Abstract The year 1994 saw South Africa having a black president, in the person of Nelson Mandela, for the first time in its history. It was also the first time that black South Africans voted, since prior racist laws denied them this right. These developments created hope for betterment in the political, economic, and social lives of black South Africans. However, other Africans in the rest of the continent also found hope for better prospects in this new situation, and this saw Africans from outside South Africa flocking to the country. Soon, tensions, caused by resentment on the part of South Africans, who saw their fellow Africans as invaders taking their jobs and livelihoods, spilled over into conflicts that became known as “xenophobic”. In this article we argue that the media did not inform the world about these conflicts in a dispassionate and objective way, as they are expected to do. Instead of helping audiences to better appreciate the issues at hand, the media exacerbated the conflicts through sensational reporting. Through an examination of certain sections of the media in KwaZulu-Natal, this article demonstrates how the media failed to live up to their commitment to the public. The study provides an insight into government agencies at the local level and the importance of involving the local print media in their social cohesion programmes. It aspires to fill the void of research at the local level through a case study on xenophobic influences in townships in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

中文翻译：

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媒体报道、仇外暴力和“被遗忘的维度”：夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省选定地区的案例

摘要 1994 年，南非历史上第一次出现了以纳尔逊·曼德拉为代表的黑人总统。这也是南非黑人第一次投票，因为之前的种族主义法律剥夺了他们的这项权利。这些发展为南非黑人的政治、经济和社会生活带来了改善的希望。然而，在这种新形势下，非洲大陆其他地区的其他非洲人也看到了更好的前景，这让来自南非以外的非洲人涌向该国。很快，由南非人的怨恨所引起的紧张局势，将他们的非洲同胞视为夺走他们工作和生计的侵略者，并蔓延到被称为“仇外”的冲突中。在本文中，我们认为媒体没有像人们期望的那样以冷静和客观的方式向世界通报这些冲突。媒体非但没有帮助观众更好地理解手头的问题，反而通过耸人听闻的报道加剧了冲突。通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省媒体的某些部分的考察，本文展示了媒体如何未能兑现其对公众的承诺。该研究提供了对地方一级政府机构的深入了解，以及让当地印刷媒体参与其社会凝聚力计划的重要性。它希望通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省乡镇仇外影响的案例研究来填补地方层面的研究空白。媒体非但没有帮助观众更好地理解手头的问题，反而通过耸人听闻的报道加剧了冲突。通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省媒体的某些部分的考察，本文展示了媒体如何未能兑现其对公众的承诺。该研究提供了对地方一级政府机构的深入了解，以及让当地印刷媒体参与其社会凝聚力计划的重要性。它希望通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省乡镇仇外影响的案例研究来填补地方层面的研究空白。媒体非但没有帮助观众更好地理解手头的问题，反而通过耸人听闻的报道加剧了冲突。通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省媒体的某些部分的考察，本文展示了媒体如何未能兑现其对公众的承诺。该研究提供了对地方一级政府机构的深入了解，以及让当地印刷媒体参与其社会凝聚力计划的重要性。它希望通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省乡镇仇外影响的案例研究来填补地方层面的研究空白。本文展示了媒体如何未能兑现其对公众的承诺。该研究提供了对地方一级政府机构的深入了解，以及让当地印刷媒体参与其社会凝聚力计划的重要性。它希望通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省乡镇仇外影响的案例研究来填补地方层面的研究空白。本文展示了媒体如何未能兑现其对公众的承诺。该研究提供了对地方一级政府机构的深入了解，以及让当地印刷媒体参与其社会凝聚力计划的重要性。它希望通过对夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省乡镇仇外影响的案例研究来填补地方层面的研究空白。