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Analyzing Discursive Constructions of Community in Newspaper Articles.
Nick Malherbe1, Mohamed Seedat1, Shahnaaz Suffla1
1Institute for Social and Health Sciences, University of South Africa & South African Medical Research Council - University of South Africa Masculinity and Health Research Unit, Cape Town, South Africa.
American Journal of Community Psychology
|November 3, 2020
Summary
Newspaper reports on Thembelihle, a low-income South African community, construct it as violent and focused on service delivery. This framing by the State influences counter-hegemonic strategies.
Area of Science:
- Community Psychology
- Discursive Psychology
- Media Studies
Background:
- Newspaper reporting significantly shapes public perception of communities and power dynamics.
- Understanding how ideology and power are constructed in relation to communities is crucial for community psychologists.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze how newspaper articles construct the Thembelihle community in South Africa.
- To explore how these constructions can inform counter-hegemonic strategies.
Main Methods:
- Discursive psychology was employed to analyze 377 newspaper articles.
- Identified two dominant discourses: 'Signifying Legitimacy' and 'Containing the Protest Community'.
Main Results:
- 'Signifying Legitimacy' discourse created a State-defined binary of legitimacy/illegitimacy for Thembelihle.
- 'Containing the Protest Community' discourse portrayed Thembelihle as a monolithic, violent entity focused on 'service delivery'.
Conclusions:
- Newspaper representations often frame low-income communities through violence and homogenous suffering.
- These dominant discursive frames must be addressed by counter-hegemonic strategies for effective (re)presentation.
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