This article provides a developmental analysis of discursive treatment of South Africa in two key US news media, Time and Newsweek. In so doing, it investigates the role of media in relation to political memory and public participation in foreign policy-making in the United States. A brief template of `ideal' media discourse on South Africa is set out in the introduction to enable a contrast with actual media output, and then a detailed analysis is presented of news magazine discourse concerning three key moments in modern South African history.
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