Menu

Freedom of Expression

Diversity and Ethics (2)

SANEF Council’s Key Resolutions to Protect Media Freedom and Promote Ethical Journalism in Our Industry

, , ,

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.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610 9374
  • Kate Skinner – SANEF Executive Director – (082) 926-6404

 

Access to Information & Regulatory

Magistrates’ Commission Sets Guidelines Regarding Media Access to Courts

,

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.

Click here to access the Guidelines.

Click here to access the Notice of Application for Media Access to Courts

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.

For more information please contact:

  • Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Chairperson (073) 404-1415
  • Adriaan Basson – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 562-2113
  • Mahlatse Mahlase – Secretary General (083) 399-2852
  • Nwabisa Makunga – Treasurer (082) 555-1972
  • Mary Papayya – SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957
  • Asanda Ngoasheng – Western Cape Convenor – 082 610 9374
  • Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334
  • Katy Katopodis – SANEF Gauteng Convenor (082) 805-7022
  • Chiara Carter – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (082) 659-9162
  • Kate Skinner – SANEF Executive Director – (082) 926-6404

Socials

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected]

Website: SANEF

4

SANEF CONCERNED BY EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENTS AT ENCA

The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) is perturbed about developments at eNCA where news anchors Xoli Mngambi and Jane Dutton were taken off air after apologising for raising their views about the government’s cigarette ban.

On Monday, Mngambi and Dutton criticised the government’s handling of the ban. After receiving critical feedback from viewers and the public, they went on air to apologise for their comments on Tuesday morning. From Wednesday, they were no longer hosting the morning show on eNCA.

There has been no public explanation for their absence.

SANEF understands that a few months ago the eNCA management introduced a requirement for its anchors to be more opinionated and to open their shows on social and political issues. So it seems that when Mngambi and Dutton aired their comments they were not violating any internal policy.

SANEF is deeply concerned about the potential undermining of freedom of expression at eNCA. Freedom of expression is a cornerstone of the South African Constitution and enshrined in Section 16. We remind the channel’s management of former president Nelson Mandela’s statement that a “critical, independent and investigative press is the lifeblood of any democracy”, a view with which we fully agree.

Issues regarding news versus comment often given rise to a great deal of unhappiness with the media. We think it important to reiterate key provisions of the BCCSA Code of Conduct applicable to eNCA. Section 28.1.3 of the Subscription Code clearly requires that “only that which may reasonably be true… may be presented as fact…If a report is…founded on opinion…it must be presented in such manner as to indicate clearly that such is the case.”

Management’s strategy to include more personalised commentary in the news broadcasts has paved the way for an unfortunate mixing of news and comment in such a way that the reasonable viewer might have been left in doubt as to what was fact and what was the newsreaders’ opinion.

SANEF respects the right of media companies to apply their own editorial guidelines, quality control measures, internal policies and directives, but this should never be at odds with the Constitution and industry codes.

SANEF will write to eNCA acting MD Norman Munzhelele asking for an explanation of why Mngambi and Dutton’s have been taken off the air. We believe that news management should defend journalists and their freedom of expression.

The incident follows incidents of political interference in the newsroom in December that led to the exit of the previous head of news. We will also be raising these issues in our meeting.

 

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.

For more information please contact:

Mahlatse Mahlase – SANEF Chairperson, (083) 399-2852

Katy Katopodis – SANEF Deputy Chairperson (082) 805-7022

Moipone Malefane – SANEF Secretary General (082) 772-5861

Mary Papayya – Acting SANEF Media Freedom Chair (082) 379-4957

Judy Sandison – SANEF KZN Convenor (082) 571-3334

Sbu Ngalwa – SANEF Eastern Cape Convenor (073) 404-1415

Janet Heard – SANEF Western Cape SANEF Convenor, (078) 041-9528

Hopewell Radebe – SANEF Acting Gauteng Regional Convenor (083) 582-1734

Kate Skinner – SANEF Executive Director – (082) 926-6404

 

Twitter: @SAEditorsForum

Email: [email protected] Website: www.sanef.org.za