THE government has agreed to rethink its rules on the mooted presidential press corps.
After months of controversy over invasive screening procedures, the presidential press corps is going back to the drawing board.
This emerged after a meeting of senior journalists and editors in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The hastily undertaken process drew howls from journalists concerned that its security clearance requirements were unreasonable and a potentially unconstitutional invasion of privacy.
Journalists seeking accreditation were asked to complete a form that demanded, among other things, that they describe past treatment for drug dependency and psychological illness, list divorced spouses and give details of insolvencies.
Fears were expressed that the information could be used against journalists by the state.
Three weeks ago the National Intelligence Agency drew harsh criticism after quizzing journalists about their sex lives and sexual orientation. Minister of Intelligence Lindiwe Sisulu subsequently apologised.
The formation of the presidential press corps was mooted during a year-long interaction, starting in April last year, between the presidency and the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef). The process picked up momentum towards the end of last year with the initial circulation of the controversial security clearance form.
Two months ago, an interim presidential press corps committee was set up, comprising journalists who have submitted applications for admission to the corps.
On Tuesday the committee was broadened to strengthen its negotiating capacity with the inclusion of five editors, including Sanef chairperson Mathatha Tsedu and the Mail & Guardian‘s Howard Barrell. ”The committee will now facilitate the formation and operation of the press corps in a way that will ensure independent reporting without compromising the security of the president,” said Barrell.
Donwald Pressley, outgoing chairperson of the Parliamentary Press Gallery Association, welcomed the move. ”Although Sanef initially appeared to be limp-wristed and na”ve in its approach, we are pleased that the editors are now vigorous in defending journalists’ right to privacy,” he said.
Pressley emphasised that the parliamentary press gallary would continue to call for automatic inclusion in the press corps, as they had already passed security clearance to cover Parliament.
Tyrone Seale, assistant editor of Beeld and chair of the interim committee, confirmed this week that between 60 and 70 journalists had submitted to scrutiny and were awaiting an outcome. Seale said the enhanced committee now had to formulate ”a philosophical and operational framework within which the corps can operate”.
The committee will now engage both the presidency and the government communication service to thrash out a range of issues. These include refining the security clearance procedure to probe only those aspects deemed relevant for journalists. There will also be a founding document with a code of conduct.
The committee will then iron out issues such as an appeal mechanism if an application is rejected, continued membership if a journalist changes employment, the provision of facilities by the presidency and cost coverage for communication and broadcast facilities, as well trips in the presidential jet.
Foreign media look set to appeal for inclusion. The international news wire service Reuters has argued that it sees itself as a South African entity, a position endorsed by Sanef.
Seale says that the parliamentary scribes have not been viewed as separate, but rather as complementary. He expects that since most media employ journalists in both Cape Town and Johannesburg, the former will have access to the presidency in Cape Town and the latter in Pretoria.