Transcript State of South African media

State of South African media
Guy Berger
Rhodes University
Grahamstown, South Africa
Department of Journalism & Media Studies
Covering:
Post-apartheid political environment.
 Democratic significance?
 Role in de-racialisation.
 Quality of journalism – challenges.
 Conclusion.

Environment: pre-democracy
95% state monopoly on broadcasting,
 Official registration for newspapers,
 Bannings of titles and journalists,

1977: “End of The World”
 1988: Shut down of South
 Detention: Sisulu 251 days, Magubane 586

Environment: pre-democracy

Panoply of laws restricting coverage,
Access restrictions
 Security-military-police-prisons
 Racial hostility

Active apartheid propaganda machine,
 A closed, secretive state apparatus,
 1990 - 1994: civil intolerance.

Environment: Joel Merwis

1979: Press freedom described as having
“its left leg in plaster, its right arm in a
sling, a patch over the left eye, deafness
in the right ear, a sprained ankle and a
number of teeth knocked out.”
Environment: Nelson Mandela

2002:
"South Africa should put the freedom of its
press and media at the top of its priorities as a
democracy. None or our irritations with the
perceived inadequacies of the media should
ever allow us to suggest even faintly that the
independence of the press could be
compromised or coerced. A bad free press is
preferable to a technically good, subservient
press."
Environment: new deal

Constitution
Free expression
 Free media
 Right to information


Some limitations …
Environment: free speech limits

Constitution says free speech does not extend
to “propaganda for war, incitement of imminent
violence; or advocacy of hatred that is based
on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that
constitutes incitement to cause harm”.


Film and Publications Act, and Board.
Constitution also provides for a balancing
between free speech and free media rights on
the one hand, with the rights to equality and
dignity on the other.
Environment: caveat
Rights can only be limited if “reasonable
and justifiable in an open and democratic
society based on freedom and equality”.
 In addition, any limitation has to be
shown to be “necessary”.
 Thus very hard to curb media on an
arbitrary or undemocratic basis.
 Thus 2004 “9/11 terrorism” law
amended.

Environment: access to info






Promotion of Access to Information Act
Right also extends to access to information
held by non-state entities in-as-much as
information in this sphere is needed for the
exercise or protection of any rights.
Right is subject to the administrative and
financial capacity of the state.
Very little utilisation by the media.
A practical exercise in 2004 showed very poor
responsiveness by state agencies.
Access to courts by broadcast is still limited.
Environment: legacy laws
Section 205: journalists forced to testify.
 1999 accord to limit application.
 Complexity: testify sans reveal sources?
 Other laws ignored:

Police, prisons
 Divorce
 Sub judice


Defamation: Bogoshi – progress.
Environment: state-owned media

Constitution: independent broadcast regulator
 IBA was set up 1993


Negotiated compromise to remove SABC from
political control.
1998: Ministerial power on IBA rejected.
 Parliamentary accountability.
 SABC similar.
 Icasa – merger of IBA and Satra.
Environment: SABC
1999 Act: enshrines independence
 2002 amendment: Minister wants to set
editorial policies.
 Outcry – public consultation.
 2004: SABC board adopts policies.
 Controversy about CEO = Ed in Chief.
 Personnel pro-govt.

Environment: summing up
State power over media very reduced.
 Culture of rights and constitutionality.
 Weak use of access to info.
 Genuine public broadcasting possible.
 Continued contestation within limits.


So what role is media playing in this
overall positive environment?
Media role: under apartheid

Broadcasting – political control.
Broederbond, Securocrats
 Black translators, flogging.


Newspapers:
Afrikaans-language – reformist
 English-language – liberal
 Alternative press – resistance

Politicised, polarised.
 Allowed climate of rights abuse - TRC

Media role: diverse options
Alternative press extinct
 Mainstream media – new faces
 Roles:


Independent, critical.

Belated discovery of watchdog in some cases.
Support govt and South Africanism.
 Don’t rock boat – be neutral, bland.

Media role: identity of journalists
Journalists first, other ID’s second?
 Do you obey laws or not?

Section 205?
 Arms deal laws?

Who owns you? Foreign? Black?
 Some kneejerk antagonism to govt.

Media role: mixed bag.
Sympathy to govt
 Except: HIV-AIDs policy, Zimbabwe
policy.
 And no debate on economic policy.
 Govt antipathy and suspicion (Mbeki)

Various summits and meetings
 Presidential Press Corps


Journalists stand for independence.
Media role: pluralism
No political broadcasters
 80 new community radio stations:


Participatory democracy, local voices.
Privatisation of some SABC stations
 7 greenfields radio stations
 1 new commercial TV – etv.
 Concentration restrictions
 Cross-ownership restrictions.

Media role: local content
Radio: Community, SABC: 40%
Commercial: 25%
 TV: PBS 55%
Commercial: 35% (etv 45%)
 TV News: 50% Commercial, 80% PBS


Pluralism = checks & balance on SABC.
Media role: economic hurdles
SABC dependent on advertising.
 Challenge for more linguistic diversity
and accessibility – especially on SABC.
 2 new African language TV channels?
SABC: insufficient PBS citizen content.
 Too much common content – competing
for same advert and audience pie.
 Poor quality of community journalism.

Media role: Other sectors
MDDA created.
 Press – little African language.
 Tabloid media explosion –


Democratic relevance?
Internet: 3.6m (of 45 million).
 Cellphones: 18 million.


Prospects?
Media role: context variables
 Market-driven
 Public
 Civil
media:
sphere?
society:
 TAC
good at manipulating media,
 Trades unions struggle for sympathy.
 The African
project:
 Continental
industry, Africanised
content at home.
Media role: summing up
Independence, free to choose role.
 Poor relations with govt.
 Limited debate.
 Broadcast pluralism exists.
 Print less so, Net is limited
 Economics issues, Civil society issues.
 Thus: democratic role not in a vacuum.

Deracialisation: context
Media was white. Now?
 Racial ID was not just different, but in
opposition. Now, just diversity?
 What does it mean to be a black or white
journalist?
 When is race relevant, when not?
 Nation-build Mandela – 2 nations Mbeki.
 White racism, black frustration.

Deracialisation: media content
Much cross-over (press, some TV),
 Much reflects multiracial country.
 Still some segregated ID media – white
women’s magazines, black newspapers.
 Often tied in with language and
apartheid-evolved spatial separation,
sports culture, music heritage.

Deracialisation: active steps
1999: SAHRC inquiry into media racism.
 Changes in:

Ownership: broadcast, less in print.
 Editors
 Frontline reporters


SA National Editors Forum

But race-based confidential briefing 2004
Deracialisation: problems
Still white worldview, racist imbalances.
 Advertising, audiences.


LSM 1-5 = 65% population, attract 32% ads.
Xenophobia re: black Africans
 Class and gender:

Poverty coverage in elite media mainly.
 Not analytical, not disaggregated.
 Sources: 1 in 5, black women – 1:10.

Deracialisation: summing up
Context: race still an issue after 10 years
 But a far cry from apartheid.
 Journalists and media reflecting wider
society to an extent.
 Associated problems need attention:


Gender, Nationality, Class
Quality of journalism: ethics
Conflicts of interest
 Out of depth in confidential briefings
 Playing politics and personal agendas
 Plagiarism
 Superficiality

Missing story of transition
 Weak on poverty, AIDS, environment,
education.

Quality of journalism: commerce
Dumbing down
 Corrupted content

PR verbatim
 Paid-for influence (eg. AIDS industry)

De-populating newsrooms
 Decline of Editor power


Reporting to MDs, not to Board.
Quality: Sanef skills audit 2002
Poor reporting skills
 Lack of concern with accuracy
 Poor writing skills
 Lack of life skills
 Low level of commitment
 Weak interviewing skills

Quality: Sanef skills audit 2002
Weak legal knowledge
 Lack of sensitivity
 Weak knowledge of ethics
 Poor general, historical and contextual
knowledge
 Low level of trainer knowledge


New audit now of newsroom managers.
Conclusion:
Legal environment
 Role of media
 Role in deracialisation
 Quality of journalism

= ?????????????
Conclusion: positive
Media benefits from democracy,
 Contributes to democracy.
 Free speech is secure.
 Pluralism exists.
 Contributing to deracialisation.
 Lots of room to deepen and widen.
 Ahead? Globalisation, convergence.
