A paradigm in process: What the scapegoating of Vusi Mona signalled about South African journalism

In recent years, normative questions about South African journalists' roles in the post-apartheid era have become an issue in regard to the intense contest over a likely presidential successor. The case of disgraced former City Press editor Vusi Mona in 2003/2004 is a cameo instance that shows how media practitioners (especially in print) navigated this issue. The experience can be analysed in three areas: Actors' motives in regard to publishing, participation in confidential briefings, and stances towards judicial process. This rich case also reveals a lack of substantive awareness of the deeper stresses thrown up by democratic transition in South African inflections about the field of journalism. It also suggests some possible modifications to the 'paradigm repair framework when analysing media in transitional contexts.