Dr Reuel Khoza, chairperson: Public Investment Corporation
This week, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) wrote to the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), a major shareholder and creditor of the Independent Media Group, to call on the PIC to safeguard bona fide journalists and journalism in the group.
SANEF further calls on the PIC to demand an immediate return of all Independent Media titles to the Press Council of South Africa. SANEF is also concerned about the PIC’s intended liquidation of Sekunjalo Independent Media and the effect this will have on the livelihoods of hundreds of journalists.
This decision was taken by the SANEF Council held on 13th February 2021. A copy of the letter can be found here.
SANEF requires the services of an experienced journalist or media practitioner who is passionate about media freedom to oversee the day-to-day administration of SANEF and drive our fundraising and programs of action.
The director will be the “voice and face” of SANEF and effectively communicate SANEF’s views in the media and on other institutional forums.
This position is based in Johannesburg and reports directly to SANEF’s management committee and council.
Key responsibilities
The successful candidate will oversee the business of SANEF on a day-to-day basis, that includes liaising with the management committee on a regular basis and leading administration and projects.
She/he will manage a small office and team of staff, and ensure that key performance indicators are met.
The director will be SANEF’s spokesperson. The candidate will be required to liaise closely with other non-governmental organisations who champion freedom of expression.
The candidate would be expected to initiate meaningful interventions to promote media freedom in interactions between government structures, business and the media.
The executive director oversees fundraising for SANEF, supported by the management committee and fundraising subcommittee, and is responsible for the hosting of the annual Nat Nakasa Award and SANEF fundraising events.
The candidate will coordinate the work of subcommittees and prepare and host all council meetings.
The director oversees SANEF’s various social media platforms and communication with members and the public.
Skills and competencies
The successful applicant must have proven fundraising abilities which require leadership qualities and excellent interpersonal skills to handle and motivate potential donors in and outside the media industry.
The director should be a vocal media freedom advocate and initiate campaigns against efforts to suppress the free-flow of information and muzzle freedom of expression. This includes initiating and driving legal proceedings.
Minimum requirements
A graduate with knowledge of various media platforms (including digital) and industry issues, including journalism experience;
Management experience;
Ability to structure and manage a budget;
Proven ability to campaign for media freedom;
Established network of government and private sector contacts;
Have knowledge of drafting and presenting fundraising proposals;
Be prepared to work outside of normal office hours, and
Be prepared to travel from time-to-time.
Please forward your CV with a cover letter latest by 28 February 2021 to the SANEF office administrator, Ms Dzudzie Faith Netshisaulu on [email protected].
The South African National Editor’s Forum (SANEF) is deeply concerned and disappointed by the ethical breaches in the opinion piece by veteran investigative journalist Jacques Pauw, published by the Daily Maverick last Friday.
This development highlights the bitter struggles of integrity and ethics the media is grappling with. SANEF is preparing to hold its upcoming Media Ethics and Credibility Summit in an effort to strengthen media integrity and credibility, and to regain the public’s trust.
These very problematic incidents cause the public to doubt the media’s credibility and further erode the fragile relationship between law enforcement and the media.
Last Friday, Pauw penned a lengthy piece about his apparent arrest and detention by the police at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town. He wrote that he was “stunned and dazed when pounced on by police, arrested, jailed and charged with theft” and alleged mistreatment by police, whom he also accused of stealing his money.
The article was published on 12 February, after his arrest on 6 February and an appearance in court on Monday 8 February. Pauw and Daily Maverick have since retracted the column and apologised for what was clearly a fabrication.
In his statement, Pauw said he had realised the “errors in his column” after watching video evidence and having met the V&A Waterfront management and the police.
Furthermore, Pauw said he wished to “correct the mistakes in the article” – indicating that he was intoxicated and his “memory was blurred”. He said he also had a meeting with the owner of the unnamed restaurant and has since apologised for his actions and also extended an apology to the three police officers whom he had accused of theft. He also appealed to the public to discontinue the backlash against the V&A Waterfront and its restaurants.
Daily Maverick noted that after obtaining the CCTV footage and “given the factual inaccuracies in the original column”, they have “unpublished the piece”.
SANEF believes that this ethical breach undermines the work currently underway to rebuild trust between the media and the public. Editors and journalists must hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. The public expects the truth from us at all times. We must also not abuse our privilege of access to media platforms and the might of our pens.
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.
Former diplomat and veteran journalist Jon Qwelane died at the age of 68 on Christmas Eve on Thursday. He was appointed South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda in 2010.
Qwelane worked for various media houses as a writer, broadcaster and an editor for many years. He was also known as a fearless and prolific journalist and talk show host who pushed the envelope and influenced public discourse.
His memorial service was held on Sunday the 31st of January 2021, please watch it here.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) at its first Council meeting for 2021 has called on the State Capture Inquiry led by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to divulge the names of journalists who were paid by the country’s intelligence agencies where there is evidence to back this up.
SANEF has taken firm decisions to promote freedom of expression, ethical and transparent journalism.
A major point of discussion was on the recent allegations of journalists being used as spies to further the agenda of the State Security Agency (SSA). Members again noted the admission of African News Agency (ANA) CEO Vasantha Angamuthu that they accepted money from the State Security Agency (SSA) to “provide multi-media training for SSA analysts and interns across Africa” and to carry positive stories about South Africa and the government.
Angamuthu’s admission comes after the testimony of Dr Sydney Mufamadi before the State Capture Commission of Inquiry. Mufamadi told the commission that about R20 million was paid by the intelligence agency to ANA to influence the national news narrative and to counter the bad publicity around former president Jacob Zuma’s government.
We call on the relevant authorities to investigate all claims before the Zondo Commission and make public their findings and the names of other journalists and media houses involved.
Further, in promoting transparency and ethical journalism expressed concern over the decision by Independent Media to launch its own Press Council. Members felt that such a decision further erodes the trust that audiences/readers place in the media industry.
This amounts to Independent Media being a player and referee in complaints against the group’s titles.
Freedom of expression and the public’s right to information that is free, and fair is protected in our Constitution. The self-regulation of the South African media works when complaints by members of the public are adjudicated by an independent person/s outside of one’s own media organisation so as not to undermine the public’s right to recourse.
This is important for the credibility of the media in South Africa.
SANEF is dedicated to finding an amicable solution to this matter with the parties concerned and will seek ways to impress upon Independent Media to reconsider its decision and re-join the media fraternity’s self-regulatory structure for the greater good of the media and its credibility in the eyes of the public in South Africa.
On the international front, the SANEF Council stands in solidarity with journalists globally who face ongoing harassment and persecution locally and abroad. In neighbouring Zimbabwe, we call again for charges to be dropped against investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who has been jailed three times in 6 months and who continues to face harassment in a bid to silence him.
In Somalia, where there is an impasse over elections which were due to be held by February 8, there have been at least eight incidents where journalists were harassed, assaulted, or briefly detained – for doing their jobs – in Mogadishu and other regions over the last three weeks.
SANEF supports the call by the Committee to Protect Journalists and Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) that these attacks must stop so that the press can cover this electoral process safely. SJS secretary-general Abdalle Ahmed Mumin said they were concerned that authorities in various states “have shown no respect for the rights of the journalists and that they continue to target and endanger the lives of reporters.
SANEF equally condemns the attacks against journalists in Uganda during the recent elections in that country. We submit that the besieged journalists in these countries are striving to put the public interest – and the truth – above their self-interest and or assumptions.
Also, since the Feb 1 military coup in Myanmar, SANEF is concerned that journalists and media organisations have experienced arrests, harassment, censorship, and intermittent internet shutdowns. We call for the release of female Journalist Shwe Yee Win, who had reported on opposition to the coup in the western town of Pathein, who was taken away by police and soldiers on Thursday and has not been heard from since then, according to her TimeAyeyar news website and her mother. All journalists in that country now face chilling and draconian new electronic communications legislation. Though far from perfect, Myanmar’s position on the RSF press freedom index improved by 20 points over the past decade. That progress is now swiftly being reversed. Despite this, SANEF stands with Myanmar’s journalists who have bravely and ingeniously employed every tactic to get the news of the civil disobedience movement out and salutes their courage.
Raids this week by India’s federal economic intelligence agency, the Enforcement Directorate on several media houses which have been outspokenly critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is disturbing. It is seen by many critics as a fresh assault on the free press by an authoritarian government. Editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha of Newsclick was detained and interrogated for more than 30 hours. The World Press Freedom Index 2020 has ranked India at 142 among 180 countries. Its ranking has been declining steadily since then.
Media Ethics and Credibility Conference
The meeting also confirmed arrangements for SANEF’s upcoming Media Ethics Conference, a platform that comes hot on the heels of the independent report produced by Judge Kathleen Satchwell on media ethics and credibility. Other matters covered included the strengthening of journalism reporting skills through the roll-out of court reporting, and elections and safety training.
In celebrating World Radio Day, Sanef notes the importance of the medium and its massive reach across SA and Africa as it continues to empower and educate nations in these bleak times under the Covid pandemic.
Lastly, SANEF welcomes the statement from SABC women journalists and editors on the tragic systemic culture of Gender Based Violence (GBV) and Femicide that seems to have found fertile ground especially during the COVID-19 crisis. We are equally devastated by the brutality visited upon Lesedi FM’s Dimakatso Ratselane in Bloemfontein. SANEF sends its best wishes to her and family at this difficult period.
We are extremely concerned that women journalists are among the most vulnerable when reporting in the field. Women journalists are affected by gender-specific safety risks such as sexual harassment, sexual violence, and threats of violence. Recent studies by Reporters Without Borders have shown that women journalists are particularly affected by online harassment. Another independent study by International Media Support (IMS) of 2019, on the “The safety of women journalists: Breaking the cycle of silence and violence” shows that women journalists in across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America share similar challenges in the workplace ranging from gender-based unequal opportunities such as low pay and longer working hours, to severe physical abuse and online harassment.
As a result, these threats tend to silence women journalists’ voices and to deplete freedom of speech by interrupting valuable investigative journalist work. They also distort the media landscape by threatening diversity and perpetuating inequalities both in newsrooms and in societies. We urge the country’s authorities to note that impunity for crimes against journalists, especially gender-based violence, harassment and intimidation, continues to prevail in countries with no armed conflict. They must endeavour to protect female journalists as a priority.
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.
South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, handed down a landmark judgment on February 4 that not only protects journalists and their sources from surveillance abuse, but also upheld a lower court’s ruling that the insidious practice of the bulk interception of ordinary citizens’ data and communication is illegal.
The ruling, documented by CPJ, was the culmination of a four-year legal battle by top investigative journalist Sam Sole and the award-winning media outlet he co-manages, the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Please click on the following link here the complete article:
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) welcomes the arrest of suspects following the attack on two journalists at Fish Hoek Beach over the weekend.
On Saturday, eNCA journalist Monique Mortlock was assaulted while attempting to interview an anti-mask protest organiser at Fish Hoek Beach. The man refused to speak to her and ripped her mask off, while another journalist, Athi Mtongana from Newzroom Afrika, was also attacked.
Monique Mortlock tweeted, “We are on Fish Hoek beach to cover the #WeAreMore protest against lockdown. But one of the organisers just assaulted me, even with officers around us. He refused to speak to me because I’m wearing a mask”. A demonstrator then threw her phone onto the ground when she attempted to conduct an interview.
Mtongana tweeted, “Protesters at Fish Hoek beach approached us and asked if we’re media. Told us that anyone wearing a mask supports paedophiles.” An old lady then proceeded to slap the phone out of her hand.
SANEF is encouraged to hear that about the swift interventions of law enforcement agencies who reacted to the shocking attack on the two women journalists at the weekend and arrested some of the demonstrators concerned. They will face charges relating to assault and crimen injuria. SANEF wishes to thank the SAPS for its prompt response.
SANEF notes that protesters took to the beach to call for an end to lockdown restrictions when the assault happened. However, some broke the law and endangered the lives of the journalists on the scene by forcing them to take off their masks. SANEF wishes to remind communities that forcefully removing someone’s mask is an infringement to their rights to safety by the same people who want their stories told.
SANEF is concerned that news reporters are being attacked by the same individuals who want their stories told and yet have no respect for media freedom and the rights of journalists to work without fear of intimidation and harassment.
The attacks on journalists by members of the public which is becoming a worrying trend.
SANEF calls on media houses to provide counselling and mental health care support to all journalists – particularly during the COVID Crisis. We once again thank the SAPS for stepping in and arresting those that broke the law and intimidated journalists.
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.
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