In the latest incident, a news reporter and camera operator from ETV were robbed at gun point, by armed robbers, at Khayelitsha, Cape Town. TV journalist Natalie Malgas told Sanef that it was one of the “scariest days” in her entire career. She and cameraman Lance Manjoro had finished interviewing community leaders in the township on Monday, as part of the service delivery election coverage, when they were robbed outside a local primary school.
“Two of the robbers had guns and the one who appeared to be the ringleader cocked a weapon in my face. They shouted that we hand over our phones, laptops and camera. They then cleaned out our boot, taking everything insight including our tripod bag and other belongings and fled on foot. One robber came back and grabbed a phone charger”.
The journalists got into their vehicles and stopped a nearby police patrol for help. The matter was reported at the townships Site B police station and officers are following several leads.
ETV management has thanked members of the SAPS for responding in a swift and professional manner to assist their team saying the journalists were also very grateful for the SAPS’s response. “We’re hopeful that while the SAPS conducts its investigation into this matter, arrests will be made soon. It’s concerning for us that while we’re covering the local government elections and highlighting the plight of communities, our teams are vulnerable in the face of such barbaric criminality. While our team is unhurt, they’re very traumatised. However, we are providing them with the necessary support,” John Bailey Managing Editor told SANEF.
The two journalists are undergoing trauma counselling.
SANEF is concerned that barely a month ago, an ENCA crew were robbed in the same township, and Newzroom Afrika crew were robbed while they were out on a story in East London. Other incidents of robbery of journalists have been reported in Cape Town and elsewhere in the country.
We note that these attacks are now becoming a norm putting the lives of journalists at risk. We call on law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute these criminals.
Such attacks place enormous physical and emotional burden on journalists who are already exposed to challenging conditions working under COVID-19 pandemic.
While SANEF is taking pro-active steps to train journalists on how to navigate these dangerous situations, we also call on all community leaders to take the issue of the safety of journalists seriously and report the criminals to local police.
Without journalists focusing on the plight of communities, such stories will go unreported.
South Africa is becoming a very dangerous place for journalists and apart from attacks on the field, journalists also face cyber-bulling and severe attacks on social media platforms.
It is ironic that in 2021 as we commemorate Black Wednesday this week, 44 years since the tragic events of 19 October 1977, when scores of journalists and black consciousness leaders were detained and banned by the apartheid regime, that journalists in our country are again under attack, this time by criminals.
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 disrespect, disregard, and utter lawlessness displayed by criminals continued on Friday as they robbed a Newzroom Afrika reporting team while they were live on air, from East London, Eastern Cape.
The incident follows a recent one in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, where an eNCA crew was threatened and robbed. The Newzroom Afrika crew were robbed near the ANC offices.
This despicable act was confirmed by the channel’s news director, Katy Katopodis.
“Our Eastern Cape reporter and camera operator were robbed of all their belongings. They were live on air, while robbers broke into the news vehicle, stole equipment and their bags with all their clothing and personal goods inside.”
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) condemns this criminality and calls on law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute these criminals. The psychological impact such crimes have on reporting crews, or any worker for that matter, cannot be underestimated as the scars remain.
We have seen how volatile it has become for news crews to go out and be allowed to do their jobs. The safety of journalists is paramount to SANEF, hence we will be seeking ways on how to best protect our news crews on the field.
This latest crime, and many others, concern SANEF as we continue to find ways on training reporting crews when they go out to cover stories. Such training would largely focus on the safety of journalists and what do when they go out to cover any story, riots, unrests, service delivery protests and political rallies.
SANEF appreciates South Africans that have come to understand the work the media do and would like to call on the community to report criminals who continue to steal, threaten, bully, and prevent the media from doing its work.
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.
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 South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) condemns the robbery at Westside FM 98.9 MHz in Kagiso, Mogale City, in the early hours of Sunday.
The thugs targeted the community radio station and held a presenter at gunpoint, as they ransacked valuables, which include five full sets of desktop computers, on air and production personal computers, a speaker, and three headphones.
This is the second robbery in weeks as Westside FM was one of five community radio stations that were looted during last month’s unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
It is appalling that criminals are targeting a community asset that serves residents of Kagiso and surrounds. As a case has been opened, we call on the South African Police Service to speedily investigate to ensure arrests and prosecution of the five thugs.
We would also like to appeal to the community to help the police with any information that can lead to the arrest of the thieves.
SANEF calls on South Africans to assist Westside FM 98.9 MHz with key and much needed equipment such as desktop computers or laptops or speakers as they seek to retain the same quality of delivering much needed information and content to the community.
Westside FM 98.9 MHz was one of the five radio stations specially recognised at the recently held Nat Nakasa Awards, where courageous journalism was celebrated. All five stations were awarded R20 000 towards the purchase of some of the damaged or stolen equipment during the unrest.
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 African National Editors’ Forum commends the bravery of the country’s journalists, who are working under very difficult conditions while navigating the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. The recent unrests in Gauteng and Kwa-Zulu Natal saw journalists’ lives being threatened and at least 5 radio stations attacked, and their equipment stolen.
SANEF held a virtual non-elective Annual General Meeting, on Saturday 14 August, and discussed several issues including the challenges facing the industry – from media freedom, media sustainability, training of journalists ahead of the elections, access to information, education & training, and support for community media.
The AGM reasserted the pivotal role that journalism continues to play in our constitutional democracy and the importance of the work that has earnestly started to get the media industry to be financially sustainable.
Sbu Ngalwa, SANEF chairperson, said: “We have a lot of work ahead of us as an industry. We are now fully engaged with the work towards the sustainability of our profession. Members attending this AGM yet again reiterated their commitment and support to all efforts to ensure that we continue to enjoy a strong and independent media which produces quality journalism”.
Five community radio stations support
SANEF has decided to support five community stations that were recently affected by the unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The five stations, Intokozo FM in Umlazi, Kasie FM in Katlehong, Alex FM in Alexandra, Mams FM in Mamelodi and Westside FM 98.9 MHz in Kagiso, will each been assisted with R20 000 to use towards the purchase of equipment they need as they work towards recovery, fully focused on serving their communities once more. The five stations were also specially recognised at the Nat Nakasa Awards, held on Saturday evening in Johannesburg.
Covid-19
Since our last AGM in August 2020, Covid-19 has continued to cause pain and destruction to our industry. It has done so not only through the loss of jobs and revenue, but we have lost a number of colleagues to the pandemic. SANEF sends its condolences to their families and colleagues. We have also seen our frontline reporting staff going out to cover stories and risking infection, which has affected newsroom operations. Importantly, working closely with the government, we managed to get most of our media workers under the age of 35 vaccinated. An achievement made possible through working closely with the Department of Health and the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and ultimately, the National Coronavirus Command Council.
Media Freedom
Recently, an unprecedented number of journalists have been threatened for doing their job. In some extreme instances they have been threatened with death, for no reason other than the colour of their skin or the media house they work for or for simply doing their work.
We continue to condemn these as these instances of intimidation have grown since our last AGM. Media freedom remains sacrosanct, and we will continue to defend it as one of our guiding principles as an organisation. SANEF continues to call on law enforcement agencies, political parties and members of the public to respect the work of journalists and to allow them to do their work, without any fear or favour. We will continue speaking out against transgressions when it comes to media freedom, not only in South Africa, but throughout the continent as we continue to work closely with partner organisations such as the Southern African Editors Forum, The African Editors Forum, Committee to Protect Journalists, International Federation of Journalists and WAN-IFRA.
Education and training
On training, SANEF continues to be heavily invested in the training of young and mid-career journalists as we seek to enable them to not only be better reporters, but excellent media managers who can ensure the future of a vibrant media industry in our country.
Reporting the Pandemic
SANEF undertook a consultative process with community, health, and other journalists to develop a guide for reporting on Covid-19 in South Africa. The “Reporting the Pandemic ” guide highlights the importance of good local Covid-19 coverage and provides journalists and media practitioners with the much-needed technical understanding to accurately convey information about the pandemic. The guide was developed by SANEF and FrayCollege – sponsored by Internews SA to assist journalists and media practitioners to navigate the novel experience of working during a global pandemic.
Elections Training
SANEF has started the work of training reporters to enable them to cover local government elections and to understand municipal finances ahead of the local government elections. We have expanded our 2019 elections portal, with a range of reporting resources – including a local government and election data dashboard and training material. – see elections.sanef.org.za. The portal has been designed so that it’s easier to add materials for future elections. On the safety of journalists during the election period, the portal contains a quick guide for journalists on the best ways to report online and other harassment directly to the police, the SA Human Rights Commission and the IEC. Journalists will also be able to submit requests to SANEF for support with complaints. Community and first-time election reporters will also be able to access some of the online resources through Pocket Reporter, a mobile app which features templates for election stories.
Reporting the Courts
We are finalising a Reporting the Courts manual, to ensure that reporters are equipped to accurately cover, understand some of the complex legalese and also grasp sensitivities when it comes to reporting on Gender-Based Violence and cases involving children. The manuscript of the Reporting the Courts handbook has been fully revised and was sent out to a small focus group of readers for comment. It is now in the final stages of correction and proof-reading in response to those readers’ comments and some very recent court judgments impacting on content (e.g., the ConCourt ruling on the Jon Qwelane case). A respected judge has been invited to write the foreword. Once this is received, proofed, and inserted, the manuscript will be ready for layout as an online but printable on demand publication. We will also print a minimal number of courtesy hard copies for donors, contributors etc.
Mental Health and Journalists – SANEF/SADAG partnership
SANEF launched a critically important partnership with the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) to prioritise newsroom and reporter wellness. Many of our colleagues suffer from deep trauma, anxiety, and depression – the effects of which can be absolutely devastating. A very successful webinar has already been held and the programme will be rolled-out to newsrooms across the country.
We encourage journalists to use the SMS service (31985). The service – which includes individual counselling – is available free of charge.
Media Sustainability
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, SANEF managed to raise money to provide relief for journalists who have lost their jobs during the lockdown period. We would like to thank all our funders who put financial resources behind our Media Relief Fund. Four successful rounds have been completed so far, with close to R1,7 million being disbursed. Recently, an announcement was made for the fifth and last round of applications.
After this round, all efforts will now be directed towards journalism sustainability as SANEF leads with research aimed at finding sustainable business models that ensure the future of journalism in South Africa.
The recent research by SANEF which culminated in the report titled, Media Sustainability and Universal Access to Public Interest Journalism, made several recommendations including:
Appointment of a steering committee of SANEF members, stakeholders and media owners to drive sustainable journalism initiatives and engagements
Commissioning of follow-up research on the nature, scope, and operations of a news media sustainability fund; sources of income for such a fund; and related issues including the co-existence of news media and tech platforms in the digital economy and interactions in this regard with the Competition Commission – a proposal from the authors of the original research report is currently under consideration
Engagement with the International Fund for Public Interest Media on their proposal to use South Africa as a pilot project, and to explore collaborative initiatives in support of the global fund and the proposed SA fund
Engagement with tech platform policy managers on the proposals in the report
Further consultations on free or zero-rated access to online public interest news content, based on research done by for instance Research ICT Africa
Media policy engagements with GCIS and the minister in the presidency on proposals regarding different forms of state support for public interest journalism; and to implement the commitments in the International Partnership on Information and Democracy, endorsed by SA
New Minister in the Presidency
SANEF welcomes the appointment of a new Minister in the Presidency, Mr. Mondli Gungubele. We are hopeful we will continue to have a fruitful working relationship with his ministry as we seek to not only partner with the government to ensure media sustainability but also to have robust engagement with the president and his executive.
We had already started engagements with the late Jackson Mthembu to discuss media sustainability and we hope Minister Gungubele will continue with those discussions in due course. We hope President Cyril Ramaphosa will honour his promise to have regular engagement with the media and to take questions when he addresses the nation on various major decisions and announcements by his government.
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) in partnership with the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) and the National Department of Health wishes to call on all journalists to get vaccinated following the Health Ministry’s announcement today that the media sector can go get vaccinated at their nearest vaccination site.
This media vaccination programme caters for all age groups of the sector including the under 35-year-old journalists in newsrooms around the country. Journalists above 34-60 years of age are still urged to get vaccinated and self-register on the Electronic Vaccination Data System (EVDS) due to their eligibility.
The government has concluded a bulk upload for registration of all journalists who have responded to call to submit their details through the GCIS facilitated process, and emails will be sent out today to all individual journalists and media houses to confirm their registration on EVDS. Individual SMSes will not be sent through the bulk registration system.
We thank the media sector from the mainstream to the community, online/digital, broadcasting, to print as well as freelancers for participating in the registration process which took less than a month.
Provinces such as KwaZulu Natal and Limpopo are already taking advantage of the role the media plays in society by vaccinating journalists and ensuring that they help encourage young and old in the country to voluntarily participate in the national vaccination project. This is also helping dispel misinformation and myths about the efficacy of vaccines.
The partnership between SANEF, GCIS and the health department has proven that a lot can be achieved through cooperation..
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF), in partnership with the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), wish to correct confusion created on social media about the vaccine registration process for the media sector.
On Friday 09 July 2021, SANEF invited the media sector from the mainstream, community, online/digital, broadcasting, print and freelance journalists to complete a form and submit their media staff details. It was stated that the below 35 years in the media will be considered in this media vaccination programme.
All media organisations and freelancers were requested to complete a registration form and email it to the GCIS which has been assigned the responsibility to collate all forms on behalf of the Health Department. We appreciate and thank all freelancers and media houses that completed the form and submitted their staff members’ lists.
The process to conclude the collation of the forms is underway and will be concluded on Friday, 23 July 2021.
However, the GCIS has put in place an online form (which mirrors and captures the same information) that can also be used for registration for those in the media sector such as freelance journalists who have “not registered”.
Journalists whose details were sent via their employees are not required to fill in details on the online form. This will create duplications. Freelance journalists who completed the form and sent it via email should not resubmit via the online link.
Journalists between the ages of 35 and 60 are still urged to register on the EVDS system and get vaccinated because they do not have to wait for this media vaccination registration process using available options including online registrations: vaccine.enroll.health.gov.za, COVID-19 Call Centre on 0800 029 999, WhatsApp 0600 123 56 and Dial *134*832# using their digital devices to avoid congestions and long waiting queues at vaccination sites.
We also call for calm and patience as the process to register the media sector is almost complete and vaccination will be done as soon as possible.
As the looting, violence and unrest continue across Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, the South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) has noted with shame the looting and extensive damage done at four radio stations in Alexandra, Johannesburg, in Kagiso, Mogale City, Mams FM in Mamelodi, Pretoria as well as Intokozo 101.2 FM, based in Umlazi, Durban.
The four stations were attacked by thugs, who damaged property belonging to the stations as the thuggery, violence, lawlessness continues across Gauteng and KZN. All four stations have over the years been of great service to their communities.
For instance, Alex FM has been in operation for 27 years, while West Side FM has been on the air for eight years. It is a sad day when properties are vandalised by criminals purporting to have a cause to fight for, yet they choose to use violence and vandalism to achieve that cause.
The two stations are now battling to get back on air and serve their communities as broadcasting equipment, among other assets, have been stolen.
We call on the South African Police Service and the SA National Defence Force to continue acting against these criminals, clearly hellbent on cutting all forms of key news communication that are being delivered, such as those done by Intokozo FM, Mams FM, Alex FM and West Side FM.
SANEF earlier spoke to representatives from Alex FM and West Side FM, who stated, they would need help as they have lost a lot of assets. West Side FM is situated at a local mall, where shops were looted and vandalised. Alex FM has put all the losses, inclusive of studio computers, equipment and infrastructure around R5 million. Mams FM has been forced off air as the transmitter and studios were vandalised, and equipment stolen last night.
Intokozo 101.2 FM, often popularly referred to as Intokozo Yeningizimu, also lost its broadcasting and office equipment on Monday night when it was broken into, looted and offices extensively looted.
It took years for these stations to be built, yet thugs saw fit to vandalise and loot them. SANEF encourages the stations to open criminal cases, which will hopefully result in successful prosecutions.
In KZN, we note and commend Premier Sihle Zikalala’s call for the media to be allowed space to do their job, while we also note unacceptable racial attacks and some police officers who continue to treat journalists with utter disrespect.
We acknowledge that everyone has a constitutional right to protest, but what we have seen in recent days has now gone beyond protest, rather criminality that must be condemned, with those arrested to be prosecuted.
We would like to praise all our journalists for their bravery, and amazing coverage in these challenging conditions.
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 process to vaccinate journalists progressing well.
The South African National Editors’ Forum wishes to thank all media houses big and small around the country for registering for the vaccination of their staff through the survey.
We achieved over 90% of registration in just four days. As we take the next and last step of the process, we hope to achieve the same level of success with the next step of uploading and submitting names and details of staff that will be vaccinated in the next few days. We wish to challenge the media houses and individual freelancers to speedily complete the attached forms and submit them without delay by Wednesday 14th July 2021, we could get the media vaccinated without delay the very next week after.
The media sector from the mainstream, to community, online/digital, broadcasting, to print as well as freelancers below 35 years will be considered. All media organisations and freelancers must complete the attached form and email it to the GCIS which has been assigned the responsibility to collate all forms on behalf of the Health Department.
We, therefore, appeal to the media fraternity to speed up the process of uploading staff/employees’ details. This will enable the department to process the media and then move onto the next sector of essential services.
Media houses must complete the forms and provide the list(s) of staff according to regions or municipalities (cities, towns) where their staff offices are based. For example, if the head office in Johannesburg has 200 staff members, they should be at the top of the list, followed by 50 people based in Durban as the next region etc or send separate lists according to cities or towns where they operate.
We are all aware of the announcement today by acting Health Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi during a weekly briefing that registrations for the next phase of the country’s Covid-19 vaccine drive, aimed at people aged between 35 and 49, will open on 15 July. The vaccination of this cohort will begin on 1 August.
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