Throughout history, we have been taught to see the media as instruments of change with a role to play in nation-building and fighting for a just society.
The belief that working as a journalist is a way to fight oppression and contribute to the creation of a non-racial, democratic and united nation was what motivated and inspired the passionate idealism of black and white media workers.
Media workers, at least the conscientised ones, knew that their primary responsibility was to intervene in white supremacist assumptions that Africans were inferior and deserved to be treated as slaves in their ancestral land.
It is consequently astounding and disappointing that, at the beginning of the 21st century, some in the media are perpetuating racist assumptions and questionable agendas. Ironically, since 1994 — especially with the advent of Thabo Mbeki to the presidency — the media have created a sociocultural context in which it is possible to show disdain and utter contempt for legitimate African political leadership. This is displayed in the coverage of the Manto Tshabalala-Msimang story.
The single-minded purpose is to get the public to internalise racist thinking about blackness as what colonialism has always portrayed as meaning unfit to self-govern.
Rather than be part of consolidating the gains of democracy and nation-building, sections of the media have often become destructive, mediating between stereotypes and prejudice about Africans and the public by assaulting the image of black political leadership.
Today, many media workers are seen, rightly or wrongly, as consumed by a racist agenda to undermine the hard-won democracy, insult the meaning of freedom and denigrate the image of government.
In fact, there is a growing chasm between the privately owned media, especially print, and the government that represents the aspirations of everything the struggle has sought to achieve. It is this development that has seen a deep rift in the media fraternity, with the SABC severing ties with the South African National Editors’ Forum. This marks a turning point.
While the Constitution guarantees ”freedom of the press and other media” and their right to ”receive or impart information and ideas”, more and more people are asking themselves about the media’s commitment to bolstering confidence and trust in government. While some people agree that the media have a right to pursue stories for profit, questions are being asked about how what is perceived to be an anti-government agenda contributes to nation-building and engendering respect for the current African political leadership.
Indeed, the rampant projection of this government and its leaders as corrupt, inept and failing to deliver threatens to thwart its effort to create a united nation and opportunities for a better life for all. There is a growing perception in general society that the mainstream media is committed to undermining the integrity of what they see to be a black government and thus are uninterested in contributors who have positive things to say about Mbeki, his Cabinet colleagues and their work.
This seems especially true of the number of leading ”coconut intellectual” commentators who are notorious for being hyper-critical of the government.
Much as diversity is healthy for the media, the prejudicial attitude towards government should be a matter of concern. The pursuit of profit in the guise of the truth has resulted in a consistent, monoÂÂtonous and predictable anti-government tirade. Yet one does not need to insult the integrity of the president or his ministers when engaging in critical discourse or exposing alleged corruption or lack of delivery.
The media can be critical while appreciative of the achievements of government and thus contribute to nation-building. Criticism can be positive while showing the weaknesses that need to be strengthened. But it is not helpful to identify or target Cabinet ministers and simply echo the chorus of calling for their sacking because the DA says so.
Ironically, recently there have been an increasing number of media workers who have abandoned the newsroom to become government communicators — not only to defend democracy but also to distance themselves from what they perceive to be a white supremacist agenda.
Since there is an increasing perception that the media are anti-government, it remains to be seen how this tension is going to resolve itself. The time has come for the media to re-examine its role and responsibility in nation-building. Yet that role cannot be fulfilled without respecting the hard-won gains of almost 400 years of struggle.
The ball is in the media’s court.
Sandile Memela, spokesperson for the ministry of arts and culture, writes in his personal capacity