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Reflecting on Truth: Has the Media Coverage of the TRC Changed the Way the Public Sees Itself, Its History, and Its Responsibility?

Hamber, Brandon
June 4, 2015

Source: (1997) Paper preserted at the TRC and Human Rights Journalism in South Africa Workshop. Rosebank Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. 3 October 1997. Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. Downloaded 10 June 2004.

Research has shown that, though media portrayals of human rights violations may inform the public, the impacts are somewhat temporary. Further more, the attempts of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to expose the public to the atrocities of apartheid have been rather unsuccessful, particularly with white South Africans. Black South Africans remain sceptical of the TRC’s coverage of past wrongdoings, the media often “reflectingâ€? rather than “challengingâ€? reality. The TRC is urged to increase human rights education in South Africa through more thorough media coverage.

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