182 Country Report: Information Network

TRADITIONAL SOURCES

News24 is South Africa’s main and most prominent news outlet. It is based in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and Gqeberha with 100 journalists overall. This website/publication is run by Media24, which is South Africa’s biggest media company, and the editor-in-chief of News24 is Adriaan Basson, an award-winning South African journalist. This source is updated daily with articles covering domestic and international events. I would categorize it as something similar to the Washington Post. This source is in English, and it covers investigations, politics, business, sport, life, opinion, climate, etc. in South Africa. There is also a page on the website titled “For Subscribers” that includes various other articles in politics and the private sector. This source also does not seem to be politically-aligned.

It is accessed at https://www.news24.com

The reason is chose News24 is actually very simple. I had seen it multiple times before, and it looks like an online paper that we would read in the United States. This source covers a plethora of topics, and it is constantly updated with new stories and articles to read daily.

Moneyweb is one of South Africa’s biggest publications, as well. But what I found interesting is that its main focus is business, investing, and finance in South Africa.  For example, one article published on March 10 discusses South Africa’s treasury being on the brink of collapse due to the amount of debt in many of the municipalities. Moneyweb is available both online and in hard-copy, but it also has a radio show. Moneyweb consists of a team of all South African business journalists and radio personalities. It is a very reliable source with a specialization in the country’s economic sector.

It is accessed at https://www.moneyweb.co.za

I chose Moneyweb because being literate in your country’s economy and/or finances is a very important thing. I think following the trends of South Africa’s various industries and government’s fiscal policy will come in handy when looking at the country from an outside perspective.

The Daily Maverick is more so similar to the first source that I provided, News24. It is a South African online publication headquartered in South Africa that also offers print versions. This website covers everything on South Africa, ranging from sports to politics to business. This publication is comprised of an entirely South African staff, so the perspectives that you are likely to find tend to be more domestic than not. The Editor-in-Chief, though interestingly enough, is a man named Branko Brkic. He started his journalism career covering events in in the 1980s in Yugoslavia but has since found himself covering all things South Africa. The Daily Maverick appears to just be available in English, but the website is renowned among the country for breaking some of the biggest stories of the decade.

It is accessed at https://www.dailymaverick.co.za

The reason I chose this publication, specifically, is due to the fact that it covers such a wide variety of topics at what seems to be a very timely fashion. Not only that, it prides itself with the slogan “Defend Truth,” and through various things that I read, it is not a biased website that hands out misleading information.

Eye Witness News is a less formal South Africa news source that focuses on breaking news when it occurs. It is available in all types of publications, although most of its activity comes from online. EWN also recently launched a radio station with its two sister radio brands. The South-African-based news publication is relatively similar to the other sources in this section, so I would likely find similar results on here. In terms of specific location or staff, I was not able to find much. But I did see that the official language of the website is English.

It is accessed at https://ewn.co.za

Although Eye Witness News is very similar to the other sources provided, it did include some interesting things, which is why I chose it. First, they offer new podcasts almost everyday, and for someone like me, this could be a much better alternative for some people to indulge in current events. Furthermore, EWN also includes a section called “Infographics” that has statistics, cartoons, etc.

NEW MEDIA

The South African is actually a somewhat interesting case. It was founded in 2003, and it was an online and print news source that catered to South Africa, as well as the UK. It began in London for English South Africans. But ever since the UK’s changing of its immigration policies, it started as online-only in 2015 and is now only produced in South Africa. This source began as an informative way for South Africans abroad to gain more information and knowledge about their home country. But now it is solely for readers in South Africa. The South African is an independent and unbiased source funded through advertising, and they have absolutely no affiliation to any other media outlet. Additionally, it launched an initiative called “Women in Journalism,” where it has pledged to empower women’s journalism and promote independent journalism.

It is accessed at https://www.thesouthafrican.com

The South African is different than the two sources above. I would say it is more informal, however, I think it does a good job in realizing that its audience is one that is not domestic. Thus, it probably has less of an idea of what is happening inside of the country.

The Blonde Abroad is completely different source than the rest in this list. It is a solo female travel blog written by woman from California. Her name is Kiki, and she has been to 71 countries. She offers travel tips, fashion ideas, country landscape perspectives, etc. She had previously worked in wealth management before dedicating her life to traveling over 12 years ago. The blog is only written in English, but she stated that her main goal for doing this is to empower other women to travel the world. Kiki seems very passionate about everything when it comes to traveling, so she goes to great lengths to include every strength and weakness of where she travels.

It is accessed at https://www.theblondeabroad.com

Obviously this is a woman who focuses on traveling around to different countries more so than not. But I did some digging into her blog and found that she lived in South Africa for three years. This helps a lot because she spent substantial time there, and definitely has a better perspective than the casual traveller.

All Africa is an African news outlet that gathers information from all corners of the continent. It is based in six different cities including Cape Town, Lagos, and Washington DC. All Africa publishes over 500 stories per day from over 100 news sources that are based both in and outside of Africa. It is owned by All Africa Global Media and has one of the largest content collections on the internet. The purpose of this news publication to create a website in which all Africans can look for finding information on every African country. The website is available in both English and French.

It is accessed at https://allafrica.com

This source seems like an asset for me because it includes so much information that you are bound to find unbiased (as well as biased) information. I was look through the website and found that it has sources in the UK, for example, and based in African cities. So I think it likely does a good job at including information from many perspectives.

SOCIAL MEDIA

The twitter handle @GovernmentZA is the South African government’s main twitter profile. This page provides real-time updates on what is going on in South Africa’s parliament that will eventually come to affect the general public. This is very informative and is available in English and Afrikaans. The South African Government’s twitter page is a good place to keep up on the country’s political events, as well as important country-wide announcements. People who are not very fond of President Cyril Ramaphosa likely will not visit the page. Nonetheless, it is a good way to stay up-to-date.

It is accessed on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GovernmentZA

I chose this source because, unlike the others, this Twitter page is a direct affiliate of the South African governing body. What it includes might not be anything to diminish the reputation of the government. Although, this source could be considered credible on the grounds that it is an official page of the country.

Meet South Africa is a verified account on Instagram that is one of South Africa’s main tourism accounts. Much of what the account posts is informational. For example, one post from February 24th talked about a Sustainability Summit in Cape Town. This Instagram account in clearly meant to be looked at by outsiders of the country, but it is very similar to the South African government’s Twitter, in that it is meant to inform people about what is going on. It includes many posts regarding lifestyle, as well as political and social events in the country. Its main initiative is “Share South Africa,” so the account mainly serves to promote the country.

It is accessed on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/meetsouthafrica/

The reason I chose this source is very similar to why I chose the South African government’s Twitter account. If you need a simple, quick way to stay up to date with South African information. It also serves as a way to promote the country, which means they only post positive things. But that is not always a bad thing, because many of the other sources that I have can find that.

Briefly News is another verified Instagram account. Although, it is probably the most informal of the three. It covers political news, entertainment news, and human interest stories. Much of what it seems like the account posts is relating to lifestyle, but it does include a mix of everything. With over 100 thousand followers, the account posts “Proudly South African” content and seems to boast the country is a very stylish and vibrant vibe.

It is accessed on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/brieflynews/

This account, unlike most others, aims more at the lifestyle aspect of South Africa. It also seems to have a fairly large following, which leads me to believe that it is reliable in providing South African information. Something that is also worth mentioning is that Instagram is available in virtually every language, so it is able to reach a very large audience.

DATA

Statista is an online database containing with over 1,000,000 statistics covering over 170 industries in a plethora of countries around the world. The statistics and survey results that are presented come in many different forms of data visualization, and the website requires a paid subscription, which we obtained through Ohio State. It is updated at every year end with industry statistics from around the world, one example being the number of households in South Africa with wifi availability.

It is accessed at https://www-statista-com.proxy.lib.ohio-state.edu

Statista is a very reliable and well-known source for all-things statistics, which is why I chose it. Statista includes many different countries for each of its datapoints, and South Africa is one of them.

Statistics South Africa, or formerly known as The Department of Statistics South Africa, is the country’s main government website for accessing statistics. It is kind of like Statista, in that it includes data sets of many types covering a large array of yearly information. For example, one that I saw covers the Residential Property Price Index from 2010 until now. This is an official governmental website of the country, and, therefore provides relatively reliable statistics. This is a good place to keep up with numbers affecting South Africa’s economy, health, etc.

It is accessed at https://www.statssa.gov.za

This website is a very good source for information for obvious reasons. Unlike, Statista, it is only focused on South Africa, which I like a lot. It probably includes less random datasets, but it will definitely be a very helpful tool.

World Bank is an international company that gives money to underprivileged governments for projects in those countries. World Bank is technically a treaty created in 1944 run by 25 executive directors, and it has 189 member countries. It was created along with the International Monetary Fund. World Bank’s website includes many things, including many datasets like the previous two sources. Its main purposes are for eradicating poverty, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality, etc. There do not really seem to be any biases here, as they are datasets created by an organization with the intent to promote global wellbeing.

It is accessed at https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/southafrica

I chose this website for similar reasons as Statista and Statistics South Africa. What I like about this, though, is that it is mostly displaying data to show a disparity in something, so that is why it would be very beneficial in the completion of this project.

VISUAL/AUDIO

The History of South Africa podcast is done by Des Latham, a broadcaster from Johannesburg. This 109-episode podcast series has episodes on everything regarding South African history and how it became what it is now. There is a new episode weekly, and there are episodes covering any topic from the early settlers, slave trade, wars, religion, diseases, etc.

It is accessed at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/history-of-south-africa-podcast/id1553731049

The reason that I chose this source is because of how extensive it is. He details, in different episodes, every major/notable event in early South African history to help us understand better how the country was created and then co-existed in the African continent.

South Africa with Gregg Wallace is a multi-episode television show where the South African landscape is explored with local celebrities. Gregg Wallace is an English television personality who is best known for being on Masterchef. This show has a particular focus on cuisine, given Wallace’s background, but it is very interesting in helping to understand the nuances of South African culture. What is cool about it is the fact that each episode is dedicated to exploring a different city to explore the cultural differences within South Africa.

It is accessed for free on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgYg1G-3qbsBuQpTnnq-a944k-5xYI5rr

The reason I chose this source, as opposed to a podcast or something, is because it is visual. I think this is a great way to see someone else’s first-hand account exploring the South African landscape.

True Crime South Africa is a fictional podcast series that documents all sorts of crimes that occur throughout the country. The creator and voice behind the show is Nicole Engelbrecht and created the podcast in 2019. She has written multiple true crime books, and she also creates audiobooks. This is the fifth most listened to podcast in the country, and she has gained a lot of respectable recognition as a result of her work. Engelbrecht lives in Cape Town, and there are currently 111 episodes of the show. True Crime South Africa is available in both English and Afrikaans.

It can be accessed at https://truecrimesouthafrica.com

The reason for my choosing of this podcast is actually very simple. In my final project, I will be focusing on corruption in South Africa, and a podcast dedicated to criminal activity in the country aligns pretty well.

ADDITIONAL

The additional source of my choosing is Africa.com. I found this site in class very early on, and I have discovered that it has so much content regarding every African country. The articles in Africa.com are all written by women, and it has the mission to empower the people who live on the continent through stories. The website is constantly being updated with article uploads about anything notable going on in African society at the given moment. Africa.com also holds speakers and webinars, and it also showcases the various museums and sites located across the continent.

It is accessed at https://www.africa.com

Africa.com is such a useful source for anyone who wants to expand their knowledge, and the women who work for it seem to be very passionate about it. This website is such a valuable asset, is very extensive on every country, and provides such a positive attitude towards Africa as a whole. I chose it due to these reasons, as I know it will be useful in the future.

Al Jazeera is kind of a weird source that I included but felt that it would be necessary to do so. It was created in Doha, Qatar in 1996 with the intention of catering to the Arab world. But since, it has grown into a multinational company covering pressing world news. Al Jazeera is a state-owned news company, but it is broadcasted virtually throughout the Western world. It has a television station available in Canada and the United States, and there is also a website where you can find tons of articles posted daily. Al Jazeera is available in both Arabic and English.

It is accessed at https://www.aljazeera.com

The reason I chose this source is because I thought it would be a good idea to include a few sources with more of an outside perspectives of people not from the country. Obviously, many people are aware of this news publication, and they also have a section dedicated to South Africa.

Financial Times is also another source with an outside perspective, much like Al Jazeera. I would say the main difference is that the Financial Times is more economically-focused. It is a British business newspaper available in both print and online. It was created in 1888, and it is now owned by Japanese media company, Nikkei. Financial Times also has a section dedicated to South Africa.

It is accessed at https://www.ft.com

Financial Times is a website that is very well-respected within the business community. I have also used this website through Ohio State for multiple classes, so it is a very reliable source.