The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) announced the launch of its ”Media Freedom Is Your Freedom” campaign on Wednesday, World Press Freedom Day, with an advertising drive subtitled ”What you can’t see, can hurt you.”
”The multimedia campaign is geared to highlight the value of a free media in the young South African democracy. Ours is an often-raucous democracy where a thousand opinions contend. A key reason for this is that our media have been unshackled from its draconian past,” Sanef said in a statement.
”The public will also be invited to engage with the media by visiting our newsrooms and getting to know what we do, and engaging in debates on radio, television, online and in print media.”
Sanef paid tribute to the 500 journalists and publishers around the world who were killed or arrested last year for doing their jobs. ”In particular, we continue to deplore the continued arrests and detention of many of our colleagues across the continent,” it said.
The continent will not achieve its emancipation if journalists are not free, it said.
”In South Africa, we continue to press for the amendment of laws which continue to impact on the free flow of information. But we also welcome President Thabo Mbeki’s decision to return the Icasa [Independent Communications Authority of South Africa] amendment Bill to Parliament because he was concerned that it could be unconstitutional.”
The Icasa amendment Bill, in its present form, would substantially strip the communications regulator of its independence, Sanef believes.
The forum also noted with concern that in the past year, South African media had twice suffered pre-publication banning or gagging.
It also highlighted its key message for 2006: ”The media are your eyes and ears on the world. Insist on media freedom because it’s your freedom.”