Using theories of power and democracy, this chapter analyses the tension in the relationship between the (ANC) and the media during former president Jacob Zuma's reign. In the chapter, Fanon is ever present. Fanon slated the new elites, the formerly oppressed, in the post-independence era in Africa as self-interested and greedy vultures – corruption ruling the day, morality in slim evidence. As Dale McKinley has noted:

The chapter's aim is to show how power works, and how subjects become subjected, for example, in the case of the ‘SABC 8’, eight journalists who were bullied and ultimately fired by the chief operating officer (COO), Hlaudi Motsoeneng. They turned their backs on his voice, and towards the professional codes of ethics, breaking away to reveal the ugly underbelly of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in openly watched, televised parliamentary sessions.

One of the journalists, Suna Venter, died from ‘broken-heart syndrome’. Even though this chapter is about the tensions between Zuma and the media, it asks underlying questions that are pertinent today, and will be for the future: about how close journalists should be to political factions and power; whether they should belong to political parties; and why political and investigative journalists so often become pawns of political factions – as we witnessed with the revelations about the Sunday Times.

The ethics and diversity subcommittee of the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) conducted a survey in 2016, which asked: ‘Should journalists belong to political parties? Circle your answer, yes or no, and please give your reason.’ The following 12 newsrooms were selected to participate in the onepage survey, to give a broad spread across companies:

• SABC Digital News (public-owned entity)

• Interface (SABC) (public-owned entity)

• Daily Sun (Media24)

• Sunday Times (Arena Holdings, formerly Tiso Blackstar)

• Sunday Sun (Media24)

• City Press (Media24)