• Subscribe to our newsletter
The Media Online
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs
No Result
View All Result
The Media Online
No Result
View All Result
Home Press

The Doctor is IN, the Doctor is OUT

by William Bird and Thandi Smith
February 20, 2019
in Press
0 0
0
The Doctor is IN, the Doctor is OUT

Photo: Iqbal Surve/Flickr/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Apart from Eskom and power cuts, some of our media have been giving a lot of attention to Ayo, Sekunjalo, the PIC, its deals and funding. What makes the coverage unusual is that at the centre of much of it is the owner of Independent Media, Dr Iqbal Survé.

The issues being covered in the stories are complex, and it appears that there is a deliberate attempt to shift the story from understanding deals and wrongdoing to a “he said, she said” scenario where issues are muddied, and the public, instead of being left with a clear picture of what is going on and who has done what, is left wondering what on earth is going on.

We haven’t yet carried out a focused analysis of the coverage. Instead, we will be looking at a few key differences in the reporting of the stories. One of the first elements that struck us was the person at the focus of the stories. We have as a result pulled data from our monitoring on Dr Iqbal Survé. The data was collected using our online monitoring tool, Dexter, looking at media over the last 12 months, and includes media that mentioned Iqbal Survé. These results simply look at who mentions Iqbal Surve and how often this occurs.

The first aspect we extracted was to look at which media had the most mentions of Iqbal Survé. To some extent, it should come as no surprise that Independent Media mentions Iqbal Survé most often, as he is the owner.

It must, however, be remembered that while this may now seem unsurprising, it is really unusual in our media sector. For the most part, media owners of media, big or small, seldom make the headlines of the media they own or run. Even in small commercial and independent publishers, where the editor/owner of a publication may be the same, it is very rare for them to be featured regularly and prominently in their own title. Even in instances where a media entity is taking on its parent company, it is unusual for the owner to feature prominently. A basic review of stories by City Press for example on MultiChoice shows only a handful of mentions of the parent company or even the key shareholder, Koos Bekker.

Returning to mentions of Iqbal Survé. The media titles falling under Independent Media, which also mentioned Iqbal Survé during the period, included IOL, Cape Times, The Mercury, Pretoria News, Daily News, The Star, and Weekend Argus. What is striking is the difference in the number of mentions between Independent (70 mentions, or 37% of the total counted mentions), and the next highest, Mail & Guardian (28 mentions, or 15%). This means that Independent Media publications speak about Iqbal Survé more than double the number of the next highest media mention.

Business Day and News24 also came in quite high, in comparison, at 23 and 14 mentions respectively. Inasmuch as different media are clearly reporting on issues which directly focus and involve Iqbal Survé, their mentions are less than half those of Independent Media. It is a fair presumption that Independent would argue their mentions are higher as Iqbal Survé is being attacked.

Iqbal Survé Mentions According to Media

In carrying out the analysis and following some casual observations in Independent Media coverage of the State of the Nation Address, we looked to see how Iqbal Survé was identified in the different stories. Specifically, we looked at how often Iqbal Survé was referred to as “Dr Iqbal Survé” as against simply, “Iqbal Survé.” The following graph shows the total number of mentions per media, split by ‘With Dr’ or ‘Without Dr’.

Media Mentions Iqbal Survé  (With and Without Dr)

Again, the overwhelming majority of mentions, referring to Iqbal Survé as ‘Dr Iqbal Surve’, comes from Independent Media publications. Over 90% of mentions in Independent Media titles refer to ‘Dr’ Iqbal Survé. Interestingly, Fin24 is also quite split between referring to ‘Dr’ or not. However, no other media are close to that number with their mentions.

So why is this important? When considering the type of content produced, and considering whether particular media push certain perspectives, the preface, ‘Dr’, is commonly read as a signifier of education, knowledge, expertise, power, and authority. The absence of the preface ‘Dr’ in other stories does not indicate the inverse.

Bigger questions around fact or misinformation of the stories, as well as bias, need to be answered in a full analysis. What is clear though is that if you consume Independent Media, you are likely to find Iqbal Survé mentions frequently and, more often than not, mentioned and sourced as “Dr Iqbal Survé.”

In our next quick extract, we will look at the breakdown of sources in these stories, see who speaks, and unpack some of the elements surrounding those.

This story was first published by Daily Maverick and is republished with the permission of the author.


Thandi Smith is head of the policy and quality programme, and William Bird is director, at Media Monitoring Africa.


Tags: AYOindependent mediaIqbal SurvemediaMedia Monitoring AfricanewspapersPICPublic Investment CorporationThandi SmithWilliam Bird

William Bird and Thandi Smith

William Bird is director of Media Monitoring Africa. At MMA William has overseen or been directly involved in over 100 media monitoring projects on subjects ranging from gender based violence, HIV, and racism to children and the media. William has also completed overseeing the data analysis of the biggest civil society media monitoring exercise in the world – the Global Media Monitoring Project. Thandi Smith has worked for Media Monitoring Africa for about nine years and has headed the Policy & Quality Programme for the last four years. The programme focuses on a range of issues including media policy, regulation and quality journalism. She holds a Masters degree in Media Studies, obtained from the University of the Witswatersrand. Her dissertation examined issues of universal access in South Africa’s digital migration. She also obtained an Honours degree in Media Studies from the same institution.

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

Kelders van Geheime: The characters are here

March 22, 2024
Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

Dissecting the LSM 7-10 market

May 17, 2023
Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

Keri Miller sets the record straight after being axed from ECR

April 23, 2023
Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

Getting to know the ES SEMs 8-10 (Part 1)

February 22, 2018
Sowetan proves that sex still sells

Sowetan proves that sex still sells

105
It’s black. It’s beautiful. It’s ours.

Exclusive: Haffajee draws a line in the sand over racism

98
The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

The Property Magazine and Media Nova go supernova

44
Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

Warrant of arrest authorised for Media Nova’s Vaughan

41
Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

May 29, 2025
The marketing mission remains clear

The marketing mission remains clear

May 29, 2025
 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

May 29, 2025
Media Moves: TASTE turns 20, Anele, Lira and Janine van Wyk are FEARLESS in new campaign; Alex Okosi new MD for Google Africa, Accenture Song wins Telkom business

Media Moves: Media24 unveils unified advertising and content team, Masego Matlotleng awarded Creative Futures scholarship, PHD wins Cell C business

May 29, 2025

Recent News

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

Navigating the AI tide without losing our humanity

May 29, 2025
The marketing mission remains clear

The marketing mission remains clear

May 29, 2025
 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

 Auditing masterclass lifts the lid on hidden costs

May 29, 2025
Media Moves: TASTE turns 20, Anele, Lira and Janine van Wyk are FEARLESS in new campaign; Alex Okosi new MD for Google Africa, Accenture Song wins Telkom business

Media Moves: Media24 unveils unified advertising and content team, Masego Matlotleng awarded Creative Futures scholarship, PHD wins Cell C business

May 29, 2025

ABOUT US

The Media Online is the definitive online point of reference for South Africa’s media industry offering relevant, focused and topical news on the media sector. We deliver up-to-date industry insights, guest columns, case studies, content from local and global contributors, news, views and interviews on a daily basis as well as providing an online home for The Media magazine’s content, which is posted on a monthly basis.

Follow Us

  • twitter
  • threads

ARENA HOLDING

Editor: Glenda Nevill
glenda.nevill@cybersmart.co.za
Sales and Advertising:
Tarin-Lee Watts
wattst@arena.africa
Download our rate card

OUR NETWORK

TimesLIVE
Sunday Times
SowetanLIVE
BusinessLIVE
Business Day
Financial Mail
HeraldLIVE
DispatchLIVE
Wanted Online
SA Home Owner
Business Media MAGS
Arena Events

NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION

 
Subscribe
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • MOST Awards
  • News
    • Awards
    • Media Mecca
  • Print
    • Newspapers
    • Magazines
    • Publishing
  • Broadcasting
    • TV
    • Radio
    • Cinema
    • Video
  • Digital
    • Mobile
    • Online
  • Agencies
    • Advertising
    • Media agency
    • Public Relations
  • OOH
    • Events
  • Research & Education
    • Research
    • Media Education
      • Media Mentor
  • Press Office
    • Press Office
    • TMO.Live Blog
    • Events
    • Jobs

Copyright © 2015 - 2023 The Media Online. All rights reserved. Part of Arena Holdings (Pty) Ltd

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?