4 September 2007
The withdrawal of the SABC from SANEF has created a huge rupture in the media fraternity and brought to the fore for the first time the nature of differences that exist within the media fraternity.
Over a period of time, as the SACP we have been concerned about the growing trend of self-righteousness that is finding expression in the newsrooms, particularly the print media, under the guise of being a public watchdog. The levels of professionalism and adherence to ethics in the print media have reached its lowest zenith.
The right to inform the public brings along the responsibility to act with dignity, respecting both the audience and the subject of the report and to report accurately. A major sickness engulfing our media is the trend to chase sales and thus in the process forego these principles and values. We need to firmly unite against this Hollywood style of reporting. Sensationalism is not in the interest of the public.
From the SACP`s standpoint, this rupture is a reflection of two other phenomena within South African media. Firstly, South African media seems to have positioned themselves in an extremely factionalist manner in relation to debates or disagreements in all of our Allied organisations.
These come to the fore more sharply especially in the run up to our major events, with media allowing itself to be used as vehicles for one set of leadership to discredit another section, through vilification, smear, selective publication of destructive information, including manufacturing of outright lies.
Prime examples in this regard are the City Press (seemingly having unlimited access even to some privileged information from inside the state), sections of SABC TV News, pockets of the Independent Group, and the Mail and Guardian. Such behaviour will surely lay the foundations for media to completely destroy whatever credibility sections of it might still have.
Secondly, the debate raised in the ANC policy conference about the parameters within which media must operate, especially the tendency to elevate freedom of expression above the human rights of particularly those holding public office, needs to be taken up in earnest. This might include interrogating the question of self-regulation by the media. Our own struggles in the financial sector have shown the severe weaknesses in, for instance, the self-regulation of the credit bureaux. It was for these reasons that we now have an independent national credit regulator, although the jury is still out as to how independent this regulator will actually be.
Is it not time that as a country we debate the extent to which a national but independent media regulator is desirable, something that will also provide swift remedy but neither controlled by government nor by the media itself? Just like we have the South African Human Rights Commission, the Public Protector, etc, do we not need something along these lines for the media, as the only way to strike an appropriate balance between freedom of expression and human rights contained in our bill of rights?
The time is now to firmly place on the agenda the question of the role of the media, including our experiences over the last 13 years.
Issued by the SACP.
For more information Contact:
Malesela Maleka
SACP Spokesperson - 082 226 1802