Download - Media Institute of Southern Africa

State of the media in Southern Africa 2002
clampdown on independent media and journalists in Zimbabwe.
It is clear that the Mugabe government is desperate to prevent the truth about
the vicious attacks on opposition supporters from being published in Zimbabwe
and overseas.
Raymond Louw
MISA-SA General Council member
Press Statement
August 02, 2002
TOPIC: Amendment of the Broadcasting Act in South Africa
Statement on the Amendment to the Broadcasting Act in South Africa, released
at the MISA Annual General Meeting (AGM), Maputo, August 16, 2002
We, the participants at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Media Institute
of Southern Africa (MISA), including members of the southern African country
delegations and representatives of partner organisations, feel compelled to express
in no uncertain terms our serious concern at the South African government’s
attempt to compromise the independence of the South African Broadcasting
Corporation (SABC) News and to curtail the broadcaster’s freedom of
expression.
We wish to remind the South African government that the editorial independence
of the SABC is celebrated as a major achievement and has been trumpeted
as a model to be emulated by other governments in the region.
The Broadcasting Amendment Bill published on August 13, 2002, takes these
achievements backwards into very dark days of South African history. The
Amendment flies in the face of the democratisation process that has been the
hallmark of South African politics since 1994.
Editorial independence means the right of journalists and editors to make decisions
on the basis of professional criteria, consistent with universally accepted
principles, such as the newsworthiness of an event or its relevance to the public’s
right to know and in accordance with international codes of ethics for journalists.
The proposed changes to the Broadcasting Act removes the clause in the Charter
that governs the SABC Board which provides the Corporation with freedom
of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence. This is
replaced with clauses that require accurate, accountable and fair reporting. The
amendment gives the Minister the power to define what the terms “accurate”,
“creative” and “accountable”, mean. The amendment further requires journalists
to act in the interests of the Corporation. This is very different from a jour-
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