SCR 500 report 2023
UN Academic Impact
Benefits of registering
Registration on the Media Tenor website provides you with free access to our restricted archive of case-studies, reports and newsletters. You can also elect to receive our regular newsletters on a variety of media related issues.
E-toll: Drawbacks outweigh the benefits
Media analysis on the impact of e-tolls
Pretoria, 28 November 2013: The year has seen the public being swamped by constant newspaper and TV news reports on e-tolling. However, most of the messaging has been dominated by opposition to the e-tolling system.
Research has shown that the e-tolls have taken up almost half (40%) of media coverage related to transport issues in Gauteng, causing the media to lose sight of other transport-related developments. Public transport only represented less than a tenth (8%) of media coverage with other developments such as the BRT system in Gauteng being almost completely ignored by the media.
The issue continued to be escalated by opposition parties, trade unions and civic organisations such as OUTA, with the DA scoring points at the expense of the ANC, who found themselves in the unenviable position of being associated with the government’s e-toll drive and on the back foot with the DA’s now famous ‘E-toll proudly brought to you by the ANC’ billboard.
“As the media continues to focus on the political fallout of e-tolls, this could affect the ANC Gauteng support base in next year’s elections and further blur the dividing line between government and the ANC,” says Ludene Brown, a researcher at Media Tenor SA.
These results are based on an analysis of 3 304 statements on E-tolls in South African print and TV news programs from 1 January 2013 – 31 October 2013 . For 20 years, Media Tenor’s mission has been to contribute to objective, diverse and newsworthy reporting by bringing together the diverse parties who both impact and are affected by the news. Media Tenor’s global research projects include analyses of election campaigns, investor relations, public diplomacy, corporate communications and other topics critical to news makers and news audiences.
For additional information, or to schedule an interview with Media Tenor, please contact Ludene Brown, 012 369 7760 or 082 213 9481, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Chart of the week
