Veteran journalist Joe Thloloe has been appointed the new press ombudsman.
The announcement was made in Johannesburg on Friday at the first meeting of the Press Council, set up to administer the office of the ombudsman and appeal panel.
Thloloe, a journalist since 1961, is a former editor-in-chief of the South African Broadcasting Corporation television news and was awarded the Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University in 1998.
He also served on the Human Rights Commission that investigated racism in the media and previously worked at the World, the Rand Daily Mail, Golden City Post and Drum magazine.
He has won awards for courage and integrity in journalism.
The new press council includes five public representatives who will serve with six press members who represent all levels of the print news industry.
The council’s objectives include promoting adherence to high standards of newspaper reporting and comment through self-regulation by the ombudsman and appeal panel.
The council has adopted the press code, which has been updated to include definitions of child pornography, sexual conduct and hate speech, in accordance with those of the Constitutional Court.
A further aim is upholding the constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of expression, including freedom of the press.
The new chairperson of the appeal panel is Judge Ralph Zulman who is retiring from the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Zulman succeeds Judge Edwin King.
Thloloe succeeds Ed Linington, former editor of the South African Press Association, who served as ombudsman for 10 years. – Sapa