Grocott’s Mail Media Policy: Class and Poverty

Research By: Heather Knott Sarah-Leigh Paul Jamie Alexander Claire Reddie Marisa Steyn

Research Aims Define class and poverty from a sociological point of view Look at existing policies on class and poverty – Grocott's and other media institutions Conduct a content analysis of Grocott’s Mail to determine what audience is catered for and what issues, if any, concerning class and poverty were covered and to what degree Propose a draft policy for Grocott’s Mail on class and poverty

Relevance of a Policy on Class and Poverty Large percentage of Grahamstown community lives below the poverty line Broad diversity of class within a relatively small area Lack of coverage by both Grocotts and the Media Industry as a whole on issues concerning class and poverty “We do report poverty, but a lot is missing” (Guy Berger)

Research Methods Mostly qualitative research was conducted Questionnaires to general public Sociological perspectives and definitions from academic literature ISER – Valerie Møller CSD – Di Hornby Grocott’s Mail – Louise Vale Content Analysis of Grocott’s Archive

Definitions Class: A social stratum whose members share certain economic, social, or cultural characteristics Poverty: The state of being poor, lack of the means of providing material needs or comforts

Definitions continued.... In contemporary South Africa, class and poverty have become concepts that are not independent of each other They are intertwined “Nowadays, class is defined along economic terms” (Valerie Møller, ISER)

What does this definition mean to our policy ? Poorest people in Grahamstown live in Grahamstown East Thus, using our definition of class, these people are also the lower class of Grahamstown The first language of most of these people living in Grahamstown East is Xhosa, not English or Afrikaans

Thus... Definition of poverty Definition of class Class defined by economics Poorer people in Gtown East Mostly Xhosa speakers

Policy Proposal Editorial Policy: Attempt to include Xhosa content on a regular basis Use of language should be accessible to all sectors of the Grahamstown community Address issues that concern all sectors of the community Any positive action made against poverty within Grahamstown should be highlighted and given priority

Policy Proposal cont… Management Policy: Increase visibility of Grocott’s in the poorer areas e.g. taxis, walls, packaging, shebeens etc. Teach basic Xhosa to journalists e.g. CSD, discussion groups etc.

Any questions?