Black Wednesday, white lies?

By Janice Winter

This month has been a very encouraging one for media freedom in South Africa. Reporters Without Borders released their Press Freedom Index 2009, seeing South Africa rising in rank to position 33 (from 36 last year in 2008 and 43 in 2007), now outranking countries such as France, Spain and Greece.

This coincided with October’s celebrations of post-apartheid media freedom, with our national Media Freedom Day in South Africa in commemoration of October 19 1977, when the apartheid government banned two newspapers, a Christian publication and 19 black organisations, and detained scores of critics in what became known as “Black Wednesday”.

The Media Freedom Day proceedings, however, revealed a paradox in South Africa’s political landscape with regards to the relationship between media and democracy raising questions about whether the practice is as free as the principles suggest. The official Press Club event in Cape Town ironically resulted in former minister Kader Asmal having to invoke his constitutional right to freedom of expression in the face of strong criticism from the ruling ANC.

In his speech, Asmal urged journalists to insist on their right to freedom of information in response to what he saw as their increasing exclusion by government. “Committees seem to be retreating behind closed doors at the drop of a hat,” Asmal asserted. “You are allowing yourselves to be walked over.” He urged the media to interrogate the government on key concerning issues, including the dropping of charges against Zuma, the purchase of arms by the government, and the increasing militarisation of the police. Asmal’s comments received strong criticism from ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu, who pronounced them “shocking and undesirable”, arguing that “it is not within the traditions and protocols of the ANC for comrades to talk about their views and opinion about the ANC and its leaders in public platforms and through the media” but instead to raise issues internally.

Deputy Police Minister Fikile Mbalula argued:

“It has never been part of our struggle or culture to seek liberation by the media … our people have always understood their power to hold to account their political leadership and the power of the vote in keeping in check those that do not represent their aspirations. Asmal and his ilk, having realised this, choose to conveniently ignore the masses of our people and sound the clarion call to their darlings, the media establishment.”

Concerning? I think so.

This encounter illustrates in brief a broader issue in South Africa: that of a democratic post-independence country in which the liberation party with liberal principles becomes the dominant ruling party, but expects continued ideological support and blames criticism on “old apartheid” legacies in the media. Indeed, the ANC has passed a resolution to consider establishing a media tribunal to ensure that the media “contribute towards the building of a new society and be accountable for its actions”. Should the media in post-independence Africa maintain its traditional “Western” role as watchdog of democracy holding democratic power to account? Or should it aid an emerging democratic dispensation by downplaying criticism and engaging in “development journalism” in support of a broader project of social transformation?

Janice Winter is programme manager of the Axess Programme on Journalism and Democracy and has recently graduated with an MPhil in development studies from the University of Oxford, receiving a distinction for research on victims of political violence in Zimbabwe. A journalist by profession and a scholar by addiction, she is also passionate about social justice, identity politics, words and wine (not necessarily in that order).