The inaugural Aggrey Klaaste Annual Colloquium was held on the 19 October 2020. The Colloquium was aimed at celebrating the courageous spirit of all those journalists and activists who spoke out against apartheid and helped nurture a people’s desire for freedom on 19 October 1977, the infamous Black Wednesday.
In addition to reflecting on Black Wednesday and its aftermath, the colloquium sought to address pressing issues currently facing the media in contemporary South Africa. Watch the discussionshere
The National Press Club, in partnership with Unisa and the Qoboza Family, hosted the 10th Annual Percy Qoboza Memorial Lecture on Monday, October 19th.
The lecture is held annually in remembrance of 19 October 1977, when the apartheid government banned the World, Weekend World and other publications and organisations in what came to be known as Black Wednesday.
The lecture honours Percy Qoboza, the editor of The World and a critic of the apartheid regime and is a reflection on media freedom.
The theme this year was: “Why journalism matters. The challenges have changed but has its core purpose?”
The lecture was presented by Pippa Green, SA Press Ombudsman. Read the lecture here
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) joins media houses and advocacy groups around the country in commemorating Black Wednesday – the day in October 1977 when then Minister of Justice, Jimmy Kruger ordered the arrest of editors and the banning of 19 Black Consciousness organisations and several anti-apartheid newspapers such as the World and the Weekend World.
Several events were held today and more will be held later in the month. They included the 10th Annual Percy Qoboza Memorial Lecture (Qoboza was the editor at the time of The World newspaper); a webinar discussion on fake News and disinformation by the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) as well as the Aggrey Klaaste Trust’s first annual colloquium on “Surviving 2020 and Media Credibility Going Forward”.
SANEF notes that although South Africa is in a far better position in terms of media freedom compared to those dark apartheid days, the media industry still faces serious challenges including journalists being harassed by police and communities when covering protests.
On Friday, for instance, SABC news journalist Reginald Witbooi was threatened by ANC members in Senekal during a LIVE crossing. A number of other journalists were also harassed by EFF supporters including Graeme Raubenheimer, also from the SABC and News 24’s Pieter Du Toit. Since the Senekal Case started, Citizen journalist, Marizka Coetzer and photographer, Tracy-Lee Stark were assaulted and their equipment damaged when a crowd of approximately 1 000 farmers protested outside the court against the murder of 22 year old Brendan Horner on Tuesday afternoon.
SANEF Chairperson, Sbusiso Ngalwa says a lot more work still needs to be done to educate all sectors of society about the crucial role the media plays in strengthening democracy. Ngalwa also points to the serious financial problems faced by the sector.
Says Ngalwa, “With COVID-19, we have seen publications close down, we have seen companies announcing mass retrenchments, and we have seen no less than 700 journalists losing their jobs during this period.”
“So, the reduction in the number of journalists and media houses has a direct influence and direct threat to efforts to spread the news and ensure a free flow of information.”
The impact of COVID-19 on the media sector led to SANEF establishing a Media Relief Fund, which was launched in July to assist journalists financially. We are happy to report that due to the goodwill of individuals and donors and the generosity of corporate South Africa, the Fund is a few thousand rand short of R5 million – SANEF has so far raised R4 870 067. The initial seed funding of R500 000 was contributed by MTN SA. Standard Bank and the Open Society Foundation for South Africa (OSF-SA) are the latest two organisations to contribute a million rand.
SANEF used the first phase to offer emergency relief to pay out a total of R1 135 000.00 to 227 beneficiaries. The second phase closed on 30 September and is currently under adjudication. SANEF will launch the third phase shortly.
With further funding, SANEF is hoping to support other projects to assist the sustainability of small, independent media institutions across the country, through a variety of targeted interventions.
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.
After months of campaigning for media access to the magistrates’ courts, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is pleased to report that the Magistrates’ Commission has set national guidelines regarding media access to court proceedings. They also describe procedures for applications for permission to photograph, film or record court proceedings, primarily, high profile cases.
The guidelines are meant to assist magistrates around the country strike a balance between the media’s right to report, broadcast and publish court proceedings and the right to a fair trial. There have been certain conflicts between the right to freedom of expression and the open justice principle, on the one hand, and the right to a fair trial, as well other competing constitutional rights such as the privacy of the witnesses and other interested or affected parties, on the other hand.
SANEF believes that these guidelines reinforce freedom of the press as well as the country’s democracy that recognises the fact that the court must be open and accessible to the public unless there is a good reason not to. These rights are enshrined in the Constitution. The Constitution endorses freedom of expression, including the freedom of the press and other media and the freedom to receive or impart information.
However, SANEF has had to condemn an increasing number of incidents involving members of the Metro police and SAPS who prevented journalists from reporting on court proceedings where neither the justice department nor the magistrate gave a directive to bar the journalists.
In April 2020, the media was stopped from entering the courts in Cape Town to report on the case of 55-year-old Stephen Birch of Parow who was arrested for posting a disinformation video about contaminated COVID-19 test kits. Birch has been released on a warning to appear in court for a second time for contravening regulation 11 (5) of the National Disaster Management Act. Police physically removed journalists who were there to report the proceedings – and did not give reasons for ejecting the media.
In January 2020, SAPS officials barred journalists from using electronic devices, including laptops and taking pictures inside the Durban Commercial Crimes court during the appearance of former Ethekwini Mayor Zandile Gumede. Gumede and her co-accused, are implicated in a 2016 R389-million Durban Solid Waste tender contract. This was not the decision or the order of the presiding magistrate.
The guidelines are clear that all representatives of the media “shall have the right to attend any court proceedings to report on such proceedings”. They also state that reporting should not in any way interfere with proceedings and it should be balanced and fair.
SANEF has also made unsuccessful applications in the past on behalf of media houses urging the court to allow journalists to broadcast court proceedings. The guidelines now stipulate that courts “ought not to restrict the nature and scope of the coverage, broadcasting and publication unless prejudice is demonstrable”. It says that mere conjecture or speculation that prejudice might occur is not to be enough”.
We call on all media houses and court reporters to become familiar with these guidelines. If The guidelines grant the media the right to take still photographs, and video footage during court proceedings, in the following circumstances, unless the court otherwise directs:
Court activities for fifteen minutes before the commencement of proceedings each day;
During any adjournment of proceedings or at the end of proceedings;
Any argument presented to the court where no evidence is led including but not limited to opening and closing argument and sentencing; and
Judgment and/or any other judicial rulings.
Lastly, the guidelines also state that individual journalists may record the proceedings on handheld digital devices, including mobile telephones and may use such digital devices to take photographs where no flashes are used without disrupting the proceedings.
SANEF regards the guidelines as a milestone after months of engaging the Magistrates’ Commission. We believe they will go a long way towards facilitating a cordial working relationship between the courts and the media in South Africa.
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.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has today received the sad news of the sudden death of the City Press executive editor, Dumisane Lubisi due to heart failure on Friday night.
According to the newspaper’s Managing Editor Ms Rhodé Marshall, Lubisi (44) had previously worked at African Eye news agency, This Day newspaper, and the Sunday Times before joining City Press in June 2007 as an investigative reporter.
During his time at City Press, Lubisi served as a senior reporter, commissioning editor of opinion and analysis section Voices and as the paper’s ombudsman. He was a keen road runner and was often seen in the office in particularly garish and wearing bright running shoes.
City Press editor Mondli Makhanya described Lubisi as “stickler for accuracy” saying the newspaper has lost a pillar. “I can’t even begin to describe the devastation we are feeling like as the City Press family.” He said.
Lubisi struck fear into the hearts of reporters and managers alike with his unrelenting enforcement of the Press Code and media ethics. As a journalist, he could spot a news angle from afar and thus served as a pivotal voice as we put together content for the paper and our website.
“Above all, he was just a damn fine guy. He laughed, joked, talked nonsense, and brought life to our newsroom. His only major flaw was his loyalty to that gold and black team from Phefeni. He even dared to wear that team’s jersey to the office,” said Makhanya.
The loss of such a young and vibrant life deeply saddens SANEF. Our deepest sympathies go out to his colleagues, friends, and family. Lubisi leaves behind his parents and three sons, Thando, Siya and Wandile. We offer them our thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes during this dark time in their young lives.
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.
An unidentified farmer tries to stop photojournalist Tracy Lee Stark from taking photographs during a violent protest by farmers in Senekal, South Africa, on October 6, 2020. (Photo: The Citizen/Tracy Lee Stark)
South African authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into recent attacks on journalists covering protests held by farmers, and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.
On October 6, in the Free State province town of Senekal, a protesting farmer harassed and assaulted Tracy Lee Stark, a photographer at The Citizen newspaper, while another attacked Marizka Coetzer, a reporter at the outlet, according to the journalists, who spoke to CPJ in phone interviews, and a report by their employer.
The demonstrators, who were protesting the murder of farmers in South Africa, gathered at a local court at the hearing of two people accused of torturing and murdering a local farmer, shouted insults at the journalists, and tried to prevent them from taking photos. One man punched Stark as he tried to grab her camera and another destroyed Coetzer’s smartphone, the journalists said.
“Journalists must be able to cover protests in South Africa without fear that they will be harassed, attacked, and see their equipment destroyed,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator. “Authorities must thoroughly investigate the recent attacks on The Citizen journalists Tracy Lee Stark and Marizka Coetzer and send a strong message that, just as there should be no impunity when it comes to attacks on farmers, there should be no impunity when it comes to crimes against journalists in the country.”
Stark told CPJ that the protest started peacefully but the tone changed after rousing speeches, including by Ernst Roets, the deputy CEO of the Afrikaner interest group AfriForum. Police arrested one farmer, Andre Pienaar, who is expected to be charged with public violence and malicious damage to property, according to newsreports.
Stark told CPJ that several protestors warned her not to photograph the gathering, but said she continued to do her job. One farmer called her a “liberal bitch” and shouted other insults, and then punched her in the shoulder and tried to grab her camera, she said.
“I held [the camera] tight and he threatened to smash it,” Stark said, adding that another protester intervened and escorted her to safety. She told CPJ that she was shaken but planned to continue covering such protests, saying, “I am a woman photographer. I have a point to prove.”
Coetzer told CPJ that she was reporting from a different area outside the courthouse, and was taking photos with her cellphone when another farmer confronted her and told her to stop filming.
Coetzer said she walked away and began filming in another area, when the same man followed her. She put her phone in her jacket, but the man grabbed it from her pocket, snapped it in two, flung it away, and told her to “fuck off.” Coetzer said she was unable to recover the memory card in her phone, which she had newly purchased, or any images she had taken.
In a statement, the South African National Editors’ Forum, a voluntary organization of editors and senior journalists, condemned the assaults, adding that “It is only through the decisive and firm actions of state organs that criminals and members of society will stop attacking journalists.”
Roets told CPJ via messaging app that AfriForum was “very alarmed” by what happened to the journalists, and said he tried to speak to Coetzer after he heard about the attack. Roets said that the violence was perpetrated by a small number of protesters after many of the farmers had dispersed, and said as far as he knew the demonstrators who attacked Stark and Coetzer were not AfriForum members.
Free State police spokesperson Brigadier Motantsi Makhele told CPJ via messaging app that the journalists had been advised to make a statement to police, and added that police planned to investigate the attacks and bring those responsible to justice.
Coetzer told CPJ she gave a statement to Silverton police today.
The attacks occurred on the same day the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a newresolution on journalism safety which stated that the organization was deeply alarmed at the specific risks faced by women journalists.
The COVID-19 (SARS CoV-2) virus is a new infection. (SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19 disease.) What we know about it is growing and changing all the time as scientists conduct more research. So as journalists, citizens and people who want to stay healthy, your first responsibility is to use only reliable information sources to guide your reporting and your actions. please see click the following link for more on this. sanef covid pamphlet web version (002)
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is deeply concerned that journalists were assaulted and harassed on Tuesday when protesting farmers stormed the Senekal Magistrate’s Court in the Free State.
Citizen journalist Marizka Coetzer and photographer Tracy-Lee Stark were assaulted and their equipment damaged when a crowd of approximately 1 000 farmers protested outside the court against the murder of 22 year old Brendin Horner on Tuesday afternoon.
“… they requested that no photographs be taken, when I refused the request speaking in English, one farmer called me a ‘liberal bitch’ and I was physically assaulted and my camera was grabbed”, photographer Stark said.
“They threatened to smash it while pushing me around and continuing to physically assault me. Another farmer stepped in and told them to back off. I was told to leave the area immediately with continued shouting that I should remove my liberal self and leave for my own safety”, she said.
The violent protest in Senekal happened barely a day after writer and columnist, Ismail Lagardien was seriously injured covering abalone protests in Kleinmond, Western Cape that also turned violent on Monday 5 October.
SANEF is seriously troubled by the growing trend of communities attacking reporters seeking to vent their anger and frustration against government authorities. Journalists deserve the right to a safe working environment like all workers in South Africa. When going out in the field to tell community stories they should not be subjected to such hazardous and life-threatening working conditions.
We call on AfriForum, the Unite Against Farm Murders movement and various political parties, including the Democratic Alliance, that participated in the gathering before the court proceedings, to protect journalists and promote the safety of journalists. They need to help combat the impunity of those who attack the media.
We call on law-enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate these incidents and to bring perpetrators to book. It is only through the decisive and firm actions of state organs that criminals and members of society will stop attacking journalists.
SANEF is campaigning for all traumatised journalists to receive counselling assistance from their employers.
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.
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is deeply concerned by the attack on writer and columnist, Ismail Lagardien who was seriously injured covering the Kleinmond abalone protests on Monday 5th October 2020.
SANEF believes that every citizen should be seriously troubled by such reports as journalists go out in the field to tell community stories, both fairly and accurately. When a frustrated community turns its anger on journalists, it has severe consequences for our democracy. The media must reflect all sides in conflict situations – and the public must respect the essential role of the press.
Lagardien was seriously injured on Monday evening after protests erupted in the Overberg town of Kleinmond following the arrest of five alleged perlemoen poachers. Lagardien is now in hospital awaiting surgery for a broken jaw sustained when a brick flew in through the passenger window.
Relaying events via text message on Tuesday morning (he was unable to speak audibly due to his injury), he wrote: “I saw a roadblock and tyres being laid out, so I drove through, towards the informal settlements to find out more.”
At the time he had his equipment and camera out. “That’s when the rock came through the passenger window,” he said. Speaking from his hospital bed on Monday night, Mr Lagardien told Daily Maverick his jaw was fractured, and he had several teeth missing.
While at this stage it cannot be ascertained for sure if Lagardien was in fact targeted randomly as a motorist or specifically because he is a member of the media, this would not be the first time that journalists appear to have become the scapegoat of misdirected anger from some members of the public. These incidents include:
In February KayaFM journalist Gavin Emmanuel was assaulted and injured while covering a service delivery protest in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria. The township had come to a standstill after main roads were blockaded with rubble and burning tyres.
In Embalenhle, Secunda, in February, freelance journalist Desmond Latham, as well as a female staff member from Frayintermedia and female UNICEF employee were assaulted allegedly by members of a local taxi association.
Criminals robbed an eNCA reporter, Xoli Mngambi and a crew on assignment in Mamelodi East of their equipment in February.
Three journalists were held up at gunpoint and robbed of their belongings while covering a World Aids Day event in Khayelitsha last December.
In April, a SABC Durban news crew while out in the field reporting on the impact of the lockdown on rural communities in Ulundi, KwaZulu Natal, were blocked and threatened by a group, not related to their news story. Community members threatened to burn the SABC news vehicle.
One person has been arrested for public violence in Kleinmond, near the town of Hermanus, following the protests that erupted on Monday.
SANEF believes that attacks on media professionals are often perpetrated by organised opportunistic criminals, crime groups, militia and security personnel, making local journalists among the most vulnerable.
We call on every citizen to protect the right to freedom of opinion and expression for all. Promoting the safety of journalists and combatting impunity for those who attack them are central elements of democracy.
We call on law-enforcement agencies to thoroughly investigate these incidents and to bring perpetrators to book. It is only through the decisive and firm actions of state organs that criminals and members of society will stop attacking journalists.
SANEF is hoping that all traumatised journalists will receive counselling assistance from their employers. We wish Mr Lagardien a speedy recovery.
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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