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Part of
Journalism and Translation in the Era of Convergence
Edited by Lucile Davier and Kyle Conway
[Benjamins Translation Library 146] 2019
► pp. 155–176

Chapter 7
Tracing convergence in the translation of community radio news

In South Africa, a number of new media role-players have appeared, but radio is still essential for the dissemination of information. This chapter addresses questions related to community radio news translation, namely the forms of new technologies involved. Actor-network theory (ANT) provides a framework to trace the role of the non-human in the form of new media technologies, as well as the interactions and translation processes between human and non-human. Data were collected from two community radio stations through observations, field notes, informal discussions with participants, photographs, and audio recordings. The study showed, among other things, that the technologies used in each station differ along the lines of the digital divide specific to South Africa. Although different non-human actants are important mediators, the examples also indicate that the translation of radio news – even in a convergent environment – does not necessarily depend on the latest new media technologies.

Keywords: news translation, convergence, community radio, actor-network theory, South Africa
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Community radio in the South African media industry
  • 3.The convergent newsroom
  • 4.Actor-network theory: A brief overview
  • 5.ANT as method
  • 6.Case studies
  • 7.Data presentation
    • 7.1Radio station A
      • 7.1.1Radio station A: Data presentation
    • 7.2Radio station B
      • 7.2.1Radio station B: Data presentation
  • 8.Findings and conclusion
    • Computers
    • Access to the internet and email
    • Mobile phones
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
  • Appendix
Published online: 24 April 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/btl.146.07van
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