A Somber Tone for South Africa's Historic Election

Strategic Insights -

On a day marked by historic significance and emotional charged events across the globe, the coverage of South Africa's first multiracial election was surprisingly understated. Despite its inherent drama, the voting process itself was visually quiet, with elderly black voters standing in long lines under the hot sun or being helped to the voting table being more affecting than the picturesque scene of Nelson Mandela's niece, Nomaza Paintin, casting the first vote.

The event's significance was overshadowed by other more visually striking images from around the world, including pictures of corpses in Rwanda, the wreckage of a China Airlines plane in Japan, and the rubble left by a Texas tornado. The coverage was further hampered by the fact that much of what was said had been said before, with the main themes being the history of oppression, the miracle of multiracial elections, and the fraught future.

Key Takeaways:

  • The coverage of South Africa's first multiracial election was visually quiet, with the voting process itself being a sort of hiatus.
  • The event was overshadowed by other more emotionally charged events around the world, including pictures of corpses in Rwanda, the wreckage of a China Airlines plane in Japan, and the rubble left by a Texas tornado.
  • The coverage was marked by a lack of punch, with no necessary correlation between the significance of an event and how it plays on television.
  • Reporters such as Bernard Shaw of CNN and Peter Jennings of ABC proclaimed the importance of the proceedings with rhapsodic effusions, despite the fact that the event lacked a necessary visual component.
  • Many networks and New York-area stations sent at least one black correspondent to South Africa, including ABC's Ron Allen and George Strait, CBS's Bill Whitaker, and CNN's Marc Watts.
  • The election's significance was heavily emphasized by anchors, but much of what was said had been said before, leading to predictability and redundancy in the coverage.
  • The scene was a far cry from the multiracial coverage that was a hallmark of the event, which was seen as "yesteryear's news."

Statistics:

  • At least 16 networks and New York-area stations sent at least one black correspondent to South Africa.
  • The coverage of the election was marked by a lack of visual drama, with pictures of elderly black voters standing in long lines under the hot sun being more affecting than the picturesque scene of Nomaza Paintin casting the first vote.

Sources:

  • "Charged Though South Africa's First Multiracial Election Is," The New York Times, no date specified.