Government spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said he was planning to buy airtime on television for national ministers, the Times reported on Tuesday.
Special report: Media under fire
Manyi was speaking at the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa’s annual conference in Durban when he said the government was being “forced” to find ways to get its message across because it was getting a raw deal from the media.
He said the government was planning a series of programmes to be aired over five weeks, in which “ministers would inform members of the public about their programmes because the media is failing to convey government messages as expected,” he said.
“We are at the moment trying to procure a space. As the government, we take communications seriously and we will stop at nothing to see to it that our messages get across.”
The ‘truth’ about service delivery
Last week, Manyi said he would take control of the government’s R1-billion advertising budget and spend it according to how well media organisations told the “truth” about service delivery.
The SA National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) condemned the plan, saying newspapers would be bribed to become government mouthpieces.
“This would be a serious offence against the freedom of the media clause in the Constitution, which the government has sworn to uphold.
“Freedom means liberty and particularly conduct where financial inducement or threat plays no part.” – Sapa