ABSTRACT In 2014, the failure of South African mainstream media to anticipate the African National Congress retaining its electoral majority despite numerous scandals inspired a brief period of soul-searching. Two years later, failure by American and British mainstream media to discern the loyalties of their respective majorities prompted a similar reaction when both groups failed to track Donald Trump winning the US election and the Brexit vote. The surprise electoral gains made by the unfancied Labour Party a year later provided another major example of the gap between the media and the general populace. These events gave strong evidence of the disconnect between the media, its current normative models, and ordinary citizens. This paper furthers a radical critique of the mainstream media that argues the sector is out of touch. In order to reverse the current trajectory, the argument advanced is that a discussion of roles of the media or normative theory needs to be cognisant of the missing voice of subaltern groups. Using a combination of subaltern and postcolonial theory, the article recommends that in order to comprehend the role the media should play in the future of the country; the context lived by silent majority must be factored in.

中文翻译：

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考虑多数群体的边缘化：将底层研究的见解注入规范媒体理论

摘要 2014 年，南非主流媒体未能预测非洲人国民大会在众多丑闻中仍能保持其选举多数席位，这引发了短暂的反省。两年后，美国和英国主流媒体未能辨别出各自多数派的忠诚度，引发了类似的反应，因为这两个团体都未能追踪唐纳德特朗普赢得美国大选和英国退欧公投的结果。一年后，不受欢迎的工党在选举中取得的意外收获提供了媒体与普通民众之间差距的另一个主要例子。这些事件有力地证明了媒体、其当前的规范模式和普通公民之间的脱节。这篇论文进一步对主流媒体进行了激进的批评，认为该行业脱节了。为了扭转当前的轨迹，提出的论点是，对媒体角色或规范理论的讨论需要认识到底层群体缺失的声音。文章结合从属理论和后殖民理论，建议为了理解媒体在国家未来中应该发挥的作用；沉默的大多数人生活的背景必须考虑在内。