SPEAKING during the commemoration of Media Freedom Day at Wits University on Tuesday, former education minister Kader Asmal expressed concern about what he saw as the encroachment into freedom of expression by the ANC-led government.
On Wednesday October 19 1977 the apartheid government banned The World and Weekend World and 17 other organisations linked to the Black Consciousness movement.
The day came to be known as Black Wednesday and was subsequently renamed Media Freedom Day after 1994.
Asmal warned that the media tribunal proposed by the ANC and the Protection of Information Bill would create an atmosphere in which there would be self-censorship among journalists - thereby undermining their role to inform the public and speak the truth .
Asmal said the meeting between the South African National Editors Forum and government might have pushed the issue of a media tribunal on to the back burner, but that did not resolve the issue of how self-regulation in the media could lead to self-censorship.
As a former law professor Asmal also pointed out that the current draft of the Protection of Information Bill would "never pass scrutiny by the Constitutional Court".
A criticism of the bBill is that it gives those in power extensive powers to classify information in the name of "national interest".
As a journalist, let me nail my colours to the mast about the role I believe the media should play in a democratic society.
Firstly, the media must represent all people in society. This includes informing people so that they can make informed collective decisions to benefit society.
Secondly, the media must act as a public watchdog by keeping those in power in check.
To achieve all these there are certain conditions the media must meet. They must create universal access to the various groupings in society.
I share the view of Canadian stakeholder engagement consultant Jason Diceman that the message carried by the media should not only be accurate, but should be balanced to best represent the true state of affairs in a situation.
People will make better decisions if they are accurately informed and understand all the legitimate perspectives related to the issue.
The media can also only claim to be acting in the public interest if they articulate the plurality of voices and diversity of views reflected in a society.
It is with these in mind that the media should engage the recent report of the South African Gender and Media Progress study, which shows that the proportion of women sources in the South African media had increased by a mere percent from 19 to 20percent since the previous study made in 2003.
This is despite South Africa supposedly having the most free and progressive media in the SADC region.
The study also showed that 62percent of the stories published in South Africa are from single sources.
This obviously undermines the accuracy and required balance needed for the media to inform the public.
These finding are a serious challenge to South African media and call for some serious introspection.
Failure to do so can only disqualify the media from claiming to be the voice of the voiceless in in a country where there are serious contestations when it comes to the space for public discourse.
Call for some serious media introspection
SPEAKING during the commemoration of Media Freedom Day at Wits University on Tuesday, former education minister Kader Asmal expressed concern about what he saw as the encroachment into freedom of expression by the ANC-led government.
On Wednesday October 19 1977 the apartheid government banned The World and Weekend World and 17 other organisations linked to the Black Consciousness movement.
The day came to be known as Black Wednesday and was subsequently renamed Media Freedom Day after 1994.
Asmal warned that the media tribunal proposed by the ANC and the Protection of Information Bill would create an atmosphere in which there would be self-censorship among journalists - thereby undermining their role to inform the public and speak the truth .
Asmal said the meeting between the South African National Editors Forum and government might have pushed the issue of a media tribunal on to the back burner, but that did not resolve the issue of how self-regulation in the media could lead to self-censorship.
As a former law professor Asmal also pointed out that the current draft of the Protection of Information Bill would "never pass scrutiny by the Constitutional Court".
A criticism of the bBill is that it gives those in power extensive powers to classify information in the name of "national interest".
As a journalist, let me nail my colours to the mast about the role I believe the media should play in a democratic society.
Firstly, the media must represent all people in society. This includes informing people so that they can make informed collective decisions to benefit society.
Secondly, the media must act as a public watchdog by keeping those in power in check.
To achieve all these there are certain conditions the media must meet. They must create universal access to the various groupings in society.
I share the view of Canadian stakeholder engagement consultant Jason Diceman that the message carried by the media should not only be accurate, but should be balanced to best represent the true state of affairs in a situation.
People will make better decisions if they are accurately informed and understand all the legitimate perspectives related to the issue.
The media can also only claim to be acting in the public interest if they articulate the plurality of voices and diversity of views reflected in a society.
It is with these in mind that the media should engage the recent report of the South African Gender and Media Progress study, which shows that the proportion of women sources in the South African media had increased by a mere percent from 19 to 20percent since the previous study made in 2003.
This is despite South Africa supposedly having the most free and progressive media in the SADC region.
The study also showed that 62percent of the stories published in South Africa are from single sources.
This obviously undermines the accuracy and required balance needed for the media to inform the public.
These finding are a serious challenge to South African media and call for some serious introspection.
Failure to do so can only disqualify the media from claiming to be the voice of the voiceless in in a country where there are serious contestations when it comes to the space for public discourse.
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