Abstract This paper is a critique of the final report of the South African Human Rights Commission, Faultlines, on its inquiry into racism in the media. The critique builds on earlier comments by the author which fundamentally question the assumptions made by the SAHRC's independent researchers regarding discourse analysis, content analysis, as well as cultural and media studies. The paper also offers some educational strategies to deal with the real problems still facing the media in the post‐apartheid era. It calls for a participatory research agenda between academics and the media industry in resolving pressing issues of social concern.