Newspapers in South Africa are owned by fewer people and is controlled by a minority of people, for example a lot of newspapers and other media platforms like DSTV is owned by Naspers. It is also difficult to look at this without looking at class and race. Newspapers are mostly owned by the capitalists which in South Africa are mostly whites. This is unhealthy because it means the information and the dominant ideas in society are from the top down.
According to Mail and Guardian, “An analysis of ownership structures, demographics and funding models shows that the board of media houses comprise of 41% white, 24% African, 17% colored, 16% Indian”. South African media houses have in the past come under critic for lack of transformation and for protecting the interest of the elite at the expense of the majority of citizens in the country.
White people are a majority in top management and they make the decision on the content and the the functioning of the company. In a capitalist society, newspapers are then used as a platform to promote capitalist ideologies. In this case, even the work of journalists is compromised as they are forced to carry out stories that promotes the objective of that particular media house.
News reports and newspapers are becoming more and more mediocre and out of touch with the majority of consumers. Media is largely owned by while males and while women can be editors, they do not really have a voice to make decisions. There is no media diversity in South Africa which has resulted in newspapers producing the worse kind of news and newspapers which are pro-business.
