REPORTING THE COURTS WEBINAR SERIES SANEF in partnership with the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism is hosting a series of webinars to accompany the relaunch of the Reporting the Courts manual.
The next instalment in the Reporting the Courts webinar series will take place on 27 January.
This session will include insights from:
Mthunzi Mhaga – Special advisor and spokesperson to the NPA
Yvonne van Niekerk – Director of court administration at the Office of the Chief Justice
Karyn Maughan – Legal journalist at Media24
Chrispin Phiri – Ministry of Justice spokesman
The session will be facilitated by Dianne Hawker and Dr Candice Bailey.
SANEF in partnership with the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism will be hosting a series of webinars to accompany the relaunch of the Reporting the Courts manual.
Webinar 1 : UNDERSTANDING THE LEGAL SYSTEM AND THE RULE OF LAW IN SOUTH AFRICA
Thank you for attending the SANEF: Role of media during elections webinar.
Please find the dates to our next webinars below as well as resources and the recording links to our webinar held on Tuesday.
The training is part of SANEF’s ongoing capacity building and investment in democracy and governance reporting skills, to ensure that journalists provide the public with fair, balanced and accurate information to rely on when they prepare for voting day.
Webinar: Disinformation during the elections
– The shortcomings of the term ‘fake news’, and alternative terminology to be used;
– The different regional and regulatory responses to address disinformation, and the measures being implemented in South Africa to address disinformation online during the elections and during the COVID-19 pandemic;
– The standard of care required by the media and the importance of media credibility;
– Guidelines for countering disinformation: the important role of the media in publishing counter-narratives, fact‑checking and verification, and practical guidance for journalists. Register here
21 September 2021 | 10AM – 11.45PM
Webinar: Safety of journalists on and off line
– The types of threats, harassment, and attacks faced by the media — including gender-specific — and the obligations on the state and media organisations.
– The importance of the protection of sources, as recognised under our domestic case law.
– Practical guidance for journalists to protect themselves online, including on social media, and in reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic.
– Practical guidance for journalists on where they can seek assistance and recourse in the event of threats, harassment or attacks. Register here
The SANEF Reporting the Courts handbook, first published in 2006, has now undergone a complete update and will be available as an online, printable resource for all journalists.
To accompany the relaunch of the handbook in this updated form, SANEF is seeking bids from training providers to create five online training sessions to support users, which can be posted alongside the text on the SANEF website for access at any time.
Ideally, these resources should not be simply recorded, text-based lectures. Rather, SANEF is seeking imaginative proposals to create engaging, interactive sessions – for example, a live teaching session or panel discussion enhanced by interactive elements; a podcast or a short video/graphic presentation – which should be:
between 20-40 minutes each in duration.
contain interactive elements to foster learning; and
the focus should not be on teaching legalese, but on broader principles/topics (such as the rule of law, open justice, justice for minors, rehabilitation and more) that underly the working of the courts, to support and illuminate the detail available in the text.
Proposals should detail the content proposed for each session, the format envisaged, and a timeframe for producing all five sessions, as well as total cost with budget heads indicated.
Send your proposal in writing to Dzudzie Netshisaulu by email: [email protected]
DEADLINE: 22 August 2021
Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
Covid-19 continues to wreak havoc across the media industry, with most media houses seeing financial losses, resulting in job losses, but pandemic has also claimed the lives of many journalists around the world. In response to this deadly virus, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has developed a guide, Reporting in a Pandemic, which includes Covid-19 and related strains.
In South Africa, by the end of last month, close to twenty journalists had passed away due to Covid-19 since the outbreak early last year.
By the end of last month, close to five hundred media workers had died in India due to Covid-19 related complications. Most of those that passed away contracted the virus while they were out in the field, doing their work as journalists.
The Press Emblem Campaign, a media group based in Switzerland, recently reported that more than two hundred media workers died in Brazil between March 2020 and the end of last month.
The Reporting in a Pandemic guide, produced collaboratively by SANEF in close partnership with Fray College and Internews, draws on experiences of many journalists infected and affected by the pandemic. The guide is curated to ensure that the media records the challenges and lessons learnt about the pandemic, for current and future referencing and prevention.
The public needs accurate reporting of the pandemic to bring home the continued need for responsible behaviour. The project noted that adherence to social distancing and other preventative measures is decreasing as citizens consider the threat to be waning, even as the third wave of infections hit provinces such as Gauteng, Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Sbu Ngalwa, SANEF’s Chairperson, said: “The document on guidelines for reporting the pandemics is released today just as the country is in the grip of a “third wave” of infections. While the government’s vaccination programme has received mixed reactions and, at times, criticised for being slow, SANEF believes the media needs to cover the process in a fair, accurate and balanced manner tackling disinformation, misinformation and myths surrounding the pandemic and the vaccines.
“As journalists, we should not lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with a deadly virus, and we should never drop our guards. We must always be conscious of the potential danger of contracting the virus in the field,” Mr Ngalwa said.
In a televised address to the nation on Sunday 12, July 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed concerns on rising recorded daily infections that were reaching levels last seen in a second wave in January 2021.
“Additional restrictions are necessary… Our focus is on limiting social contacts while preserving the economy,” President Ramaphosa said.
SANEF started the project after noting that some internationally produced safety toolkits on handling the pandemic have not dealt directly and in-depth with the unique challenges of reporting in a South African context. The project reflects home-grown knowledge on how to report safely in the African context and taking into consideration the socio-economic dynamics of the country.
Accordingly, SANEF undertook a consultative process involving community and science journalists to develop a guide for reporting on this pandemic in line with the needs of South African reporters and society at large. As a result, the guide is aligned with scientific understanding and the needs of media practitioners. It was written by a team of credible and experienced writers and signed off by the SANEF’s Education and Training committee which has experienced editors and academics.
SANEF and its partners believe that the guide gives the media practitioners the needed technical know-how and understanding to accurately convey information about the pandemic.
We also believe that the guidelines will ensure that the newsrooms do not lose focus, maintain standards and the momentum for public adherence to COVID-19 protocols.
Note to Editors: The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is a non-profit organisation whose members are editors, senior journalists, and journalism trainers from all areas of the South African media. We are committed to championing South Africa’s hard-won freedom of expression and promoting quality, ethics, and diversity in the South African media. We promote excellence in journalism through fighting for media freedom, writing policy submissions, research and education and training programmes. SANEF is not a union.
Sign up for the SANEF Media Ethics and Credibility Conference today
Let your voice be heard at the upcoming South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) conference that will help build an ethical and credible South African media.
SANEF will host the Media Ethics and Credibility Conference on May 15 at 9 am SAST. It will be a critical conversation to map the vision of South Africa’s media journey to date. The online conference will provide a platform to collaborate on forming a five-year ethics plan that will enhance quality journalism and help strengthen our democracy.
The keynote speaker will be the esteemed Justice Bernard Ngoepe, who also chairs the panel of adjudicators of the Press Council of South Africa. Alan Rusbridger,The Guardian’s former Editor-in-Chief, will give an international perspective on media ethics and credibility at a Q&A session, while author and former Business Day Editor Songezo Zibi will give both an insider’s and outsider’s view on what needs to be done to strengthen media ethics.
The upcoming conference is the culmination of a journey that started in 2019 when SANEF commissioned an inquiry into media ethics and credibility with a panel led by retired Judge Kathy Satchwell and fellow panellists veteran journalist Rich Mkhondo and award-winning journalist Nikiwe Bikitsha.
The organisation hosted four webinars in April to interrogate the 69 recommendations in the Satchwell inquiry grouped under seven themes. The conference will be a platform to debate key recommendations that came out of the four webinars as well as the Satchwell report.
SANEF seeks to build a more inclusive way forward. Journalists, civil society members and everyone with an interest in their media are implored to attend the conference to collaboratively build media that is accountable, factual and fair in its reporting.
Friday’s webinar Using Ethics as a Tool for Change reviewed critical issues centered on the themes “Strengthening ethics codes and principles”and “Strengthening the regulators”.
Chaired by Mary Papayya, the discussion was driven by expert input from Wits University Professor Franz Kruger; Aidan White, the founder of the Ethical Journalism Network; and Sisanda Nkoala, a representative of the Press Council.
The conversation continues on Wednesday! Don’t miss out: sign up today!
Webinar 3: Technological Impact on Ethics
Wednesday April 28, 2021 at 10:00 – 12:00
Theme 5 – Safety of journalists
Theme 6 – Strengthening Continuing professional development
Moderated by SANEF E&T Committee chair Tshamano Makhadi with expert input from Nadine Hoffman and Africa Check executive director Noko Makgato.
There are moments where the South African media falls short, eroding trust in journalism at a time when accountability, factual and fair reporting are crucial.
To restore trust in the media, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) commissioned an independent inquiry headed by retired Judge Kathleen Satchwell and panelists and her fellow panelists Rich Mkhondo and Nikiwe Bikitsha to investigate ethical lapses facing local journalism.
When this seminal inquiry report was released in January 2020, SANEF undertook the role to “interrogate” the recommendations and develop an action plan to implement some of the findings.
This report now forms the basis of a four-part series of webinars, bringing together key stakeholders for an in-depth review of the Satchwell Report findings. Each webinar will define key recommendations to put forward during a national online conference in May.
The webinar series will take a deep dive into the seven industry categories of recommendations outlined in the report. The discussions will contribute and build-up to the conference. The conference will work towards debating the recommendations that should be included in the five-year ethics action plan.
May marks World Press Freedom Month and on May 3 various events will be held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration celebrated under the theme of “Information as a Public Good”.
“The SANEF ethics conference planned for later in the month will bring together journalists from across the country, civil society and other role players to develop a clear plan to implement the report recommendations,” said SANEF Secretary General Mahlatse Mahlase.
“The terms of reference of the inquiry were to look at possibilities of ethical lapses across the industry and to find solutions to enhance quality, ethical journalism. More than ever journalists need to strengthen the bond of trust with the public and we can only do that when we openly confront what is wrong and correct it,” Mahlase said.
The panel engaged with 167 individuals and entities, perused about 200 documents and sought ad hoc research inputs (including a comprehensive longitudinal study of the work of the South African Press Council). Newsroom practitioners, owners, academics, consumers and concerned individuals and institutions also gave their input. Their ideas guided the final 69 recommendations which covered seven thematic areas.
Interested persons can sign up to participate in the webinar discussions on the following dates.
Do join on Wednesday for this critical session:
Webinar 1: Building an Ethical Framework for SA Journalism
Wednesday April 21, 2021 at 3pm – 5pm
Theme 1 – Media Freedom including dealing with mis and disinformation.
Theme 2 – Media Diversity including counteracting racial and gender biases and prejudices, racism and sexism in the media.
Moderated by SANEF Ethics Committee Chair Monica Laganparsad with expert input from Report Panellist Rich Mkhondo, Former Ombud Joe Thloloe and Rhodes University Professor Anthea Garmen.
Theme 3 – Strengthening ethics codes and principles
Theme 4 – Strengthening the regulators
Moderated by SANEF Media Freedom Committee chair Mary Papayya with expert input from Wits University Professor Franz Kruger Aidan White, Ethical Journalism Network and PCSA director Latiefa Mobara.
Theme 6 – Strengthening Continuing professional development
Moderated by SANEF E&T Committee chair Tshamano Makhadi with expert input from International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) executive director Elisa Munoz and Africa Check executive director Noko Makgato.
The conference will map the vision of South Africa’s media journey to date. It will be a means to collaborate on the vision for tomorrow’s media that will hopefully reflect more accountable, more factual, and fairer reporting processes.
Conference details will be released soon. Access the Media Ethics and Credibility report here.
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