The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) is willing to talk about improving self-regulation, but it does not appreciate the public slamming of the media by ANC officials, its chairperson said on Tuesday.
“Every single ANC spokesperson who gets a platform slams the media as if we were … Osama bin Laden,” Mondli Makhanya said at a roundtable discussion hosted by Talk Radio 702 in Johannesburg.
He was responding to ANC national spokesperson Jackson Mthembu, who said the ruling party was willing to “engage” with the media about a proposed Media Appeals Tribunal for print media.
Makhanya said: “Of course we can strengthen [self-regulation]. We never said it’s perfect. Let’s have that conversation.”
But he pointed out that President Jacob Zuma and South African Communist Party secretary general Blade Nzimande had been very critical of the media, and very supportive of a tribunal, in recent weeks.
Media lawyer Okyerebea Ampofo-Anti agreed with Makhanya, saying she was “concerned about the rhetoric” from the ANC.
The ANC has criticised the press ombudsman function, saying it was subjective because it was run by a journalist.
Instead, it has suggested that Parliament investigate the possibility of a statutory tribunal to regulate the print media.
Mthembu said many people had lost their jobs because of “malicious” coverage they had received in the media. He said the press ombudsman did not allow such people proper recourse, and that often an apology by a newspaper was not enough.
Legal action was too expensive for these people, added Mthembu.
But media freedom expert Raymond Louw said the press ombudsman offered a free service to members of the public who wanted to complain about alleged defamation.
“I haven’t seen one case before the press ombudsman which reflects a complaint about malicious reporting,” said Louw.
He said most complaints about the media came from high-profile politicians who probably did have the financial resources to revert to the courts, so Mthembu’s argument did not make sense.
“And by the way, what is the parliamentary system of dealing with errant parliamentarians? A self-regulatory system with no participation from the public,” added Louw.
‘Reminiscent of apartheid-era regulations’
Meanwhile, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said that the new media rules planned by the South African government are reminiscent of draconian apartheid-era press laws and could stunt democracy in the country. The New York-based media freedom group said in a letter to President Zuma, posted on the CPJ website, that the proposed laws would severely curtail the independent media.
“The Protection of Information Bill currently before Parliament is meant to replace an apartheid-era law dating from 1982,” the CPJ said.
Under apartheid, journalists were prevented from writing about security forces’ actions and often arrested and jailed for being in black townships where anti-apartheid riots were the order of the day.
“Yet the broad language and far-reaching provisions of the legislative proposal … is reminiscent of apartheid-era regulations since it would virtually shield the government from the scrutiny of the independent press and criminalise activities essential to investigative journalism, a vital public service”.
The CPJ also said in its letter to Zuma that a media tribunal could be construed as a political censorship.
“As the leader of the ANC, we call on you to urge the ANC general council to abandon this proposal as government-sponsored media regulatory agencies across Africa have been used time and time again as instruments of political censorship,” the CPJ said.
The ANC said last week the tribunal would enhance accountability and improve reporting, denying it was an attempt to muzzle the press.
‘Baseless and inaccurate allegations’
On Tuesday, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Zweli Mkhize lashed out at a Sunday newspaper for refusing to apologise to him on the internet following an article that claimed his wife and daughter had received lucrative government contracts.
Mkhize held a news conference, saying he would take the Sunday Tribune to court if it refuses to publish an apology about the article on the internet.
The Sunday Tribune published an article that said Mkhize’s wife, May, and daughter, Nokulinda, had received large government tenders.
The press ombudsman ruled the article was in breach of the Press Code and directed the paper to apologise to Mkhize.
“This article did not only contain baseless and inaccurate allegations, but it was also a direct attack on me as the premier of KwaZulu-Natal and also defamed by family,” said Mkhize.
After the ruling made by the press ombudsman, the Sunday Tribune published an apology on July 11.
“The Sunday Tribune initially sent a through the apology they intended to publish, which looked more like an opinion piece and showed clear insistence on their part that they still believed that they were correct in publishing the defamatory article but were merely apologising because they had been instructed to do so,” said Mkhize.
He said the paper had chosen to drag the matter further by leaving misleading information about him and his family on the internet.
He also said when the request was made to post the apology, the paper decided to “hide” it in their website so that it can only be accessed by subscribers only.
However, the editor of the Sunday Tribune said it was untrue that the newspaper had refused to apologise
“It is untrue that the Sunday Tribune refused to apologise to the premier. On July 11 an apology in the article in question was on the website and published on the same day,” said editor Philani Mgwaba. — Sapa, Reuters