The book examines the reform of the communication sector in South Africa as a detailed and extended case study in political transformation - the transition from apartheid to democracy. The reform of broadcasting, telecommunications, the state information agency and the print press from apartheid-aligned apparatuses to accountable democratic institutions took place via a complex political process in which civil society activism, embodying a post-social democratic ideal, largely won out over the powerful forces of formal market capitalism and older models of state control. In the cautious acceptance of the market, the civil society organizations sought to use the dynamism of the market while thwarting its inevitable inequities. Forged in the crucible of a difficult transition to democracy, communication reform in South Africa was navigated between the National Party's embrace of the market and the African National Congress leadership's default statist orientation.

"the analysis is persuasive and compelling." CHOICE Jan 2002

"...well researched book...Horwitz's research and observations provide a rare resource for historians interested in international communication, communication policy, democratic reform, and the importance placed in an emerging democracy of 'getting it right' when dealing with one of the most powerful means of literacy, political control, and economic growth." Ken Waters, Journalism History

"The book is well organized." International Journal of African History

"The book is useful not only in analyzing the role of communications under apartheid but also its role in building a new civil society." African Studies Review