State of South African media

1
State of South African media

• Guy Berger
• Rhodes University
• Grahamstown, South Africa
• Department of Journalism Media Studies

2
Covering

• Post-apartheid political environment.
• Democratic significance?
• Role in de-racialisation.
• Quality of journalism challenges.
• Conclusion.

3
Environment pre-democracy

• 95 state monopoly on broadcasting,
• Official registration for newspapers,
• Bannings of titles and journalists,
• 1977 End of The World
• 1988 Shut down of South
• Detention Sisulu 251 days, Magubane 586

4
Environment pre-democracy

• Panoply of laws restricting coverage,
• Access restrictions
• Security-military-police-prisons
• Racial hostility
• Active apartheid propaganda machine,
• A closed, secretive state apparatus,
• 1990 - 1994 civil intolerance.

5
Environment Joel Merwis

• 1979 Press freedom described as having
• its left leg in plaster, its right arm in a
  sling, a patch over the left eye, deafness in the
  right ear, a sprained ankle and a number of teeth
  knocked out.

6
Environment Nelson Mandela

• 2002
• "South Africa should put the freedom of its
  press and media at the top of its priorities as a
  democracy. None or our irritations with the
  perceived inadequacies of the media should ever
  allow us to suggest even faintly that the
  independence of the press could be compromised or
  coerced. A bad free press is preferable to a
  technically good, subservient press."

7
Environment new deal

• Constitution
• Free expression
• Free media
• Right to information
• Some limitations

8
Environment free speech limits

• Constitution says free speech does not extend to
  propaganda for war, incitement of imminent
  violence or advocacy of hatred that is based on
  race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that
  constitutes incitement to cause harm.
• Film and Publications Act, and Board.
• Constitution also provides for a balancing
  between free speech and free media rights on the
  one hand, with the rights to equality and dignity
  on the other.

9
Environment caveat

• Rights can only be limited if reasonable and
  justifiable in an open and democratic society
  based on freedom and equality.
• In addition, any limitation has to be shown to be
  necessary.
• Thus very hard to curb media on an arbitrary or
  undemocratic basis.
• Thus 2004 9/11 terrorism law amended.

10
Environment access to info

• Promotion of Access to Information Act
• Right also extends to access to information held
  by non-state entities in-as-much as information
  in this sphere is needed for the exercise or
  protection of any rights.
• Right is subject to the administrative and
  financial capacity of the state.
• Very little utilisation by the media.
• A practical exercise in 2004 showed very poor
  responsiveness by state agencies.
• Access to courts by broadcast is still limited.

11
Environment legacy laws

• Section 205 journalists forced to testify.
• 1999 accord to limit application.
• Complexity testify sans reveal sources?
• Other laws ignored
• Police, prisons
• Divorce
• Sub judice
• Defamation Bogoshi progress.

12
Environment state-owned media

• Constitution independent broadcast regulator
• IBA was set up 1993
• Negotiated compromise to remove SABC from
  political control.
• 1998 Ministerial power on IBA rejected.
• Parliamentary accountability.
• SABC similar.
• Icasa merger of IBA and Satra.

13
Environment SABC

• 1999 Act enshrines independence
• 2002 amendment Minister wants to set editorial
  policies.
• Outcry public consultation.
• 2004 SABC board adopts policies.
• Controversy about CEO Ed in Chief.
• Personnel pro-govt.

14
Environment summing up

• State power over media very reduced.
• Culture of rights and constitutionality.
• Weak use of access to info.
• Genuine public broadcasting possible.
• Continued contestation within limits.
• So what role is media playing in this overall
  positive environment?

15
Media role under apartheid

• Broadcasting political control.
• Broederbond, Securocrats
• Black translators, flogging.
• Newspapers
• Afrikaans-language reformist
• English-language liberal
• Alternative press resistance
• Politicised, polarised.
• Allowed climate of rights abuse - TRC

16
Media role diverse options

• Alternative press extinct
• Mainstream media new faces
• Roles
• Independent, critical.
• Belated discovery of watchdog in some cases.
• Support govt and South Africanism.
• Dont rock boat be neutral, bland.

17
Media role identity of journalists

• Journalists first, other IDs second?
• Do you obey laws or not?
• Section 205?
• Arms deal laws?
• Who owns you? Foreign? Black?
• Some kneejerk antagonism to govt.

18
Media role mixed bag.

• Sympathy to govt
• Except HIV-AIDs policy, Zimbabwe policy.
• And no debate on economic policy.
• Govt antipathy and suspicion (Mbeki)
• Various summits and meetings
• Presidential Press Corps
• Journalists stand for independence.

19
Media role pluralism

• No political broadcasters
• 80 new community radio stations
• Participatory democracy, local voices.
• Privatisation of some SABC stations
• 7 greenfields radio stations
• 1 new commercial TV etv.
• Concentration restrictions
• Cross-ownership restrictions.

20
Media role local content

• Radio Community, SABC 40
• Commercial 25
• TV PBS 55
• Commercial 35 (etv 45)
• TV News 50 Commercial, 80 PBS
• Pluralism checks balance on SABC.

21
Media role economic hurdles

• SABC dependent on advertising.
• Challenge for more linguistic diversity and
  accessibility especially on SABC.
• 2 new African language TV channels? SABC
  insufficient PBS citizen content.
• Too much common content competing for same
  advert and audience pie.
• Poor quality of community journalism.

22
Media role Other sectors

• MDDA created.
• Press little African language.
• Tabloid media explosion
• Democratic relevance?
• Internet 3.6m (of 45 million).
• Cellphones 18 million.
• Prospects?

23
Media role context variables

• Market-driven media
• Public sphere?
• Civil society
• TAC good at manipulating media,
• Trades unions struggle for sympathy.
• The African project
• Continental industry, Africanised content at home.

24
Media role summing up

• Independence, free to choose role.
• Poor relations with govt.
• Limited debate.
• Broadcast pluralism exists.
• Print less so, Net is limited
• Economics issues, Civil society issues.
• Thus democratic role not in a vacuum.

25
Deracialisation context

• Media was white. Now?
• Racial ID was not just different, but in
  opposition. Now, just diversity?
• What does it mean to be a black or white
  journalist?
• When is race relevant, when not?
• Nation-build Mandela 2 nations Mbeki.
• White racism, black frustration.

26
Deracialisation media content

• Much cross-over (press, some TV),
• Much reflects multiracial country.
• Still some segregated ID media white womens
  magazines, black newspapers.
• Often tied in with language and apartheid-evolved
  spatial separation, sports culture, music
  heritage.

27
Deracialisation active steps

• 1999 SAHRC inquiry into media racism.
• Changes in
• Ownership broadcast, less in print.
• Editors
• Frontline reporters
• SA National Editors Forum
• But race-based confidential briefing 2004

28
Deracialisation problems

• Still white worldview, racist imbalances.
• Advertising, audiences.
• LSM 1-5 65 population, attract 32 ads.
• Xenophobia re black Africans
• Class and gender
• Poverty coverage in elite media mainly.
• Not analytical, not disaggregated.
• Sources 1 in 5, black women 110.

29
Deracialisation summing up

• Context race still an issue after 10 years
• But a far cry from apartheid.
• Journalists and media reflecting wider society to
  an extent.
• Associated problems need attention
• Gender, Nationality, Class

30
Quality of journalism ethics

• Conflicts of interest
• Out of depth in confidential briefings
• Playing politics and personal agendas
• Plagiarism
• Superficiality
• Missing story of transition
• Weak on poverty, AIDS, environment, education.

31
Quality of journalism commerce

• Dumbing down
• Corrupted content
• PR verbatim
• Paid-for influence (eg. AIDS industry)
• De-populating newsrooms
• Decline of Editor power
• Reporting to MDs, not to Board.

32
Quality Sanef skills audit 2002

• Poor reporting skills
• Lack of concern with accuracy
• Poor writing skills
• Lack of life skills
• Low level of commitment
• Weak interviewing skills

33
Quality Sanef skills audit 2002

• Weak legal knowledge
• Lack of sensitivity
• Weak knowledge of ethics
• Poor general, historical and contextual knowledge
• Low level of trainer knowledge
• New audit now of newsroom managers.

34
Conclusion

• Legal environment
• Role of media
• Role in deracialisation
• Quality of journalism
• ?????????????

35
Conclusion positive

• Media benefits from democracy,
• Contributes to democracy.
• Free speech is secure.
• Pluralism exists.
• Contributing to deracialisation.
• Lots of room to deepen and widen.
• Ahead? Globalisation, convergence.