Affair with Afrikaans

Think “Afrikaans Media” in the past year and three short words jump out: De la Rey.

Rapport editor Tim du Plessis, who describes himself as an Afrikaans media veteran, has been quoted and re-quoted about this phenomenon. He has even been likened to the Anglo Boer-War General. When asked about it for the umpteenth time, he refers to writer Antjie Krog. She is on the record saying the media frenzy around General De la Rey is almost a cry for help from the Afrikaner camp.

“The song’s popularity says to me that, in general, Afrikaners want to become part of building a free country, but feel sidelined because of their past. They are trying to build a meaningful relationship with the rest of the country, but battle to deal with unexpressed guilt,” Krog said in an article published in Mail & Guardian which was based on a paper she delivered at the Universities of the Western Cape and Stellenbosch.

“Look, were are here, and we are going to stay here,” says Du Plessis, whose forthright editorials have earned him a reputation of spokesperson for the Afrikaner. Beeld newspaper even went so far as naming him as one of our modern De la Reys, a tag he is quick to dismiss.

“I don’t consider myself to be a leader,” says Du Plessis. “But over the last five or six years I sharpened my pencil,” he adds with a small smile.

“The government is in year 13. We have a government in power and certain things have gone wrong. I think it is my role to say things have gone wrong.”

But don’t get him wrong. He is all for South Africa.

“In the 1980s we were sort of a country on the verge of failing. We had few things going for us. Today we are a successful state with major problems and major challenges. And it’s a much better space to be in than the previous one— It’s much better to operate in this society.

“And it’s so nice to see the media playing the kind of role it is supposed to play in a democracy. The watchdog role – watch the government, be a conduit toward national debate. It’s wonderful to live in that kind of dispensation. And it’s also great that this is happening in Africa.”

But it could not have been easy for the Afrikaans press to survive the transition from the National Party (NP) regime to the African National Congress (ANC) state. Who would have guessed that the one-time mouthpieces of the NP government would today still be going strong? And this was in a situation where the status quo moved from a government sponsoring the Afrikaans culture to a new dispensation where no special treatment is handed out.

Du Plessis says many factors came into play to secure the future for Afrikaans newspapers.

“There was a time when the Afrikaans newspaper companies made significant income from government contracts, telephone directories, school textbooks, and they used that money to subsidise newspapers. And then, when the era Afrikaner domination ended, I think the Afrikaans media certainly realised that it was going to be a different ball game.

“All the Afrikaans newspapers were closely aligned with the previous government. And I think we saw the writing on the wall even before they saw it themselves— Mr FW de Klerk and his friends thought for a while that we can release Nelson Mandela, un-ban the ANC and then go into a phase of negotiations, talks about talks, while we can stay in political power for the next 10, 15 years or so.

“I think we realised, once Mandela was released and the ANC was un-banned, it was going to be a matter of time before you have majority rule and the NP will lose power and I think we quickly adjusted to that situation. Some of our newspapers, like Die Burger, were the official mouthpieces of the NP and they changed that, they realised it will be detrimental to them.”

The newspapers successfully tapped into the mood of the Afrikaner at that time, and worked hard at creating good products.

“We knew there was not going to be automatic support from our readers just because we are Afrikaans and they are Afrikaans. They are not going to support Afrikaans newspapers if they are poor products.”

But does the ANC government take Afrikaans newspapers seriously? The short answer: No. The longer answer: Maybe— Du Plessis explains.

“Our votes, the votes that are influenced by the Afrikaans media, cannot unseat the ANC. We’re not part of their key constituency. You could have asked a similar question in the 1970s – how influential was the Sowetan in those days on the NP and I would say, not influential at all. Because the readers of City Press and Sowetan did not vote NP and I think the same kind of dynamic applies here.

“But in spite of that, they (the government) do take cognizance of what we do. I know they read us carefully; they are aware of what we do. Are we influential enough that we can change an unpopular policy or an unpopular decision? I don’t think so. I must be realistic about it.

“Should they take us seriously? Of course they should. Would it be a good thing for the country? Yes, it would. It would increase our social capital, it would increase social cohesion.”

Also, the days of receiving inside information from the government are over. Rapport does not enjoy the privilege of tip-offs from “sources” in the ANC. In a sense it is not a bad thing, says Du Plessis. At least then your newspaper is not used as a tool to pursue hidden agendas.

“In a way, you then become part of the story and that is one thing we do not want to do,” he says, adding that in the Apartheid regime, when inside stories were passed on to the Afrikaans newspapers, the English newspapers would report: “In a story leaked to the Afrikaans press—”

“That immediately contextualizes the story, it tells people; this was deliberately given to the Afrikaans press by the Afrikaans government to influence a certain constitution.”

How seriously does the government take English and Zulu media?

“Most of the mainstream newspapers in this country are very critical of the ANC. Yet they are returned to power, election after election.

“When last was there a press conference when President Mbeki faced political correspondents and the political editors of this country where they could ask him questions about Aids, about Zimbabwe, about government capacity? He just doesn’t do it and the ministers follow suit. The president doesn’t do it so why should they?… That’s a dysfunctional aspect of our democracy.”

Since the advent of our democracy in 1994, the Afrikaans media landscape has seen several changes. The latest is the arrival of Media24’s new Sunday tabloid called Sondag. Media24, when it announced the launch of the new publication, said its research showed that Sondag would attract a different type of reader than Rapport whose circulation hovers around 300,000. But how does the editor of Rapport feel about that?

“Market research shows they are not targeting us. Primarily, they’ve not targeted us but I think in the end there is going to be some competition. Human interest stories, crime stories, sport stories – that’s the staple diet of a Sunday newspaper,” says Du Plessis.

“They are going to concentrate on that, and we know that there’s a strong body of readers in our readership that also like that kind of story. So there’s going to be competition between us and them – but it’s fine. The rule is— either cannibalise yourself or you get cannibalised. And I accept that.”

He says Rapport sold more newspapers than on the corresponding Sunday the year before when the short-lived Die Wêreld was launched.

“Readers like choice. Excitement in the market also grows the market. There’s a possibility that because you are stimulating the market with new interest and new titles, you also grow the market.”

How does he feel about the number of new tabloids entering the market? “It creates a healthy diversity in the media. It requires a special skill to produce a good tabloid.”

Rapport‘s editorial positioning? “A good front page carries a human interest story, a political story and a sport story.”

Would he put a picture of ANC deputy president Jacob Zuma and singer Steve Hofmeyr on Rapport‘s front page? “Of course. It is newsworthy – it is something people talk about. Who would have thought that Steve and Zuma would attend a braai together?”

That brings us back to politics. Looking ahead, what would Du Plessis say to political doomsdayers?

“I think this year is going to be crucial. I have a strong in belief in this country. General Jan Smuts in 1949 said South Africa is a country where the worst and the best never happen. It can be so much better but it could also have been so much worse and I think we just are set to go along on that path for a very long time.

“This society developed in a skewed manner over a period of 300 years and it will take time to rectify that. There are a number of projects going on at the same time and one of the projects going on which we do not always see is the process of modernisation.

“We are making wonderful strides in creating an open society. Our constitution pre-supposes an open society but it’s the people of the country, the bureaucrats, business people, journalists, members of society, who put flesh to that structure and we are doing that and that’s why it’s very exciting. So, I’m optimistic.”

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