Monday marked World Press Freedom Day. SA National Editors Forum (Sanef) secretary-general Mahlatse Mahlase delivered a speech during a webinar, hosted by the University of Johannesburg s Faculty of Humanities, and outlined some of the industry s biggest challenges. Here is the full speech.
We join the world in marking World Press Freedom Day which is an opportunity to take a moment to reflect on the long and sometimes arduous journey to an independent but protected media. It is also an opportunity for all of us – government, opposition, civil society – citizens and journalists, to commit to doing our part to ensure that journalists do their work without fear or favour, contributing to strengthening our deepening democracy.
MAHLATSE MAHLASE: Defending media freedom in SA is a continuous battle
29 days ago
At an event to mark World Press Freedom Day on 3 May, the following speech was delivered by South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) secretary general Mahlatse Mahlase.
We join the world in marking World Press Freedom Day – an opportunity to take a moment to reflect on the long and sometimes arduous journey to an independent but protected media. It is also an opportunity for all of us – government, opposition, civil society, citizens and journalists - to commit to doing our part to ensure that journalists do their work without fear or favour – contributing to strengthening our deepening democracy.
Sixty-nine. That’s the number of recommendations put forward by retired Judge Kathy Satchwell’s panel on Media Ethics and Credibility.
Some of these recommendations are broad and mushy, suggesting the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef), which commissioned the report from the independent three-person panel, do things like collaborate, publicise, encourage, enter into discussions and participate in or foster debates, and organise more training – things Sanef or others do or can do without too much difficulty.
Others are what could be described as wishful thinking – good suggestions unlikely to be implemented because they are too costly or complicated, or there is not the will to do so. Most notable of these is the suggestion that we look anew at greater public funding of media. (Although we learnt this week that the State Security Agency (SSA) has been the main channel for public funding of journalists, though it chose to keep this secret. See below.)
weekly newspaper.
The long-awaited SANEF-commissioned report on media ethics and credibility has surfaced, with some far-reaching recommendations. But the report, which is more than 300 pages long, has one big flaw, or gaping hole, or lacuna, to use legal parlance, if you like: the Independent Newspapers group was hardly covered. This is the country’s biggest print company and it does not belong to the Press Council of South Africa.
The impetus for the inquiry into ethics and credibility was The Sunday Times debacle of three sets of stories between 2011 and 2016: the SARS “rogue unit”, the Cato Manor “death squads” series and the Zimbabwe “renditions” pieces – for which it had to retract and apologise. The Sunday Times, which subscribes to the Press Council, abided by the Ombud’s decisions and its then editor, Bongani Siqoko, apologised in 2018. The brief to the panel was to cover all news media (except for the SABC, which was already engaged in an inquiry) and n
Returning accountability to SA journalism
Ethics 101. It s a course that every journalist would have taken as a student, whether they were studying for a degree or a diploma.
It is where journalists learn the principles of truthfulness, independence, minimising harm, and accountability.
Every day, a media worker - whether they are out in the field or working on the desk - has to consider at least one of these principles. And in a world where news never sleeps, where social media has entered the fray, and where media houses are doing more with less - the situation is becoming more and more fraught, leading to cases where media ethics fall by the wayside.