A proposal for a government news agency has fuelled the debate on the control of the media.
Jacquie Golding-Duffy reports
The South African Communication Service (Sacs) has thrown itself into the debate on the ownership and control of the media and has drawn strong criticism from some major newspaper groups.
Sacs head Solly Kotane proposes that a government news agency be established to address the imbalance of news reports in the country.
He says news agencies currently in operation are privately owned and he feels the time “is ripe” for Sacs to develop a national agency devoted solely to churning out “quality government news”.
The issue of a government news agency was not welcomed by Times Media Limited (TML). Managing director Roy Paulson says from a practical point of view, the idea of a government news agency will not work.
“We already have the South African Press Agency (Sapa) which is an impartial news agency, and what Sacs should be doing is communicating more effectively with Sapa. A government news agency can produce as much as it likes but is not guaranteed that any newspaper will use their material,” Paulson said.
He adds that government information is usually “dead boring” and points out that the trouble with Kenya and Zimbabwe’s wire services is that the material produced is not “newsy enough”.
“Anyway, a government news agency as a main source is dubious in itself.”
Managing director of the Independent Group’s Gauteng Newspapers, Deon du Plessis says Kotane’s proposal is “old fashioned”.
“The market is far more vibrant than it was four or five years ago and a news agency devoted entirely to government issues will be impossibly boring,” Du Plessis said.
He says newspapers are accountable to their own markets and editors are increasingly obliged to report on government’s activities. “A government news agency will be the equivalent of Pravda and is the worst thing that could happen. Editors are aware of their market obligations and there should be continuous and improved communication between government and newspapers,” Du Plessis said. He adds that the media task team established by Deputy President Thabo Mbeki has a brief: to ensure that communication with the government is improved.
Kotane agrees that communication with government has to be improved and says the manner in which this can be done is via the establishment of a wire service set up to deal directly with government issues.
“I think the issue of a government news agency, such as the agencies found in most African countries, is an issue of debate and something the task team has to look into,” Kotane said.
He says South African-based wire services “should not be left in private hands alone” because a minority of people were reaping the profits. Kotane argues that a balance needs to be created in the press. He says a news service responsible “for disseminating government information can complement existing wire agencies and re-address the imbalance in the media.
“Sacs is well placed to gather and disseminate quality information on government. It is not an overly ambitious task, but rather one which is needed if the general public, reporters and people in other African countries are to be fully informed,” Kotane said.
The10-member task group, appointed late last year by Mbeki to investigate government communications and how it could be improved, follows recommendations highlighted at a government conference on communications held last October in the Western Cape town of Arniston.
The task team’s brief includes investigating government communications and the ways that “ownership and control of the media” outside of government affect these communications.
Mbeki’s representative Thami Ntenteni says the proposal by Sacs to develop a government news agency is not unique to South Africa, it is commonplace in most African countries to have a special government service. “It’s certainly a matter that has to be discussed and possibly taken up by the task team. If the proposal is seriously considered then the task team will have to decide what the news agency’s mandate will be,” Ntenteni said.
Ntenteni says Kotane is entitled to his opinion and the proposal has to be seen in “the context of the general debate on media ownership and control. It’s a fact that control lies in the hands of a few and this must be addressed.”
However, task group convener Mandla Langa says Kotane’s statement “comes at a time when it is unclear whether or not Sacs has a future. We do not know whether Sacs will be a back-up department to government or whether it is going to be transformed. All this still has to discussed but one major consideration is the the cost to the taxpayer’s pocket. If transformation is too costly, we will have to recommend that Sacs take a different form.”
By mid-May, the team will have made a decision on the future of Sacs.
Kotane says he would like to believe that the task team will “simply not just dismantle Sacs.
“If it chooses this, there is nothing I can do but I believe that the task team will serve the public better if it chooses to transform rather than get rid of Sacs,” he said.
Langa says the issue of the control and ownership of the media was being discussed and it was clear that current owners of the media would have to adapt to the transformations happening around the country.
“A meeting will be held next month with various editors and the Black Editors Forum in order to try and formulate a way forward. Submissions from parties will be received and by then we will hopefully know how to address this issue,” Langa said.
The task team’s deadline for recommendations to Mbeki is the end of September.