"More than 20 years into democracy, the South African media landscape, although free and moderately pluralistic, still does not represent fairly the diversity of viewpoints held in the country. Yet, the South African media debate on transformation has been dominated by the ANC’s continued focus on ... media accountability. This has silenced a more constructive debate on how to foster media diversity. In the wake of a review of the MDDA (Media Development and Diversity Agency) Act, this paper seeks to reignite this debate by investigating different types of print media regulation and support in Scandinavia, Latin America and West Africa. It argues, firstly, that print media regulation and support is crucial to foster and maintain democratic debate, which is endangered if the media market is left to its own devices. Secondly, government support to print media has been much more common around the globe than often assumed, especially in the Scandinavian countries, which have invested heavily and successfully in the sector. Thirdly, an analysis of national contexts of print media support highlights the perpetual danger of governments exerting censorship or control. However, as is demonstrated in the paper’s final section, a multiplicity of mechanisms of support exist that could be adapted to the South African context, whilst seeking to minimise state control." (Abstract) more

"The practicability and effectiveness of state support schemes would have to be assessed on the basis of the economic and sociopolitical context in which the different types of support and subsidies are implemented. The expansive press subsidy schemes of Northern Europe cannot be directly compared t ... o the West African support schemes or the recent Latin American efforts to deconcentrate the media landscape and support to community media. There is no automatic relationship between the economic crisis and the scaling down of state support to media. The development and implementation of support schemes depend on political will." (Conclusion, page 31) more