Background

In a recent article (Ansell, 2001), respected jazz critic and media trainer Gwen Ansell observed that while the general standard of arts coverage in South Africa was poor, few media organisations were willing to invest in the training of its arts reporters. Ansell went further: "Arts journalism is in a crisis in South Africa, and no one seems to care". (ibid, p42) Her comments follow a major study conducted in the United States in 1999 (Reporting the Arts, Columbia NAJP ), which found, amongst other things, that newspapers did not increase their in-house staffing and resources to match an explosive growth in local artistic activity; that key art forms, such as dance and the visual arts, were marginalized; and that entertainment listings constituted more than 50% of arts coverage. The study raises some interesting questions around the 'fudging' of the line between arts, entertainment, leisure and lifestyle, and questions some of the core assumptions these sorts of editorial decisions make - including the role of advertising in arts coverage.

Using the above as a starting point, Open Research, in partnership with the Media Monitoring Project, has initiated a research project which sets out to monitor and analyse the South African mass media's coverage of the arts. "Communicating the Arts" has been funded by Business and Arts South Africa (BASA)

The aim of the project is to monitor and analyse the coverage of arts in the South Africa's mass media, in order to: