South Africa’s editors and the government’s legal team will meet ”as a matter of urgency” over concerns about the Film and Publication Bill.
This was announced in a statement jointly issued by the government and the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) after talks at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Also on the agenda was the handling of media coverage of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.
Sanef and the government had agreed to convene a ”special seminar” on the media’s role in democracy and the balance between the right to privacy, the public interest, media ethics and freedom of expression, they said.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Sanef raised its reservations about pre-classification clauses in the Film and Publication Bill, its constitutionality and the criminal sanctions it proposed.
It was noted that Sanef had made a submission to the National Council of Provinces, which would soon conduct public hearings on the Bill.
The government delegation, in turn, raised its concerns at the media’s handling of the issue of the right to privacy in general, and the principle of patient and doctor confidentiality in particular.
While the government re-affirmed its commitment to freedom of the press, it felt public discussion was needed on the ethics that must guide the media in exercising this right.
The government delegation was led by Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad. The Sanef delegation was headed by its chairperson, Jovial Rantao. — Sapa