Some 30 years after democratic reform sought to reshape South Africa, an assessment of the efforts made then to widen access to the media is due. Undoubtedly, there has been growth in independent local media, particularly in publishing and in community radio, but gaps remain. People on the margins of the information system still have far less access to media than those in the wealthy and urban areas. The present collection sets out to understand those media that have grown up on the margins, using empirical and theoretical approaches to ask questions about content, money, power, digital issues and the people involved. Using a range of styles and approaches, the authors set out to deepen understanding of the small media sector in South Africa, highlighting lessons about media development in societies characterised by deep inequality.