Thabo Mbeki’s media task team has ruffled the feathers of the major newspaper conglomerates, writes Jacquie Golding-Duffy
Major newspaper conglomerates are worried that the 10-member media task team appointed late last year by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki will exercise its power to ensure large scale affirmative action at newspapers — up to the level of editor.
Newspaper groups investigating partnerships with black investment companies also fear pressure from the task team to hand over control of newspapers via the selling-off of large chunks of shares. The conglomerates believe this is a bid by the task team to ensure financial equilibrium and media
These fears come days before the team is next due to meet, on January 29.
The appointment of the team followed recommendations by a government conference on communications held last October in Arniston, Western Cape.
The task of the team is to investigate government communications, and the ways that “ownership and control of the media” outside of government affect these communications. At its first meeting, held last week, the committee discussed the need for interested parties to air their views.
Nasionale Pers Newspapers Group chief executive officer Hennie van Deventer said the group was “surprised to see that government saw fit to appoint a task team without consulting major newspaper groups”.
Van Deventer said Nasionale Pers was “wary of the manner in which the team was compiled”, adding that media groups were getting the impression that the task group was selected with an end result already in mind.
“We are worried that the task team has no full understanding of how newspapers operate and are not fully aware that newspapers are part and parcel of certain cultural groups,” he
He added that it would be confrontational to try to exclude newspaper houses from participating in the formulation of recommendations to be submitted to government.
The reassessment of affirmative action is, among others, the key issue which the task team has to investigate intensively. “Special emphasis” has to be placed on affirmative action, according to a brief received by the 10 members two weeks ago.
“You cannot take Afrikaans newspapers and think that you can change editors without forfeiting the style and substance of the paper and affecting readership ratings,” Van Deventer said. Newspapers did not operate in a vacuum and affirmative-action editors could not replace current editors “at the drop of a
He said Nasionale Pers understood government had a problem with the status quo and that there was a need for a more representative black voice but it felt the correct way to redress the imbalance was via partnerships.
“We are having talks with various black partners and are prepared to sell a substantial share of City Press, among other ventures, in a bid to create a synergy between financial muscle and management experience with other groups,” he said.
Mbeki representative Thami Ntenteni said government was not obliged to consult with business or newspaper houses before setting up a media task team.
“We are confident that in the course of the task team’s meetings, they will consult stakeholders,” Ntenteni said, adding that he was “surprised at the paranoia displayed by
“It is incorrect to prejudice and pre-empt the task group,” he said.
Times Media Limited managing director Roy Paulson said he has found the briefing on control of the media and how it affected government communications “a little strange”.
‘I think government is being a bit naive if it believes that by appointing black editors they would have created a government-friendly press. Any editor, irrespective of colour, would have to run a good newspaper to maintain its readers and credibility,” Paulson said.
He added that should the task team be positive in its approach, TML would support it whole- heartedly, but press-bashing, as happened at the Arniston conference, would be unfortunate.
“A newspaper should be run commercially or not at all,” he said. The team’s primary task of examining internal and external communications pertaining to government was “highly
More than 80% of the South African print media is controlled by four major players: Times Media Limited, Independent Newspaper Holdings, Perskor and Nasionale Pers.
Independent group managing director of Gauteng and Northern Cape newspapers, Deon du Plessis, said Independent Newspapers Holdings was “feeling its way”.
“There’s a case that we should appear before the task team but this depends on how things pan out,” he said. The group was going to “watch the task team very closely”.
Task group representative Val Pauquet said the task team was chosen to look at the problems and fears of newspapers and to “address them
“The task team, we must remember, has no authority to make any decisions and it will not be riding roughshod over the press, but instead, its aim is to research and investigate. We encourage media groups to make submissions to the team in a bid to assist it in its investigations.”
The following people constitute the task team:
l Mandla Langa (director of Interface Consultancy Productions) is the convener of the task team.
l Val Pauquet (Peace Accord Trust national communications co-ordinator) is the representative for the team.
l Mathata Tsedu (Sowetan political editor)
l Tshepo Rantho (National Community Media Forum president)
l Stephen Mncube (Development Information Service divisional manager)
l David Dison (attorney)
l Sebiletso Mokone Matabane (Independent Broadcasting Authority co-chairperson)
l Raymond Louw (Freedom of Expression Institute chairman)
l Professor Willem de Klerk (private political
l Steve Godfrey (Commonwealth).