Take Julius Malema, for example. Right now he is the darling of the South African mass media, commanding more attention than president Zuma and his whole cabinet put together. [Note that since this morning, ANCYL supporters outside Luthuli House in the Johannesburg CBD where Malema's ANC disciplinary hearing has been taking place, have been protesting violently and attacking police and media - managing ed.]
When he holds a press conference, it is packed to the rafters and, in spite of some journalists tweeting that Malia effectively said nothing new, they keep going back for more.
Centre of attraction
Television of Malema in public these days shows someone who is behaving far above his station in life. This is no youth league president; this is someone who is behaving and being portrayed by the media as someone who is running the country. Surrounded by bodyguards and a clamouring media, he is SA's very centre of attraction.
And the more outspoken he becomes, the more outrageous he becomes, the more sensational his speeches and the more media publicity he gets. So much so, that one keeps on wondering whether he is a diabolically clever in the art of self-promotion or whether, in fact, he is actually news of such import that it fully deserves such tsunami coverage.
Celeb-obsessed
Is he worth all this attention or is he just fortunate to be living in a celebrity-obsessed society, where anybody who is prepared to be outspoken, high profile and sensationalist will attract the media like flies?
It is a chicken-and-egg situation - does the media make Malema what he is today or does Malema make the kind of news SA wants to hear. ?
There is absolutely no doubt whatsoever that SA's mass media is desperately trying to sustain dwindling readerships, viewerships and listenerships. And while editors might argue that their choice of news is in no way related to the need to draw additional readers, viewers and listeners, this of course is always the object of the exercise. It's what editors and programme managers have to do. Or die.
Do we care?
It's also extremely difficult to rely on media research to determine whether the average consumer is as interested as the media appears to be in the antics of Malema. But maybe a clue lies in the fact that the top-rated TV shows right now are neither news nor political documentaries but rather soapies and reality shows.
I am not sure that we will ever know what would happen if the media simply stopped giving someone like Malema so much over-the-top coverage. And what would happen if they just didn't pitch up for his press conferences.
But, one thing is for sure, right now the media is doing more for Malema than he could have imagined in his wildest dreams. One has to ask whether our media are just being a diligent messengers or making a mountain out of a molehill?
For more:
For More list updated at 6.05pm on 30 August 2011.
