South African press and social sustainability projects : A qualitative study with journalists and people managing projects in the agriculture sector

Sammanfattning: South Africa is a country in transition with struggles and structures in society reflecting a past of colonialism and apartheid. The government has implemented new laws such as the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment Act to achieve sustainable development and companies and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) have started projects to improve living conditions of previously disadvantaged persons. The purpose with the thesis is to bring understanding to how journalists and companies/ NGOs look at their roles in society and understand their relation to sustainable development projects and policies. Qualitative interviews with ten journalists from different newspapers and freelancers were conducted. Also nine representatives of seven companies and NGOs with projects concerning extreme poverty, inequality, social mobility, discrimination and social cohesion on farms were interviewed. Normative theories of the media and social responsibility theory were used to analyze the qualitative interviews. The study showed journalists’ and people working with projects’ views on government’s inability of tackling societies’ struggles alone and the requirement of private initiatives. Furthermore, the study showed the aim of spreading information about social sustainability projects differed among persons on both sides. Journalists highlighted the importance of news value, pleasing their readers and inform the public about good examples. Journalists expressed that companies, NGOs and government have also responsibilities to spread information. Some companies did not feel this responsibility however; they believed in word of mouth and did not approach the press or public about their social work.