Media

“Independent” regulation is being sold as a compromise – it’s painted as being a “third way” and a palatable position that avoids pitfalls of either industry or political regulation. But it’s flawed.

The ANC’s thrust to create a Media Appeals Tribunal has met with considerable opposition across the board. I would like to focus on two issues in the debate on press freedom that received little attention. Depending on the perspective, the one could be described as the flipside of the other. State regulation and non-state self-regulation […]

In a dramatic turnaround, South African journalists have welcomed the proposed changes to the Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunal, as vetted by the national government last month. The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) hosted a press conference in Pretoria on Tuesday issuing an apology for the initial “hysterical” reaction to […]

A case of the proverbial hornets’ nest having been thoughtlessly kicked

By Zuki Mqolomba “When the Greek god Uranus met with his wife Gaia, their son Cronus attacked Uranus with the sickle and cut off his genitals, and cast the severed member into the sea. From the blood that spilled out from Uranus and fell upon the earth, the Gigantes, Erinyes, and Meliae were produced, and […]

If the ANC really wishes to debate media accountability, or media ownership, or media diversity, or media transformation, no problem. Just take the statutory regulation threat off the table, and the discussion can flow.

Right, so the aim of the Media Appeals Tribunal is to (allegedly) assist people who want to take on the media by providing them with a platform with which to seek some form of redress for some hurtful comments or stories that may have been written about them in the media. At present our Law […]