The South African Press played a fundamental role in keeping society informed. It defended and protected the freedom of expression in South Africa during the Apartheid years by providing news in which there were, “possibilities of escaping censorship and suppression of free speech” (Grotan & Svedsen, 2001: 1). Articles that liberal and Independent English speaking Press journalists wrote during these times were censored or blacked out if they did not follow or defied or even threatened the government’s policies and existence (Fourie, 2002). Regardless of the South African government's persistent claims that the media in South Africa was free, the independent media in South Africa was still prohibited by law not to report any issues of violence and hostility against black people especially the state of Emergency that happened during that time in the country. This state of affairs led to a development and growth of progressive publications known as the alternative press which were the organisations that helped in reaction to the blanket on information. Even though government suppressed media reporting, citizens were kept informed by these alternative presses regardless of the state of emergency. This essay will look at the portrayal of the liberal, independent English-speaking Press as pioneering noble entities in the battle against apartheid and its exploitations. It will further discuss issues that could obscure this outlook and also look at what the possibilities of the rise in alternative press of the 1980’s brought about, by using examples of the commencement of M-Net, the shutting down of the Rand Daily Mail and the history of black press.
The South African press tried to be, “the principal voice of liberal moderation and a bridge between white and black” (Harber, 1999:2). It played an essential role in the liberation endeavor in South Africa although