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South Africa's Alternative Press Reviewed for H-SAfrica by Keith Tankard, Rhodes University, South Africa. <ktankard@dolphin.ru.ac.za> Les Switzer (ed), _South Africa's Alternative Press: Voices of Protest and Resistance, 1880-1960_ (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press) 1997. ISBN: O-521-55351-2 xiv + 400 pp; maps, photographs, figures, tables, notes, index. Les Switzer's latest book on the alternative press in South Africa fills a useful gap in South African history. It attempts, the editor says, to document the crucial role played by this print medium in protesting the unjust social realities in a world that was largely controlled by the big, largely White-owned newspaper world. The editor points out that the alternative press can be divided into four phases: The African mission press, 1830s-1880s; the independent protest press, 1880s-1930s; the early resistance press, 1930s-1960s; the later resistance press, 1970s-1960s. Having said that, however, the final publication is in fact divided into two logical arenas: Part 1: An Independent Protest Press, 1880s-1930s; Part 2: From Protest to Resistance, 1940s- 1960s. The book begins with an overview of the alternative press, an examination of the historical background in which the press operated: the rise of the Black "petty bourgeoisie"; the theoretical concerns of reading "cultural text"; methodological concerns; and finally an overview of the insights of the various authors. Then follows the meat of the book: an examination of the newspapers themselves. A SUMMARY OF THE CHAPTERS 1: The Beginnings of African Protest Journalism at the Cape (Les Switzer) 2: "Qude Maniki!": John L. Dube, Pioneer Editor of _Ilanga Lase_ (R. Hunt Davis) 3: From Advocacy to Mobilization: _Indian Opinion_, 1903- 1914 (Uma Shashikant Mesthrie) 4: Voice of the Coloured Elite: _APO_, 1909-1923. (Mohamed Adhikari) 5: Moderate and Militant Voices in the African Nationalist Press during the 1920s (Les Switzer) 6: _Bantu World_ and the Origins of a Captive African Commercial Press (Les Switzer) 7: Under Siege: _Inkundla ya Bantu_ and the African Nationalist Movement, 1938-1951 (Les Switzer and Ime Ukpanah) 8: The Sophiatown Generation: Black Literary Journalism during the 1950s (R Neville Choonoo) 9: Socialism and the Resistance Movement: The Life and Times of the _Guardian_, 1937-1952 (Les Switzer) 10: Writing Left: The Journalism of Ruth First and the _Guardian_ in the 1950s (Don Pinnock) 11: _Inkululeko_: Organ of the Communist Party of South Africa, 1939-1950 (Elizabeth Ceirog Jones) Rather than analyze the book chapter by chapter, let me look first at some of the quality material and then briefly explain some of its shortcomings. The very nature of such a book, however, does not allow an examination of everything, and so I shall confine myself to a selection of some of the chapters. SOME HIGH POINTS R. Hunt Davis presents a clear analysis of the role of the Zulu newspaper _Ilanga Lase Natal_ within Black politics at the turn of the century. Davis looks at the multiple readership which Dube attempted to foster, seen in racial, class and religious terms. The writer then examines the role of the newspaper in four distinct areas: its attempt at improving Christianity as one of the "principal elements in their social identity"; the newspaper's attempt to cover the Bombata Rebellion in the face of a hostile White ruling class and government; trade-unionism; and dispossession and the Act of Union. It was a no-win situation, Davis correctly points out. Furthermore, Dube was valiantly attempting to write within the confines of a settler language that was at all times rapidly shifting its position. Uma Mesthrie's insight on _Indian Opinion_ is most useful and indeed entertaining. Mesthrie is successful in a multifaceted approach: examining the origins of _Indian Opinion_ within Natal at the turn of the century; exploring the many problems facing such a newspaper; explaining the role played by Gandhi as owner; analysing the impact of the paper both in the Indian community and within the greater South African political and social milieu; finally, accounting for the limitations in vision of the editorial team. It is quite clear that an in depth analysis of all the years of the newspaper's production is impossible, and Mesthrie therefore limits the examination to the years under Gandhi's control. Mesthrie's research has been meticulous in the compilation of this chapter, and the presentation outstanding. The reader is left with a most detailed account not only of a complex social milieu, but also of Gandhi himself in a lesser known role as newspaper financier and owner. Add to this a thorough examination of the newspaper and its problems, and one comes away with a fine historical cameo. Mohamed Adhikari chronicles the full history of _APO_, the mouthpiece of the African Political Organisation, in reality the voice of the Cape Coloured elite. Because of the close link with the political organisation, it does become necessary to explain the history of that institution. Adhikari therefore does a skilful tightrope walk between the two, and the end result is a satisfactory overview of the history of _APO_ the newspaper and APO the political animal. Adhihari successful explains the origins of the newspaper within the context of failed expectations at the end of the South African War, and its early success as a fortnightly news sheet. He looks at the market at which _APO_ was aimed, at the editorship, at the format and type of coverage, as well as the problems which confronted the paper because it was a political mouthpiece. He then explains (rather briefly) the paper's several weak attempts at revival from about 1914 until its eventual demise in 1923. To my mind, the most enriching chapter is that of Nelville Choonoo, who writes on two publications which arose out of the "Sophiatown generation", namely _Drum_ and _Golden City Post_. These publications, he says, immortalised Sophiatown. "Their exposes and short stories as well as their later autobiographies reveal not only their protest against white injustice but also, ironically, their growing alienation as intellectuals who would never find a personal place in any community, black or white." It was a "fabulous decade", he says, and all credit must be given to Choonoo for bringing the vibrancy home to the reader in a most colourful fashion. The chapter, short though it is, graphically explores the background politics, the social life and the writings which dramatise the life in Sophiatown. The writer clearly sums up editorial and journalistic styles, and his analysis of the various short stories is short and cogent. A chapter well worth the reading and, if for this reason alone, the book is well worth purchasing. THE NOT-SO-GOOD There are weaknesses in every publication, and this one is no exception. Unfortunately, most of the shortcomings are found in the several chapters penned by the editor himself, understandable since he has contributed to almost half the book. Switzer's problem lies in two areas: first, a tendency to look too deeply at the politics surrounding the newspapers; second, allowing his delight in statistical information to divert his attention away from the newspapers themselves. His opening chapter on the early newspapers, for example, is really attempting to cover far too much in too little space. By force, therefore, very little can be said and, as a result, the writer tends to concentrate more on the political world in which the editors were involved rather than on the newspapers they edited. In that sense, this chapter tends to be somewhat disappointing. (This is true as well for Pinnock's chapter on Ruth First, which analyses First's role as a journalist but leaves us with little insight into the _Guardian_.) Switzer's analysis does, nevertheless, serve as a very useful introduction to the world in which men like Jabavu, Rubusana, Soga and Plaatjie lived and tried to organise. In later chapters, Switzer becomes excessively analytical, presenting statistical evidence such as the news as broken down into such categories of Black / multiracial news of general interest, White / multiracial news, Black / multiracial political and trade union news and foreign news. I am, of course, unashamedly biased against this style of presentation because I find that it allows the factual / statistical exposition to get in the way of analytical narrative and, in the end, the reader is left with no real feel for any of the papers. Furthermore, frequent direct quotations get in the way of the narrative. His analysis of _Bantu World_, on the other hand, is both authoritative and fascinating. Again Switzer uses much statistical information to reveal the true nature of the paper, but his analysis of the way in which it was structured is informative and absorbing. From a fascinating description of the editorship of Selope Thema, Switzer then gives a breakdown of the type of news stories which each standard edition would carry. By the time one has finished reading, one is left with a good feel for _Bantu World_, or at least as much as such a brief summary is able to provide. As with all books which are compilations from many authors, _Alternative Press_ does have its high points and its not-so-high moments. On the one hand, it provides a valuable insight into the many newspapers published by Black resistance. On the other, there is just too much to look at and therefore sections are sometimes frustratingly skimpy. Nevertheless, the book is an important and welcome addition to our body of knowledge, and fills a useful gap in South African history. Keith Tankard Department of History Rhodes University Eastern Cape South Africa e-mail: ktankard@dolphin.ru.ac.za Copyright (c) 1997 by H-Net, all rights reserved. This work may be copied for non profit educational use if proper credit is given to the author and the list. For other permission, please contact H-Net@H-Net.MSU.EDU.
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