This project locates how the global and local news representation of South Africa's transition to and engagement with democracy has changed during the first five general elections, specifically as represented on television news during the voting days. The news broadcasts of five election periods (1994 - 2014) are subjected to semiotic and discourse analyses in order to locate shifting or congruent narratives. The aims of this research are three-fold: to develop a methodology for analysing television news, to add to existing literature about the representation, both locally and globally, of changing South African democracy, and finally to discover how news networks perceive, explain, and judge South African elections. Each election year will be contextualised through a discussion of campaign rhetoric, leadership, and political agenda. This study adds to the literature on South African election research and offers a methodology for studying television news or convergence journalism in the digital environment.