The Bill, the Billed and Billy: analysis of media framing of the South African land expropriation Bill

Abstract

Arguably, no issue evokes so much emotion amongst South Africans, post-1994, like the land and agrarian question. After going through various stages of ‘failed’ implementations of the land reform programme, the government decided to consider the path of land expropriation, with a Bill to that effect already passing the motion in Parliament. The Bill, which seeks to provide for the expropriation of property for a public purpose or in the public interest, was recently passed by the South African Parliament, with attendant discordant discourses amongst the populace. Given the vociferous nature of the South African media and its potential to influence public perception of sensitive social issues, this article undertakes a content analysis of media reportage of the land expropriation Bill with a bid to ascertain how it has impacted on public opinion and understanding of the Bill, and land reform in general.