In the first substantive meeting between the media and the government since 2001, President Thabo Mbeki and senior Cabinet ministers met a delegation of editors in Pretoria on Sunday and agreed to meet yearly from now on.
The Sun City meeting in 2001 was aimed at patching up deteriorating relations between the government and the media.
Sunday’s meeting tackled key legislative issues affecting media freedom and dealt with the government’s concern at the credibility and reliability of the media.
The meeting agreed that the controversial Film and Publications Bill, which the South African National Editors’ Forum said still contains measures restricting press freedom, and section 205 of the Criminal Procedures Act, which provides for imprisonment of journalists refusing to disclose sources, would be attended to in ongoing meetings over the coming weeks.
”Both sides agreed on the importance of self-regulation as the primary root for dealing with such issues and it was noted that the media was strengthening its codes of ethics and conduct,” the delegation said in a joint statement.
It was also recognised that there might be differences in understanding of issues on the part of the government and the media that required more extensive probing of the issues.
Reports were exchanged on progress in implementing commitments made at Sun City in 2001.
”While much progress has been made, there are areas requiring further attention and new issues arising in the context of a rapidly changing media environment and socio-economic transformation in the second decade of freedom.”
Instances of inaccurate reporting and limited depth of reporting were raised by the government and discussed. It was agreed that the credibility of the media as a source of reliable information was of vital importance to society.
”The media will continue to take steps, including training and the application of their codes of ethics, to minimise publication of inaccurate information. For its part, government would continue strengthening its communication capacity to assist the media in ensuring accuracy and promoting depth of coverage,” the statement read.
It was also agreed that there was a need for greater working interaction between the government and the media to facilitate increased coverage of the government, particularly in Pretoria, and to deal with problems before they became critical. — Sapa