Popular Press

Popular Press

As a scholar I believe in making my research accessible. For me, this means not only trying to publish in open access publications where possible, but also sharing my research with the public through television, radio and newspaper interviews. My engagement with the popular press in this regard is to foster a discussion on my findings and to share my recommendations with the aim of shaping public debate in this regard. This aspect of my work is different from the community engagement aspect, in that I am usually invited as a guest who is able to speak to a topical issue based on a paper or chapter I have published in that area.My work been featured on eNCA, SABC, Radio 702, Cape Talk, SAFm the Sunday Times, Daily Mverick and Powerfm, as shown in the examples below.

South African Women in Science Awards

I was profiled by the national department of science and technology.

This, after I was selected as a finalist in the Distinguished Young Women Researchers: Humanities and Social Sciences category for the 2024 South African women in Science Awards.

I was chosen as the first runner up in my hotly contested group and commended for the contribution my work is making in advancing scholarship in my field.

Link: https://www.dst.gov.za/index.php/media-room/latest-news/4337-celebrating-30-years-of-democracy-towards-women-s-development

How South African Female Politicians Harness Social Media

One of the glaring issues in this, and every other election in SA, is the visibility of female politicians. Like many countries, South Africa grapples with the complex challenge of gender inequality in its political landscape. While strides have been made towards greater gender representation, female politicians still face barriers that hinder their full participation in the country’s democratic processes. This includes their visibility in mainstream media where interviews and panel discussions disproportionately feature male politicians.

Science journalism: Social media can help to reach audiences

Science journalism is about taking complex academic research and turning it into easy-to-read content that is still accurate. Aside from informing readers through evidence-based journalism, it aims to make the wider public curious about scientific research.

Link: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post-mobile.php?story=20240515195555864

Academic Life Podcast with Christina Gessler

Today’s book is: 100 Years of Radio in South Africa, Volume 1: South African Radio Stations and Broadcasters Then & Now (Palgrave MacMillan, 2023), edited by Dr. Sisanda Nkoala (with Gilbert Motsaathebe). The book focuses on South African radio stations and broadcasters in the past and present. It brings together media scholars and practitioners to deliberate on the role and influence of radio broadcasting in South Africa over the past 100 years.

Dr Sisanda Nkoala, an associate professor who teaches media studies in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape, told Daily Maverick: “Community radio is a pivotal pillar in South Africa’s three-tier radio landscape. Activists had to fight to ensure it was established shortly before we entered the democratic dispensation in the 1990s. They recognised that having come out of an era where media was a powerful tool of propaganda and oppression, there was a need for media platforms that would emanate from the grassroots and give an authentic voice to ordinary South Africans.

“Bush Radio was at the forefront of this, and it is no small matter that it is deemed the mother of community radio in our context.”

2023 NIHSS Award interview

In 2023 I was awarded the National Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences Best Digital Humanities: Visualisation or Infographic prize for my ongoing project on digitising the Early South African Black Press. In this interview I talk about the project and what this recognition by the NIHSS means.

Even in podcast and social media era, radio continues to play central role

Link: https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2024-02-14-themba-sepotokele-even-in-podcast-and-social-media-era-radio-continues-to-play-central-role/ 

Professor outlines journey of radio over the years

Link: Professor outlines journey of radio over the years | Netwerk24 

Radio 702 Marks 100 years since radio was introduced in South Africa, through the first experimental broadcast at the Railway Headquarters in Johannesburg

Namibian Broadcasting Corporation

Two years ago I did a study on the the use of language as symbolic action in digital violence against South African journalists, which I had the opportunity to present at the Unesco World Press Freedom Day conference. It was great to be discussing this issue again because, while great strides have been made in coming up with policies and guidelines, the situation is still dire, leading many female journalists to self censor for fear of the online hate they get subjected to.

In a stretched global media world, where “beats”, such as health, education and the environment, covered by specialist reporters, have been shrinking as fast as reader numbers and advertising, a job ad for a “modern storyteller” adept in print, audio and visual journalism was bound to be controversial.

South African newsrooms are as depleted as most around the world. Arts, culture and entertainment coverage is often confined to what celebrities say on X or the pictures they post on Instagram.

“If we base the idea of journalism on information that is in the public interest rather than information that the public finds interesting, then reporters who are dedicated to specific celebrities, no matter their cultural, economic and social impact, might not be sustainable nor in the best interest of the field,” says Dr Sisanda Nkoala, senior lecturer in the media department at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. 

Link: https://mg.co.za/friday/2023-10-14-tayloring-stories-for-fans/

While many South Africans might not own a wireless any more, radio is still central to our lives [Comment for a Daily Maverick article]

Dr Sisanda Nkoala, senior lecturer in the Department of Communication Sciences at the University of South Africa, said the way people consumed radio was now mostly via their cellphones, and it was expected there would be a decrease in radio ownership. “Is it a cause for concern? Absolutely not; radio as a medium is still loved in South Africa. People still listen in their millions.” She added that contrary to emerging belief, radio was not threatened by digital media but, instead, digital media supported radio.

Click here to read more:  https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-10-12-while-many-south-africans-might-not-own-a-wireless-any-more-radio-is-still-central-to-our-lives/

Leadership in a crisis: how President Ramaphosa’s COVID speeches drew on Mandela’s ideas of South African unity

In times of crisis, leaders wield more than just political power. They harness the art of rhetoric in a bid to unite their nations towards a common goal. South Africa, with a tumultuous history marked by apartheid, has seen leaders employ persuasive communication to navigate challenges. I’ve been a media and rhetoric scholar for a decade. My colleague and I examined Ramaphosa’s communicative approaches during the pandemic. Our paper on his speeches looked at how leaders use their speeches to unify citizens amid turmoil and uncertainty.

Click here to read more:  https://theconversation.com/leadership-in-a-crisis-how-president-ramaphosas-covid-speeches-drew-on-mandelas-ideas-of-south-african-unity-214998

Community radio: young South Africans are helping shape the news through social media

The number of South African internet users has nearly doubled in the past decade. One 2023 study of 45 developed countries suggests that South Africans even lead the world when it comes to the amount of time spent in front of screens, at 58.2% of the day. This digital transformation has significant implications for the country’s media. Particularly for newsrooms that want to engage online audiences in a time when news production has evolved towards greater participation of citizens and civil society. More and more, listeners are contributing to media processes.

Click here to read more:  https://theconversation.com/community-radio-young-south-africans-are-helping-shape-the-news-through-social-media-204958

Eusebius McKaiser played a transformative role in talk radio in a democratic South Africa

South African broadcaster, author and political analyst Eusebius McKaiser passed away suddenly on 30 May 2023 at the age of 45. News of his death reverberated through media channels. Tributes bore witness to the impact of his voice and the enduring significance of radio as the medium through which many first encountered his outspoken, insightful commentary. McKaiser blazed a trail that helped inform public debate in contemporary South Africa.

Click here to read more:  https://theconversation.com/eusebius-mckaiser-played-a-transformative-role-in-talk-radio-in-a-democratic-south-africa-206876

100 years of radio in South Africa

Cape Talk's Clarence speaks to Dr Sisanda Nkoala Senior Lecturer, Cape Peninsula University of Technology about 100 years of radio in South Africa: https://omny.fm/shows/mid-morning/heritage-half-hour-100-years-of-sa-radio

Media and Society | GBV and media

In this interview, featured on SABC Media and society programme, Dr Sisanda Nkoala speaks to Peter Ndoro about her research on television news reports on gender based violence


Reporting on 16 Days of Activism: How South African media gets it wrong

Clarence speaks to Dr Sisanda Nkoala, senior lecturer in the media department at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 

Click here to listen: https://omny.fm/shows/mid-morning/16-days-of-activism-how-south-africa-s-tv-news-get#description

Radio in South Africa turns 100 – and collides with podcasting and streaming

This year marks 100 years since radio was introduced in South Africa, through “the first experimental broadcast at the Railway Headquarters in Johannesburg” on 18 December 1923. A century on, up to 94% of South Africans over the age of 15 confirmed in a recent survey that they owned a radio set in one form or other. Radio remains firmly in place as the country’s most loved medium. Millions tune in daily to 40 commercial and public broadcast stations and over 250 community stations. Although other forms, like television, have threatened, as the song goes, to kill “the radio star”, the intimacy, immediacy and sociability of radio remain unmatched.

Click here to read more: Radio in South Africa turns 100 – and collides with podcasting and streaming (theconversation.com) 

South Africa’s struggle songs against apartheid come from a long tradition of resistance

African newspapers can be anti-African too: what my research found

An article republished in the Cape Argus

August 31, 2022

https://www-pressreader-com.ezproxy.cput.ac.za/south-africa/cape-argus/20220831/page/10

Television reports on crimes against women and children tend to get a lot of views and opens up the platform to public scrutiny. It's also the main medium in which viewers are informed about court cases and their outcomes. Sisanda Nkoala from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology has written a research paper on the role news broadcasts play when it comes to reporting on matters that involve the law and the courts. She spoke to Thembekile Mrototo. #eNCA Courtesy #DStv403

In this article, I  was featured giving commentory on the implications of closing down a Cape Town-based community radio station that broadcasts tot he Khayelitsha community in Xhosa.

In this edition of the Knowledge Bank, Powerfm's Lukhona Mnguni explored a chapter from the book “Radio, Public Life and Citizen Deliberation in South Africa”. The chapter, “In whose interest is it anyway? - An analysis of the content, discourse and programming strategies of South African business radio shows”, authored by Sisanda Nkoala and Dr Trust Matsilele explores the extent to which South African talk radio stations fulfil their normative role of ensuring that disparate groups participate in shaping narratives around the structure and direction of the country's economy.

As media coverage of the 16 days of activism for no violence against women and children peaks, a recent study challenges newsrooms to reflect on the words and visuals they use to convey stories.In the study, entitled Crimes Against Children: Evaluative Language and News Reports on Sentences, academic Sisanda Nkoala examined television news coverage of three prominent child murder cases by SA’s biggest broadcasters. The peer-reviewed study was published in the Javnost — The Public journal last month. Nkoala zoomed in on SA’s two major broadcasters’ reporting on the judgments and sentencing of Nicholas Ninow, Zintle Maditla and Nkosinathi Ndlela...  ~ 10 December 2020

Media should treat cases involving child victims with kid gloves


Link: https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times-daily/news/2020-12-10-media-should-treat-cases-involving-child-victims-with-kid-gloves/

 


Do media reports on crimes against children focus on emotion rather than facts?

Do media reports on crimes against children focus on emotion rather than facts? University of Cape Town PhD graduate Dr Sisanda Nkoala conducted a study on television news reporting of violent crimes against children. 

Acknowledging that the advent of mass media has been one of the most significant developments in shaping the world as we know it today, recent University of Cape Town (UCT) PhD graduate Dr Sisanda Nkoala wanted to understand how that shaping occurs and what it persuades us of  ~ 1 August 2022

Also republished on:

https://indiaeducationdiary.in/university-of-cape-town-media-reports-on-crimes-against-children-focus-on-emotion-rather-than-facts-study/

Media reports on crimes against children focus on emotion rather than facts – study


Link: https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2022-08-01-media-reports-on-crimes-against-children-focus-on-emotion-rather-than-facts-study

 


SAFM interview of Sisanda Nkoala on The Point of View

Journalism lecturer Dr Sisanda Bukeke Nkoala is being celebrated for earning her PhD while guiding students through their own studies, playing several vital roles at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and raising three young children. Her son has even dubbed her Dr Mama. 

SARS Multilingual Tax Teminology Vusi Ntlakana & Dr Sisanda Nkoala

In this video Dr Sisanda Nkoala interviews Vusi Ntlakana of SARS about the 450 multilingual terminologies developed by SARS in 11 SA official languages for the Indigenous Action Languages Forum. 

Dr Sisanda Bukeke Nkoala shares her personal Story of Hope on CCFm 107 5

Former CCFm Presenter and now a Journalism lecturer, Dr Sisanda Bukeke Nkoala, is being celebrated for earning her PhD while guiding students through their own studies, playing several vital roles at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), raising three young boys and being married.