Re-visioning Television: Policy, Strategy and Models for the Sustainable Development of Community Television in South Africa - Tapa blanda

The introduction of a quality, accessible local television network represents the final piece in post-apartheid South Africa's media jigsaw. With legislation and policy now in place, the fitting of the last piece is imminent. The race is now on to develop models and fine-tune systems that will make the most powerfully democratic tier of broadcast media sustainable, empowering and development friendly. Free media and/or community media is anathema to repressive governments around the world. In South Africa, by contrast, community television is expected to play an important role in job creation and skills development as well as contribute to the strengthening of civil society, the promotion of participative governance and the expression of the country's rich linguistic and cultural heritage. This title, compiled by South African experts in community broadcasting with the assistance of many key figures in the sector, traces the two-decade campaign for local-level television in South Africa. It highlights the development of policy, reviews existing international models and spells out the technical, financial and managerial challenges that face this nascent sector.Policy-makers, community television station managers and staff, development analysts and funders, media academics and students, press officers, organisations wishing to access local TV together with anyone interested in community media in the developing world generally, and community television specifically, will find this book important reading.

Dr Adrian Hadland is a director in the Democracy and Governance research programme at the HSRC. Before joining the HSRC, he was the Political Editor and Assistant Editor of the Cape Argus. He has worked for a number of South African and international news organisations as a political journalist and columnist. Eric Louw is Director of Communication Programs in the School of Journalism & Communication, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. His primary area of research is political communication. Simphiwe Sesanti is a lecturer in the Department of Journalism at the University of Stellenbosch. He has worked as a journalist - writing for South African and international publications in the areas of politics and arts - for more than ten years. Professor Herman Wasserman teaches Media, Communication and Cultural Studies at the University of Newcastle, United Kingdom and is associate professor extraordinary in the Department of Journalism, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. He is editor of the journal Ecquid Novi: African Journalism Studies.