation. This is reflected in the following excerpts:

"The old principles convey an anti-capitalist feeling reminiscent of old-style Nats. This is out of keeping with the government's privatisation policy" (Sunday Star - 11 August 1985).

"...we have to assume that the government - sooner, rather than later will be able to provide the broader framework of reform within which business people can make the work ethos an attractive proposition" (Sunday Star - 11 August 1985)

Post Rubicon I

The reaction to Rubicon I can be traced to the references Botha makes to the press a) at the introduction and b) near the conclusion, of his speech:

a) "Most of the media in South Africa have already informed you on what I was going to say tonight, or what I ought to say, according to their superior judgement."

b) "I have a specific question I would like to put to the media in South Africa: "...Whose interests do you serve - those of South Africa or those of the revolutionary elements?"

The reaction was quick and ruthless and the story headers reflected almost total rejection of the "let down" speech:-

* "Press slates Botha for `let down' speech" (Natal Mercury - 17 Aug.)

* "Business betrayed" (Sunday Tribune - 18 Aug.)

5

* "Rand dives as world reacts" (Sunday Tribune - 18 Aug)* "Call for PW to resign" (Sunday Tribune - 18 Aug.)* "Homelands are still the answer" (Daily News - 19 Aug.)* "No departure from Basics of apartheid" (Daily News - 2 Sept.).

Note that such headlines also trigger off the myth of the press as the source of facts and information which enables the public to monitor and react to the activities of the State. This conceals the role of the press as an ideological state apparatus.

The punishment meted out by the press lasted about two weeks and was followed by attempts at the rationalisation of the illogical behaviour of the State President. Conjecture abounded and theories ranged from a cabinet walkout to a battle between "verkrampte" and "verligte" elements (ie. that Pik Botha raised hopes of change and PW Botha dashed them). The stories of this period reflect a return to normal. An example of this can be found in an article headed "Annoyed Pik `stayed away'" in the Sunday Tribune, 18 August 1985 (p.2).

The Interim Period

The State released the President's Council report on "urbanisation strategy" in the week of 13 September and the press got back to work on negating many of the criticisms made only one week before. The reform process was reported on and promoted by articles such as the one appearing in the Sunday Tribune, 15 September 1985 (p.3). The headline "Pass laws brought to book" suggests change and is explained in the bold print that appears below it: "The President's Council report on urbanization strategy this

week recommended the scrapping of influx control and the pass system - two facts of life for blacks under a National Party Government which have probably done more than any other to cause anger and racial friction.But whites are not going to be swamped in the cities by unemployed squatters. The fine print takes care of that."

The above extract anchors the preferred reading of the fine print in the President's Council report as a necessary measure to prevent whites being "swamped in the cities by unemployed squatters", rather than as imposing severe limitations on the recommended changes. The notion that the recommendations, if

6

implemented, will indeed bring about genuine change is reinforced by a smiling image of Dr Koornhof with the caption: "Koornhof ... foresees a new, peaceful country" (Figure I, p.3). The notion of genuine change is further reinforced through contrast with an image of Dr Connie Mulder captioned "Connie Mulder would not sign report" (Figure 2, p.2). Koornhof looks into the article drawing our attention to it while Mulder looks away from the article. The position of Mulder's image could thus be said to symbolize his rejection of the report. Furthermore, the rejection of a proposal by a right-wing politician gives the impression that it offers some kind of drastic change.

Header's like "South Africa will dismantle apartheid" (Daily News - 16 September 1985), also appeared to reinforce the pre-Rubicon message of the reform process by giving a positive emphasis to "change". The press as a fraction of capital is ideologically bound to encourage modernisation and the freeing of individual potential through the vehicle of the developing market. It seems only logical that at this time the State is promoting policies of privatization and the encouragement of entrepreneurship. Conditional statements or constraints in the reform package that hint at restrictions or the maintenance of apartheid are represented as mere impediments in the reform process. For example, a statement like, "Every person should have the right to vote" would not logically be translated into anything but "equal rights" (p.4).

It is clear that Rubicon I was intended as a media exercise because of the many releases prior to the speech of what could be expected, for example, Pik Botha's talks in Vienna (Sunday Tribune - 11 August 1985, p.5) and hints made on public platforms, for example, talk on the release of Mandela (Sunday Tribune - 11 August 1985, p.5). The failure of Rubicon I prompted a rethink on the part of the State and it looked seriously at the projection of its image. A "once off" course to improve television presence was launched under the guidance of the then National Party information chief Chris Rencken (p.7). This was possibly the result of criticism by representatives of big capital of the poor image of the State and the need to improve it (Natal Mercury - 18 September 1985, p.8). This predated the elevation of the information section with Louis Nel, a deputy cabinet minister as its head (Sunday Times - 2 February 1986, p.9).

7

Big capital mounted a campaign on September 28, 1985 to advertise its support for reform and to show its dissatisfaction with the pace of reform. Among the issues at stake was deteriorating security and the increase in black militancy including successful consumer boycotts. Capital was under siege and determined despite the recalcitrance of the State to rectify matters (p.10). Ninety-two leaders in commerce and industry released a statement demanding:

*the abolishment of all racial discrimination;*negotiation with acknowledged black leaders about power sharing;*full citizenship for all; and*the restoration and entrenchment of the rule of law.

This statement was advertised in all major newspapers, black and white (p.11). The dissatisfaction on the part of capital was further emphasised by the visit of leading capitalists including the chairman of Anglo American to the ANC. This was given prominent and positive coverage in the English Press. A strongly positive response reflects in the English Press, not only an acknowledgement of the ANC as the real opposition, but also the failure of the State's ongoing campaign to discredit the banned organisation. This indicated that the ideological role of the press can extend beyond the support of the reform policies of the State and yet maintain a reformist stance.

Statements by Botha at this time tended to be treated in a general and factual way, even when he announced at the Cape National Party Congress on 2 October 1985 that group areas were to be retained (p.12). The reason is possibly that elements in the press felt that it was not in the interests of reform to force the issue. This is reflected in the Natal Mercury, 3 October 1985, in the following statement:

"Mr Botha said he had gone out of his way to apply Christian standards of human dignity, but people should not ask him for the impossible `because then I stand firm, and I stand firm today'."

Lead up to Rubicon II

The press coverage immediately prior to Rubicon II was more circumspect in its expectations; a case of once bitten ... Nevertheless, a feeling of hope was engineered and most headers

8

implied messages similar to the Sunday Tribune comment of 26 January 1986 which read: "President Botha cannot fail again." The reflections also included the role of business in reform - with references to the FCI's Business Charter and Action Programme (p.13) - and the warnings expressed by Chief Buthelezi that if Botha did not "clearly spell out the road ahead the country could take a dramatic turn for the worse" (page 14).

Period after Rubicon II

The immediate press response to Rubicon II was nothing short of euphoric and headlines claimed,"Botha's big steps (Bold plan for an all race convention)" (p.15), "Botha outlines major reforms" (page xvi), and "Botha courageous, says Buthelezi" (page xvi).

The statements reflect absolute relief on the part of business and the liberal press and this reflects on the liberal vision of the reform process as a strategy for the maintenance of the orderly appropriation of surplus value where the "trickle down" process will benefit the working class, albeit proportionately. This vision is extended to the nature of reportage in an eventized form and not in terms of an analysis of relations, processes and development over time.

Notable is the maintenance on the part of the press of some doubt as to the progress of reform but this time it is well camouflaged in the promotional discourse.

The hard sell reform programme of the State was well received by the press both because of its recognition of the positive image creation well used by capital as an ideological survival mechanism and for the marketing of commodities. Interestingly, the advert (p.17) did not appear in The Sunday Tribune even though the reform process had been consistently promoted by that newspaper but probably because of its consistent and extensive emergency and unrest coverage.

The resignation of Van Zyl Slabbert from Parliament, and the attack by PW Botha on Pik Botha over the latter's statement on the possibility of a black president, were treated as major news items and seen as shocks to the reform process. The initial press reaction was one of wonderment and alarm (p.18). The Daily News editorial on the day of Slabbert's resignation was entitled "Trout catch" and was about trout fishing in the Cape (p. 19).

9

Soon after, follow up stories appeared in which key people were reported criticizing Van Zyl Slabbert for letting the side down and this is followed up more strongly as time passes where Slabbert's actions are treated as out of character if not deviant (p.20).

The reform initiatives of the press were well on the way again...

Rubicon I and II A Semiotic Analysis of Televised News and Review Coverage

Introduction

The SABC-TV newsbroadcasts that offered detailed coverage of Rubicon I and II (Afrikaans - News at 8.00 - 16/8/85; English - News at 8.00- 31/1/86) represented attempts to win support from the South African public and big business for the State President's speech in each case. However, different approaches were used in each in response to the differing reactions to Rubicon I and II. The general reaction to Rubicon I among local and foreign opinion formers (term used in SABC news broadcasts - refers to those whose comments the SABC sees fit to elicit) was scepticism and disappointment. The immediate reaction among the same group of people to Rubicon II was largely positive. However, as already discussed, later press reports showed a swing among business leaders to a position in which they were much more critical of the proposals.

There were differences between the two bulletins with regard to:

a) coverage of the speech itselfb) whose reactions were reported onc) how many people were interviewedd) the visual material usede) the composition of shotsf) the order of combination of the paradigmatic elementsg) the duration of each part as well as of the entire news item.

The news item on Rubicon I shall henceforward be referred to as "A" and the news item on Rubicon II as "B". Note that reference shall also be made to news items in other bulletins which followed up the speeches.

10

Some general observations

"A" ran for 16 mins 48s, i.e., approximately 70% of the news broadcast (excluding the sporting review) and "B" ran for 20 mins 8 seconds, i.e., 80% of the duration of the newsbroadcast. Both were the first news items in the bulletins in which they appeared. The time given to something, as well as where it is placed in the bulletin has connotations regarding its importance. Viewers would thus have come to see Rubicon I and II as historic events.

"B" was slightly longer than "A" because it presented the comments of many more people than "A" (Refer to Table 1). When the response to something has generally been favourable as in the case of Rubicon ii, it becomes feasible to use the comments of a larger number and wider cross-section of people.

Table 1

Number of: A B

1. Representatives of political parties 4 62. homeland leaders 5 73. business leaders 4 64. trade union leaders - 15. community leaders - 1 6. community council leaders - 27. religious leaders 1 7 8. educationists - 39. liberal extra-parliamentary opposition groups - 110. Leaders of progressive political organisations 1 - interviewed It must be remembered however that while in "B" a wider cross-section of people was interviewed, this does not mean that it was any more representative than "A". Table 1 reveals the almost total exclusion of crucial paradigmatic elements in both. For example, progressive political organisations, trade unions

11

and community organisations were almost not represented at all. Where they were, it was for a very short time eg. In "A", Dr Allan Boesak's comment lasted 20 second, i.e, 0,06% of the news item. Although there wasn't a major disparity between the time given to Boesak and the time given to other respondents, 0,06% is still very little when one considers that the UDF was the largest mass organisation in the country.

Another point to be noted about "B" is that in many cases the vagueness of superimpositions gave the impression that the cross-section of opinion was wider than it really was. For example, a superimposition such as"Dr Lucy Mvubelo - Trade Unionist" gives no idea of which trade union she was a leader. However, in the South African context it is not merely the name of the trade union that is important but also the umbrella body to which it is affiliated, since this gives an indication of the role the union plays; eg. COSATU is seen as the vanguard of workers' interests in the country and is acknowledged as a powerful force by big business. Dr Mvubelo however, belonged to the Garment Worker's Union, a TUCSA affiliate. TUCSA affiliated unions enjoyed little credibility among black workers - they were seen as having sold out to employers. Viewers, however, are not made aware of this, hence the positive connotations attached to the word "trade unionist" (positive as far as the majority of South Africans are concerned), are transposed to Dr Mvubelo. In this example the superimposition plays both a referential as well as a metalinguistic function. It anchors the preferred reading of Dr Mvubelo as a metonym for the working class majority. The symbolic meaning of the sequence (taking into account Dr Mvubelo's positive response to Mr Botha's proposals) comes to be: the majority of South Africans are pleased with the proposed changes in government policy.

There are also other connotations attached to the choice of Dr Mvubelo. The idea of a woman, and a black woman at that, not only becoming the leader of an organisation, but also obtaining a Ph D. in a society which sees women as inferior to men, bears with it the implication that there was equal opportunity for all in South Africa.

Though the paradigmatic elements in "A" and "B" differ (eg. whose reactions are reported on), the order of combination of the elements in each case results in the production of the same syntagm of meaning: that the government is about to introduce

12

drastic changes which will benefit all South Africans.

Let us now examine these paradigmatic elements and the manner in which they are combined to produce meaning in each case.

A detailed analysis of "B"

The first part of the news item deals with the contents of Mr Botha's speech. This part contains fragments of actuality material (footage of Botha addressing Parliament). The producer has the discretion to choose which parts of the speech to broadcast and so highlight. Live footage of the speech is used where the State President refers to:

*the issue of the release of Nelson Mandela*the concept of apartheid*the national statutory council.

Each fragment is introduced or summarised by the news correspondent Marius Kleynhans, whose rhetoric serves to anchor the preferred reading of the part of the speech to which it refers. For example, Kleynhans "wraps up" the third fragment as follows: "This move is being viewed as the first step towards power sharing with blacks whose leaders would get a direct say in the management of the country." We tend not to ask "`being viewed' by whom?". The myth of objectivity insulates the rhetoric of news presenters and correspondents from our criticism. We tend to believe that what is merely an opinion is in fact a "neutral" assessment of the situation.

With regard to the choice of fragments there is a contradiction implicit in the foregrounding of the Mandela issue. The SABC generally depicts the ANC as a group of "terrorists" with little support within the country. News about the organisation is generally directed towards discrediting it. Choosing the issue of the release of Mr Mandela as one of only three issues that were considered important enough to be highlighted, reflects a subconscious acknowledgement on the part of the SABC, of the ANC as the real opposition in South Africa.

The next part of the news item deals with the reactions to the speech from the parties represented in Parliament. From the point of view of camera technique, there is a great deal of consistency here. All six party leaders are represented looking

13

off-camera in medium close-up shot. This consistency could be interpreted as an indication of the fact that journalistic practice at the SABC is informed by the myth of objectivity. All party leaders are made equal before the camera - symbolizing the freedom and equality said to be characteristic of the liberal western democracy.

This is followed by the responses of leaders from the national and independent States. Most are depicted by slides accompanied by the presenter's voice-over commentary. However the viewer is shown live interviews of Chief Buthelezi, Dr Phatudi and Professor Sanwisi. Note that the manner in which respondents are represented, contributes to their position in the hierarchy of political status created in the minds of the viewer. However, the choice of respondents (all three are articulate speakers while Sanwisi and Phatudi's titles also enhance their status in a society where academic education is valued highly) seems directed to giving credibility to the homeland system as a whole rather than the creation of a particular hierarchy of leaders.

Also of interest, with regard to the choice as commentators, of leaders with high academic status, is the fact that this has the effect of indirectly generating support for the scientific management policy of the Botha regime, where decision and policy making has been assumed by the Executive arm of government.

The next part of the news item looks at the comments of what the news reader refers to as "other black opinion formers". These include two mayors, two educationists, a community leader, a trade unionist and the chancellor of Vista University. It is here particularly that the wording of superimpositions gives the impression of a wide cross-section of respondents. This part of the news item ends with a comment from a representative of Women for Peace, Mrs Irma Xenopoulis. It seems the producers did not know how to classify her and so simply put her at the end of this section. "Extra-parliamentary opposition groups" would have been a suitable paradigm heading - but the use of only one element in that paradigm would have drawn attention to the omission of other elements, for example, the UDF.

Next we are given the reactions of business leaders followed by religious leaders, among them Bishop Tutu.

The manner in which Bishop Tutu's comment is recorded shows how

14

editing techniques can be used to neutralize comment that is not altogether favourable. What we hear Bishop Tutu saying is: "It may well be that the rhetoric translates into more acceptable action but I doubt that. I'm hoping it can be." His comment is cut off at this point and thus made to end on a note of vague optimism which neutralizes the doubt expressed in the sentence preceding that. The manner in which he is shot is also worth mention. He is represented in long shot at the end of a huge table at what appears to be a press conference. The type of shot, combined with poor lighting makes him almost inconspicuous. Furthermore the viewer's eyes tend to focus on the backs of two journalists positioned in the foreground. This makes the representation of Bishop Tutu appear to be mediated not only by the camera but also by the journalists behind whom the camera is positioned, in this way widening the gulf between Bishop Tutu as the communicator and the television audience and receiver. Thus camera and lighting codes interact to produce a shot, the symbolic meaning of which could be: religious organisations opposed to the government are shady and devious and therefore not to be trusted.

The news item ends with the British reaction dealt with by Clarence Keyter. Keyter is shown in medium shot with the British Parliament buildings in the background. This conveys a sense of immediacy. This shot is followed by a montage of shots of various parts of the building accompanied by a voice-over commentary. The montage concludes with an extremely low angle shot of part of one of the buildings. The British flag appears prominently in the centre of the frame. The flag is a metonym for Britain and the manner in which it is shot connotes respect for Britain not only as South Africa's ally, but as the country from which South Africa purports to derive its Parliamentary and legal traditions.

The American reaction is dealt with in a later bulletin (Afrikaans - News at 7pm - 1/2/86). In the news item concerned we are shown footage of Mr Bernard Kalb from the American Department of Foreign Affairs, at a press conference. Mr Kalb expresses approval of the proposals put forward by Mr Botha. Kalb is depicted in a medium close-up, low angle shot, looking directly into the camera. There are several microphones in front of him while a map of the world forms his background. The mikes are indexical of radio and TV networks and symbolize widespread interest in the event. This meaning is reinforced by the map

15

which symbolizes international significance. Thus Rubicon II comes to be seen as an event of international importance which has elicited a positive response from one of the superpowers. Furthermore, the manner in which Mr Kalb is represented since he is metonymical of the United States, also enhances the status of the US as South Africa's ally.

A detailed analysis of"A"

Since with regard to B, the response among opinion formers was generally positive, all that remained to be done was to effectively convey these responses to the television audience.

"A", however, was faced with a more difficult task: that of having to resolve in favour of the existing status quo the contradiction arising from the fact that while the previous day's bulletin (English - News at 8pm - 15/8/85) referred to Pik Botha's description of the speech as the most significant ever made in South Africa, the greater proportion of the footage shot for "A", in fact, revealed that the speech was widely regarded as vague and disappointing. In the earlier bulletin the message of hope and better things to come was reinforced by elements within the chromakey, during what was hard news coverage of the speech. The chromakey contained a portrait of Mr PW Botha wearing a smile, with the words "The Road Ahead" superimposed towards the left of the frame. Mr Botha is indexical of the South African government and expression is indexical of hope. Thus the meaning of the visual syntagm is: the South African government is ushering in a new era of hope and political enlightenment.

While "B" begins with a summary of the State President's address, "A" does not report on the contents of Rubicon I at all. Such an omission appears to be directed towards denying viewers the obvious thing against which to assess the validity of criticisms of the speech. Viewers will therefore hesitate to come to any conclusions in favour of such criticisms.

Instead, "A" begins with the State President's response to critics. We are shown live footage of Mr Botha addressing a press conference on criticisms of his speech. He begins by saying that "we" South Africans have always had the strength to resist attempts to undermine "us". This has the effect of transforming Mr Botha's speech as the object of criticism into the South African public at large. He goes on to say that the

16

critics ought to study his speech and that when they do this he hopes "reason will triumph". The implication is that criticisms of the speech are unreasonable.

The above part of the news item thus plays a crucial role: it anchors the preferred reading of the criticisms that are subsequently expressed as poorly thought out and merely part of an attempt to undermine South Africa. Placed anywhere else it could not have played this role as effectively, for example, if placed at the end it would have had little effect for the viewer may by then have already evaluated the criticisms.

Of interest in the footage of the press conference is the fact that the visual representation of the press differs strongly from the manner in which the press was depicted in the live broadcast of the first Rubicon speech. The different ways in which the journalists are represented can be related to the different contexts in which they appear in each case.

In the first Rubicon speech, Mr Botha frequently uses terms such as "us/our" and "them/their" in contexts such as the following: "Most of the media in South Africa has already informed you on what I was going to say tonight, or what I ought to say, according to their superior judgement. Of all the tragedies in the world I think the greatest is the fact that our electorate refrained so far to elect some of these gentlemen as their government. They have all the answers to all the problems. And these answers differ from day to day and from Sunday to Sunday." "Us/our" has positive connotations and appears to refer to, not only the National Party, but also the audience, and hence the South African public which the audience is a metonym for. The term "they" thus connotes "the enemy". In Rubicon I Botha often uses the term to refer to the press. (Botha's use of the "us/them" dichotomy is discussed in greater detail in the section on the detailed analysis of Rubicon I.) This notion of journalists as not part of the South African public but as constituting the enemy, is reinforced in the visual representation of the press.

In the televised coverage of Rubicon I, the press is represented by means of two types of shots:

*long profile shots of photojournalists*extra long shots showing reporters seated at a table with the

17

audience in the background. In these shots the camera is positioned behind the journalists and the manner in which the shots were composed imparted to the elements within the frame (and hence the journalists) a cluttered and disorderly appearance. Furthermore, poor lighting on the side of the journalists resulted in them being clearly distinguished from the audience by a light shade contrast.

The notion of the press as the enemy was further reinforced by the fact that both types of shots were juxtaposed with the parts of the soundtrack where Mr Botha made unfavourable references to the press.

In the footage of the press conference however, the journalists are no longer observers of the event, distinct from the audience, but they are the audience itself. Mr Botha again makes frequent use of the terms "us" and "them". "Us" again includes the audience which now happens to be the press, while the term "them" refers to the critics. The press is thus visually portrayed in a way that justifies their inclusion as part of the "us". There are three cuts from shots of Mr Botha to shots of reporters at the press conference. One of the shots shows two reporters in medium profile listening intently to Mr Botha. They are formally dressed and look middle-aged. Such an image connotes maturity and seriousness, quite far from the stereotype of a journalist as an impulsive and irrational young radical. The other shots show in extra long shot, a large room filled with journalists each of whom is seated at a table. The tables are neatly arranged in rows while the journalists are all formally dressed. The combination of these two elements within the frame enhances the status of the journalists as professionals and hence the status of the "us" of which the journalists are a part.

The next part of the news item deals with the American reaction, followed by the British reaction. Hence the order is unlike "B" which deals with local reaction first. Since the general tendency on SABC bulletins is local news first, unless a major international event has occurred, "A" appears to be going against convention. The order in "A" could possibly be the result of a need to end on a positive note. While British and American media and politicians expressed disappointment about the State President's address, not all local reaction was negative. Hence the news item ends with the largely positive and welcoming responses of business leaders.

18

The American reaction is dealt with by the SABC news correspondent, Fanus Venter. According to Venter the general feeling is that there is no clear message of change in Botha's speech. He also refers to the largely negative reaction of the senators. This part of the news item ends with an interview (the only one on the American reaction) with Frank Wisner, the American Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The interview is conducted by Venter. The sequence begins with a long over-the-shoulder shot of Wisner (which indicates that this is an interview), after which the camera zooms into a medium close-up of him. Both shots are from a high-angle camera position. In a calm, measured tone of voice, which connotes that what he is saying has been carefully thought out, Wisner describes the speech as important and offers no criticisms - he argues that what remains to be seen is the South African reaction, the American reaction being less important. Such an argument has the effect of diluting the criticisms of the American Senators described earlier by Venter.

With regard to the manner in which Wisner's comment is recorded, note that in an interview situation, response is likely to be more moderately expressed than at a press conference from which it is broadcast throughout the world, and where a message of disapproval of the South African government could serve to reinforce the myth propagated by the western media of the United States as the protector of human rights in the Western World.

In the part dealing with the British reaction, there are no interviews with British leaders. The correspondent in London, Jan van Niekerk, thus becomes the major source of information. He is shot looking into camera with the Thames in the background. The Thames functions as a metonym for Great Britain and enhances the authenticity of the footage. It also confirms Jan van Niekerk's presence in Britain and enhances his status as an authority on the British reaction.

In part of his report (31%), Van Niekerk presents the reactions of British newspapers. This part of the report is made up of shots of newspaper headlines accompanied by voice-over commentary. Where the voice-over commentary refers to The Daily Telegraph's reaction, camera techniques draw special attention to part of an article in the paper. Unlike shots of other newspapers, the extent of magnification here is such that the

19

viewer is able to read not only the headlines but also the newsprint. The camera pans down the column and stops at a paragraph which begins: "It is facile and glib to dismiss Mr Botha" speech as too little, too late." While the camera pans down, the commentary summarizes the contents of the paragraph. Thus although the general press reaction was one of disappointment, the hope expressed in The Daily Telegraph is likely to be more impressionable.

The only person interviewed in Britain is a South African - Dr Dennis Worrall - the South African ambassador in London. Within a space of 66 second (41% of the time given to the British reaction), he praises Mr Botha for what he considers was an outstanding delivery and talks at great length about how well the speech was received by viewers in Britain. Juxtaposing Dr Worrall's comment with the press reaction has the effect of making the viewer question the validity of the latter.

This effect is reinforced by Mr Pik Botha in the next part of the news item. He argues that when people study the speech properly, they will appreciate the commitment expressed to solve political, economic and social problems. Mr Pik Botha is depicted in medium close-up shot, looking off camera at the interviewer. His head is bent slightly forward and his voice appears softer than that of the news presenter whose voice we heard just before this. This gives the impression that he is taking the interviewer into his confidence. Since the interviewer purports to act on behalf of the audience in the interview situation, the overall impression is that Mr Pik Botha is taking the audience into his confidence.

The next part of the news item looks at the reactions of the various parties represented in parliament. Unlike "B", there is little consistency with regard to the way each leader is depicted. Dr Van Zyl Slabbert and Mr Bill Sutton are depicted looking into camera while Dr Treurnicht looks off camera. Mr Hendrikse is represented by means of a slide in the chromakey, although his comment, summarised by the news presenter is given the longest time by the party leaders consulted.

The following part of the news item examines the reaction of the homeland leaders. As in "B", most are represented by means of slides. Only Buthelezi and Mphephu are represented in live footage. It is made obvious that great trouble has been gone to

20

obtain Buthelezi's comment. We are told that it is being broadcast via satellite from Jerusalem. Buthelezi is depicted in medium close-up looking directly into camera. However, he expresses disappointment and blames Mr Botha for the continuing violence. Mphephu is depicted in a medium close up profile shot. He expresses support for Mr Botha's proposals. It is difficult to draw conclusions about the different ways in which the different homeland leaders have been depicted apart from a simple lack of uniformity in shooting styles, something which appears to be "corrected" in the bulletin following Rubicon II.

This is followed by the responses of Dr Boesak and Bishop Tutu. It is of interest to note that while the camera is placed directly in front of both leaders, neither takes advantage of this. Bishop Tutu frequently glances off camera at the interviewer while Dr Boesak glances left and right through glinting lenses but never directly into the camera. Allowing both leaders, as well as Sutton, Slabbert and Buthelezi earlier on, the opportunity to look directly into the camera, appears to go against convention. Access to the "eye" (lens) of the camera and hence the viewer's eye is reserved for "authoritative" sources of information such as cabinet ministers, news correspondents and presenters.

Two possible explanations may be offered for the lack of consistency in the use of conventions:

*A lack of adequate experience on the part of the camera operator, that is, the camera operator has not fully internalised the "commonsense" codes of production of the SABC; OR

*a refusal, conscious or unconscious, on the part of the camera operator to conform - evidence of the media organisation as a site of struggle rather than the uncomplicated "producer" of messages as in linear communication models or reductive commentaries on the way the SABC operates.

As mentioned earlier, the news item concludes with the largely positive responses of local business leaders.

Conclusion

The TV news broadcasts following Rubicon I and Rubicon II played the role not only of providing the public with information about

21

the contents of the speeches and their impact locally and abroad, but more crucially the role of stimulating interest in and "selling" to the public the State President's proposals and thus National Party policy. The press also played a significant role in drawing attention to the speeches not only after, but also before, they had been broadcast. The latter role played by the press may be considered particularly important, in that without the expectations created in the press, viewers might have shown little interest in the live broadcast of either Rubicon I or Rubicon II.

However, despite expectations created, the fact that Rubicon I and II were fairly lengthy, means the attention of most viewers could not have been held for the full duration of each speech. The bulletins that followed might be seen as attempting to compensate for this. This applies particularly to the relevant news item in the bulletin following Rubicon II which, in fact, could be interpreted as a re-presentation of the speech in a different form. In the news item the contents of the speech were indirectly presented by those asked to comment on it and more directly presented in the reports of the news correspondents and news readers.

In the bulletin following Rubicon I, there is no such pronounced emphasis on the repetition of content. This is because compared to Rubicon II, Rubicon I did have some potential for retaining audience attention due to:

*The greater variety of camera shots to include shots of the audience, journalists etc.

*The participation of the televised audience, for example, applause, laughter, hecklers' interjections etc. (In Rubicon II participation was restricted by the very fact of the address being made in Parliament.)

*The speaker's gestures, variations in tone of voice and facial expression as well as the crude responses to hecklers. (By comparison the Rubicon II address was solemnly read to members of Parliament.)

*The expectations built up by the press and Pik Botha.

Hence, the fact that the news item following Rubicon I did not pay full attention to the contents of the speech (which could largely be inferred from the comments of opinion formers, the SABC would have found it more important to present viewers with

22

the government's response to these criticisms than a summary of the speech. Hence the footage of the State President responding to the criticisms at a press conference as well as footage of Mr Pik Botha commenting on the criticisms.

Of interest with regard to the foreign response, both after Rubicon I and II, is the fact that the reactions of only Britain and America were reported on. This is because these two countries are South Africa's allies. However, singling out the two makes them seem more important than other countries in the world, thus generating a sense of awe and respect for South Africa's allies and ultimately a particular alignment of forces.

Furthermore, in the reports of the British and American reactions, the two countries are represented in such a way as to stimulate feelings of allegiance towards them. (Examples of this were discussed earlier.)

This sense of allegiance is reinforced by the fact that these countries seem to show a great deal of interest in South Africa, reflected for example in the very fact that the American reaction to Rubicon I is stated at a press conference.

Thus the news broadcasts following the Rubicon speeches would have achieved much more than support for the proposals. They would also have generated in the minds of the audience a sense of allegiance towards not only South Africa, but also her allies in the Western world. The News at Eight - a case of mediated reality.

At 8 pm each day, people throughout South Africa turn on their television sets for the day's dosage of what they consider to be a trustworthy reflection of the world outside their living rooms. This faith in TV news as trustworthy, lies, according to the Glasgow Media Group (1976:5), in the supposed lack of editorial content on TV news, the brevity of news items, and the notion that "the camera can't lie".

The Group (1976:1) nevertheless points out that TV news is a cultural artefact:

"... it is a sequence of socially manufactured messages, which carry many of the culturally dominant assumptions of our

23

society. From the accents of the newscasters, to the vocabulary of camera angles; from who gets on and what questions they are asked, via selection of stories to presentation of the bulletin, the news is a highly mediated product."

Furthermore, the expensive technology involved in television broadcasting makes it extremely vulnerable to centralized control by big capital, or the State, as in the case of the SABC in South Africa. It is this, according to McQuail (1975:194), which imparts to television its tendency to respect, if not actively support the existing order. Television news is thus a representation of reality mediated in various ways towards the preservation of the existing socio-political order - in the case of South Africa: racial capitalism, where a predominantly white bourgeoisie dominates a predominantly black working class.

What is the role of television within the context of the process of maintaining the existing order in South Africa? According to Louis Althusser, the class holding state power, that is, the ruling class, ensures its domination over the working class partly through the repressive state apparatuses comprising the police, the courts, the prisons and the army (Althusser, 1984:11), and partly through the ideological state apparatuses (ISAs) which include among other institutions and systems, the communications ISA (Althusser, 1984:17). While the repressive state apparatuses function predominantly by repression, the ISAs function predominantly by ideology (Althusser, 1984:19). The different ISAs function through diverse and contradictory ideologies but are unified by the ruling ideology, that is, the ideology of the ruling class(Althusser, 1984:20). SABC-TV as part of an ideological state apparatus thus contributed under apartheid towards the preservation of white minority rule in South Africa through promoting the ruling ideology of Afrikaner nationalism.

This section attempts to show through a semiotic analysis of an SABC news bulletin, how the codes of television interact in a news production to promote the ruling ideology. Attention is paid not only to visual but also verbal codes since according to Fiske and Hartley (1979:81), while television is a semiotic system going beyond mere words, "the image on the screen would hardly be able to make itself understood at all were it unable to rely upon the resources of everyday verbal language".

24

The production of meaning within each news item, will first be examined. This will be followed by an examination of the manner in which the different news items combine to produce an overall syntagm in which each news item acquires meaning as part of a coherent whole.

The SABC-TV News bulletin analyzed is the "News at Eight" in English of the 17 August 1985 (a few weeks after the declaration of a state of emergency in South Africa, and two days after Botha's major policy speech at the National Party Congress in Durban). The bulletin is presented by Michael de Morgan.

A Introductory Logo and Signature Tune

The news begins with a computer graphic which is an icon of the revolving earth. The manner in which the image is produced (by computer) is indexical of technological sophistication, while the image as a whole is symbolic of the news bulletin as a "God's-eye-view" of the world. Such symbolism not only presents the SABC as an authoritative source of information, but makes us as the viewers feel privileged to have access to such a "God's-eye--view" of the world.

The above symbolism is reinforced by the accompanying soundtrack: the sound of trumpets, which in dramatic productions signals the arrival of dignitaries or the occurrence of great events. The signature tune plays this reinforcing role by putting the viewer in the "right" mood for the important message to come, thus performing what Peters (1974:58) calls a conative function.

The News Headlines.

The opening logo and signature tune is followed by the news headlines in voice-over commentary:

1. The United States stands by its policy of constructive engagement with South Africa.

2. More than sixty people killed in another car bomb disaster in

Lebanon. 3. A crushing defeat for the Boks.

25

4. Zola Budd takes the honours in Moscow.

Each headline is illustrated by a montage of images selected from the footage of the event. The headlines perform what Peters (1974:59) calls a phatic or attention-getting function. This function is reinforced by the form of the headline images: they do not fill the entire screen but appear in sub-frames as if to say "this is only part of/a glimpse of, the event; watch the bulletin for the whole event/details".

The headline images function as metonyms for the events to which they refer. According to Fiske (1982: 97), the selection of a metonym (in this case the headline image) is crucial since it is from the metonym that we construct the unknown remainder of reality. For example the headline "More than 60 people killed in another car bomb disaster in Lebanon" is illustrated by a shot of one of the injured persons being wheeled into theatre. The choice of this particular shot as a metonym for the incident makes the viewer think of it from the human interest point of view. This draws the viewer's attention away from questioning the nature of the ongoing conflict of the incident is merely a symptom.

News Item 1: US - Constructive Engagement with South Africa.

"...it won't be effective to walk away and sever our contact. We don't intend to do so." (Chester Crocker)

The actual news bulletin begins with a shot of the presenter who greets the audience and then introduces the first news item. The greeting at the start of the bulletin performs the phatic function of establishing personal contact between the presenter and the viewer and signals the start of the first item of the news bulletin. It also constitutes the operation of what Althusser (1974:48) calls the interpellation of the individual (viewer) as the subject, in which the greeting invites the viewer to become the subject in the process of news mediation. The viewer can respond positively by watching the bulletin and decoding the message within the dominant code, or the viewer can respond negatively by a) not watching/walking away, or b) decoding the message in an oppositional way.

The first news item concerns the United States decision to continue with its policy of constructive engagement with South

26

Africa. The chromakey accompanying the image of the presenter contains an icon of diagonal halves of the South African and American flags placed adjacent to each other. The two halves, each indexical of the country to which it belongs, produce a whole which symbolizes an alliance between the two countries. This underscores the message of reassurance which runs through the entire news item in which the `positive' response on the part of the United States is employed as a buffer against the `negative' responses of American congressmen to Botha's major policy speech, dubbed `Rubicon I', of a few days earlier.

Fairly early in his introduction, the presenter places the decision within the context of criticisms of the speech: "The statement was made in the face of criticisms by some politicians in Washington of this week's policy speech by State President PW Botha on the road ahead for South Africa." Thus the American statement is used to claw back into a centralized position the State President, whose ability to lead had been made questionable following widespread criticisms of his address. Drawing leadership figures into a central focus, enhances a culture's sense of adequacy of itself, since according to Herbert Gans (1980:62), leaders are seen as the protectors of moral and social order. Thus television performs what Fiske and Hartley (1980:88) describe as its bardic function of assuring the culture at large, in this case the South African public, of the latter's practical adequacy in the world.

The claw back of the State President also has the impact of implying an identity of deviance for the critics. This representation of the critics is reinforced by the presenter's accenting of the word "some". According to the Glasgow Media Group (1980:135), while the newscaster is generally expressionless, there are nevertheless subtle kinesic markers such as variations in intonation and stress which serve as anchoring mechanisms for the preferred reading of the message.

The presenter's introduction includes a mediation of part of Chester Crocker's address at a meeting:

"... Mr Chester Crocker told a meeting in San Francisco that significant change had started in South Africa, and at a time when the Soviet Union was advancing its influence by promoting unrest, it was in the interests of the west to involve itself actively in South Africa to bring about

27

peace."

This statement by Crocker invokes the myth of the Soviet Union as an aggressive, imperialist country seeking world domination. Thus the United State's decision is elevated to the status of an event of significance to the world at large.

The presenter's mediation of Chester Crocker's "positive" comment takes the form of a voice-over accompanied by images of the meeting in San Francisco. The images play the role of reducing the relatively poor impact of mediated comment which appears less trustworthy than unmediated comment, hence the general tendency to present "positive" comment in an unmediated form.

The news item concludes with a video-taped report on the responses of American politicians to Botha's policy speech. The report comprises extracts from interviews and speeches linked together by voice-over commentary. We never actually see the narrator whose voice thus becomes the "Voice of God", continually dictating to us how we should decode the image-track. While most of the report reveals disappointment with the policy speech on the part of most politicians, its potential to reveal the inadequacies in the State President's address, is undermined by Senator Steven Symm's comment which concludes the report. The critics are once again signified as deviant, where Senator Symm's says: "We shouldn't have a bunch of do-gooder politicians in the congress of the United States trying to be the moral policemen for other countries."

The image of the South African State as a state in which moral and social order prevail, an image which has been disrupted by critics of the State President's speech, is restored in the conclusion. The report thus reflects an order-restoring, equilibrium-maintaining tendency which will be seen to predominate throughout the news bulletin.

Item 3: Dutch Citizen's Protest

"Its no use giving hostage to terrorists. ...the whole world is infested with them at the moment." (Ernie Niewenhuizen)

This news item is about a protest over the Dutch Government's delay in handing over Klaas de Jonge to the South African

28

authorities. (De Jonge, who had been detained under the Internal Security Act, had escaped detention a few days before, and sought refuge in the Dutch Consulate.) The fact that the event is a protest makes it a potential example of deviance. However the image and soundtrack combine to anchor as the preferred reading of the event, a commendable display of patriotism.

In the introduction to the televised coverage of the event, the news presenter describes it as a "peaceful protest", thus ensuring that it will not be decoded as any form of social disorder, which Gans (1980:53) defines as "activities which disturb the public peace". The notion that the protest does not represent a threat to the social order of South African society, but on the contrary is an expression of values cherished by the society, is reinforced in the televised coverage of the protest. Images of middle-aged and older people predominate in the visual footage. Such images are indexical of the generation of middle-aged and older people and symbolize the social order of that generation. According to Gans (1980:61), the news media values the social order of the old as opposed to the young. The television audience, which is likely to have internalized this news value, will thus view the demonstration in a positive light. The footage of the protest also includes a medium shot which is an icon of what appears to be a father, mother and daughter. The shot is indexical of the unity of the Dutch family and symbolizes the unity of the South African Dutch community around the object of the protest. These positive images of the protest are enhanced by the inclusion in the soundtrack of ambient sound, which is mixed with the voice-over commentary. While the ambient sound undermines the impression of objectivity of the voice-over, it more than compensates for this through the conative function it performs, arising from the fact that much of it comprises the sound of trumpets and patriotic songs. It thus arouses feelings of patriotism which strike chords of empathy in the viewer, inducing him/her to support the protest and hence the demand to hand Klaas de Jonge over to the South African authorities.

In addition to depicting the protest in a positive light as a display of patriotism, various devices are used to convey the impression that it was a major event. This can be seen as an attempt to capitalize on the obvious support for the South African government that the event is an expression of. The fact that this support originates from citizens of a foreign country, provides an additional reason for capitalizing on it, as a way of

29

reassuring the South African public in the face of the international outcry against South Africa, following the declaration of a state of emergency and disappointment from leaders abroad with Botha's policy speech.

In the news presenter's introduction we are told that the protest was staged by "more than a hundred Dutch and former Dutch citizens". Most shots of the gathering are composed in such a manner as to confirm this impression of a large gathering. For instance, a closer examination of a long shot of a group of people singing, shows empty spaces around the group, thus indicating that the group cannot be part of a large crowd. However, as a result of the shot being tightly framed, the spaces are not so obvious, so, considering the fact that such shots have a metonymic function, the close proximity of people within the frame may lead the viewer to think that the gathering is fairly large. We are also told that "a large media contingent including several Dutch and other foreign journalists were present to record the event". While the presence of non-SABC journalists is normally concealed from viewers, this part of the soundtrack is juxtaposed with shots of journalists, undoubtedly as an attempt to confirm the notion of a large media presence at the event. Most of the shots show individual photo-journalists at work. There is, however, no evidence of a "large contingent" of journalists.

The coverage of the event concludes with a comment from the meeting organiser, Ernie Nieuwenhuizen: "It's no use giving hostage to terrorists ... the whole world is infested with it at the moment."

Nieuwenhuizen thus makes the kind of overtly partisan statement which neither the news presenter nor the correspondent is allowed to make in keeping with the journalistic convention of objectivity. However, the very inclusion of the statement in the final edited production reflects a stance against "terrorism" on the part of the producers.

Nieuwenhuizen's statement evokes the myth of "terrorists" as political fanatics, murderers of innocent civilians, on the whole as sources of extreme social disorder. His reference to "terrorism" defines the framework within which not only the De Jonge incident will be viewed, but also the nest news item, which concerns a car bomb disaster in Lebanon.

30

Item 3: Car Bomb Disaster in Lebanon The verbal report on the car bomb disaster in Lebanon comprises details of the number of people killed, the mass of the bomb and speculation about who was responsible. The accompanying image track comprises shots of a smoking building, damaged cars, shots of people looking among the ruins and other shots of people in the vicinity of the building. The eventised style of reporting characteristic of the verbal soundtrack, is thus reinforced by the image track, which permits us visual access only to the immediate event. This style of reporting is characterized by the omission of crucial paradigmatic elements such as, in this case, details about the socio-political context within which the bomb blast occurred, as well as interviews with representatives of the groups involved in the conflict which gave rise to the incident.

The fact that the bomb blast is considered news, and the event rather than process-oriented manner in which it is reported, can be related to the fact that SABC-TV news is presented on a daily basis. According to Galtung and Ruge (1973:63), the greater the similarity between the timespan needed for an event to unfold itself, and the frequency of the news medium, the more probable it will be recorded as news by that medium. Thus, present political tensions in Beirut, which form part of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, would not feature on SABC-TV news. However according to Galtung and Ruge (1973:63), such events are eventually reported on when they reach some kind of a dramatic climax, such as for example, the bomb blast. The fact that the bomb blast is reported on, can also be related to the large number of people killed. According to Galtung and Ruge (1973:64), the greater the "amplitude" of an event, where amplitude is a metaphor for the size of an event eg. the number of people killed, the more likely it will be recorded as news.

The plane crash reported on in the next news item is also recorded as news largely on account of its "amplitude" (520 people killed). But while "quantitatively" similar, there is a vast "qualitative" difference between the car bomb disaster in Lebanon and the plane crash. However, juxtaposing the two news items in the bulletin, has the effect of emphasising their common elements. This reinforces a view of the Lebanese bomb disaster as an isolated incident in which lives have been lost, rather than as an index of ongoing political tensions.

31

Item 4: Checks on Boeing 747s

This news item is a follow-up of the Japan's airline's crash of the previous week. In the light of the fact that as many as five hundred and twenty people were killed, the report, packaged by one of the Western news agencies, begins with the assurance on the verbal soundtrack of the fact that airline's throughout the world are carrying out checks on their Boeing 747s. This is confirmed by the accompanying image track which includes shots of workers at work on aircraft. One of the shots, an icon of a pair of hands running over a piece of steel, is indexical of the care being taken with regard to the aircraft, and symbolic of the skill and precision involved in its production, thus enhancing the message of reassurance arising from the verbal soundtrack. The manner in which this news item begins, thus seems to indicate that reassurance is the preferred discourse of not only the SABC, but the western media in general.

A large part of the news item is devoted to the televised coverage of rescue work at the site of the crash. Much of the visual footage includes shots of troops in protective face-masks searching the wreckage, and shots of bodies being carried to helicopters. After these unsettling images however, the discourse of reassurance intervenes once again in the conclusion, where the presenter reassures South African viewers, that most South African Airways Jumbo Jets are relatively new and don't need major check-ups.

This conclusion also reflects the tendency to localize news, or to provide the local angle to international events.

Compared to the huge death toll claimed by both the bomb blast (sixty people killed), and the plane disaster (five hundred and twenty people killed), South Africa's problems (only two people had died in the unrest) thus do not appear to justify much concern.

Jerry Falwell's visit to South Africa is covered in the fifth news item. Considering the fact that Falwell's interview is an explicit expression of support for the government, it would seem logical to have covered the visit in the third news item. In this position it would have reinforced the message produced in

32

the previous two items (Constructive Engagement and the Dutch citizen's protest): that South Africa has friends in the outside world. However, presenting the interview in the fifth news item, enables it to play the important role of mediating the coverage of the unrest which follows in the next news item. Falwel's approval of the reform process in South Africa, which he expresses in the interview, reassures viewers that the threat to the existing order represented by the unrest, is likely to be neutralised by what Falwel describes as the "positive changes" that are being made in South Africa.

The significance of the unrest as a challenge to the existing status quo is undermined by, firstly, its coverage fairly late in the bulletin, and secondly, the extremely small proportion of time (3% of the total bulletin) allocated to it (Table 2). The potential of this news item to generate anxiety among viewers is also reduced through the absence of visual footage, and the eventised style in which the unrest is reported on.

Table 2

Order of Percentage of News Item Presentation total bulletin in Bulletin time occupied

Logo, Signature tune, Headlines 6%

US - Constructive Engagement 1 24%

Dutch citizen's protest 2 20% Bomb disaster - Lebanon 3 4%

Checks on Boeing 747s 4 7%

Jerry Falwel's visit 5 6%

Unrest 6 3%

Molly Blackburn - charges 7 2%

Consumer boycott 8 18%

33

Customer service upgrading 9 10%

The next (7th) news item, on the dropping of charges against Molly Blackburn, gives an impression of the State as benign and reasonable. While the small proportion of time (2% of the total bulletin) allocated to this news item makes it seem unimportant with regard to the anchorage of meaning in the bulletin as a whole, it nevertheless plays the important role of neutralising the impressions of those viewers, for whom the report on the unrest may have triggered off images of the State as repressive. This reassuring function is crucial where the repressiveness of the State may be seen as an index of its failure to resolve the crises in South Africa. Furthermore, this item, through preventing the juxtaposition of the news item on the unrest, with the news item on the consumer boycott, reduces the extent to which viewers will relate the consumer boycott to the unrest, as part of a collective strategy aimed at the overthrow of the State. The consumer boycott and the unrest thus come to be seen in isolation of each other, a position in which they do not appear to represent serious threats to the status quo.

The report on the consumer boycott is relegated to the second to last item in the bulletin, undoubtedly as an attempt to reduce the impact of much of the information it contains (eg. statistics showing that white businesses have experienced a decrease in profits), which would otherwise be likely to arouse fears of a continuing economic decline in South Africa.

The final item of the bulletin, which concerns the upgrading of customer service, fulfils the requirement of ending a news bulletin on a positive note. It also plays the role of dispelling fears aroused in the previous news item of a deepening economic crisis in South Africa, through providing an example (the upgrading of customer service) of what could be decoded as a constructive effort to uplift the economy.

The different news items thus combine to produce as the overall syntagm of meaning the fact that South Africa is not in a state of political, social and economic crisis; rather the National Party government is in full control of the situation. This reassuring message is anchored by the fact that "positive" news

34

(news which expresses support for the State), occupies the greater proportion (60%) of the bulletin. This situation, according to Galtung and Ruge (1973: 68), is "typical of a culture undergoing a steady decline". Hence the news bulletin, as a discourse of reassurance, reveals the South African State as a state in crisis.

Conclusion

This analysis has shown how, in an SABC-TV News bulletin broadcast during the states of emergency in the 1980s, individual news stories are combined to produce as the final syntagm of meaning the fact that: the crises in South Africa are no cause for concern; the state is in full control of the situation.

It is necessary to pause for a moment, and examine the above chain of meaning in the context of Gramsci's notion of hegemony. According to Gramsci, the supremacy of a class manifests itself in two ways: as `domination' (coercion) and as `intellectual and moral leadership' (consent) (Bennet et al., 1981: 197). Gramsci uses the term "hegemony" to refer to the moment when a ruling class is able, not only to coerce a subordinate class to conform to its interests, but to win and shape consent, so that this conforming is seen as natural and spontaneous (Clarke et al., 1981: 38).

Subordination is often secured only because the hegemonic order succeeds in incorporating all competing definitions of the world within its range (Clarke et al., 1981:39). According to Gramsci, "the fact of hegemony presupposes that account be taken of the interests and tendencies of the groups over which hegemony is to be exercised, and that a certain compromise equilibrium should be formed..." (Bennet et al., 1981:197). Hence the National Party's Reform proposals may be seen as an attempt to maintain hegemony through appearing to respond to some of the demands which form the basis of working class resistance.

If hegemony is effective, according to Gramsci, there will be relative equilibrium, but there will also be periods where there is a breakdown of hegemony, and where the dominant class will resort to coercive measures (Bennet et al., 1981:199). An example of such a stage is during a period of crisis.

The period in which the news bulletin was broadcast was a period

35

of deepening social, political and economic crises in South Africa with increasing popular resistance to apartheid in the form of the unrest, the drop in the exchange value of the rand following widespread dissatisfaction with Botha's major policy speech of the 15 August 1985, and the growing threat of economic sanctions against South Africa. The increasing use of the coercive organs of the state (the deployment of troops in the townships, and the declaration of the state of emergency a few weeks earlier) reflected a breakdown of ruling class hegemony.

It is in this context that SABC-TV News, through, firstly, promoting an image of the South African State as one in which order prevails and in which conflicts are resolved, and secondly, promoting the reform process of the State as an attempt to incorporate elements of resistance, represented an attempt to mediate the crisis in South Africa, as part of a desperate bid to maintain ruling class hegemony.

Acknowledgement

Thanks to Ruth Teer-Tomaselli for supervision of the research project.

Bibliography

Althusser, L. 1971. Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. New York: Verso Books

Bennet, T., Martin, G., Mercer, M. and Woollacott J. 1981. Antonio Gramsci. In: Bennett, T., Martin, G., Mercer, M. and Woollacott J. (eds.): Culture, Ideology and the Social Process. Lonson: Edward Arnold.

Clarke, J., Hall S., Jefferson, T. and Roberts, B. 1981. Cultures, Subcultures and Class. In: Bennet, et al.

Fiske, J. 1982. Introduction to Communication Studies. London: Methuen.

Fiske, J. and Hartley, J. 1979. Reading Television. London: Methuen.

Galtung, J. and Ruge, M. 1973. Structuring and Selecting News. In

36

Cohen, S. and Young, J. (eds): The Manufacture of News. Deviance, Social Problems and the Mass Media. London: Constable. Gans, H.J. 1980. Deciding What's News. New York: Vintage Books. Glasgow Media Studies Group. 1976. Bad News. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Glasgow Media Studies Group. 1980. More Bad News. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.

Peters, J.M. 1974. Pictorial Communication. Cape Town: David Phillip, Cape Town.