In commemorating Press Freedom Day, the Freedom of Expression Institute would like to pay tribute to journalists who daily take many risks to bring us the most up to date news. This effort is done in the spirit of the journalists who defied the authorities and marched on this day some 23 years ago.

In terms of press freedom in today's climate there are a number of worrying trends. It is probably not a misnomer to say that government/press relations are at an extremely low ebb right now. Creeping in is an impervious attitude to the press which suggests that members of government believe that communication is a one way process. This was reflected in inter alia the ANC's reaction to the John Robbie issue, the citizen's arrest of journalists covering a staff protest in Mpumalanga, the acrimony surrounding the President's position on the HIV/AIDS debate and the debacle of the advertisement provided free of charge to the ruling party apropos this, and, more recently, we note a report which says that one of the President's bodyguards actually physically attacked a journalist who was seeking to get the president to respond to questions.

In addition, the pressure which journalists are under to write positively about government is a further concern. This was a trend in the early days post-1994 but seemed to have passed as government matured and became aware of the need for fairly robust debate. Today we note that those who dare to be critical of government once again run the risk of being accused of being unpatriotic or unsupportive of the new dispensation. Although it is accepted that some journalists have never moved from being in an "opposition press", to suggest that those who perform their duties as critical and alert journalists are in the some category is an attempt to discredit the press which should not be allowed to succeed.

An important trend is the attention being given to issues of race in the media. This is positive in some respects, i.e. racism per se is getting more exposure than it did previously, and negative in others in that polarisation of race within the media itself could be exacerbated. The Human Rights Commission's inquiry into racism in the media, has alerted the media to the schisms which exist and which should be addressed. However, the inquiry and focus on this issue should not be allowed to have a negative effect on press freedom and a self-censoring effect on journalists who feel they will be accused of racism should they report an issue in a manner they believe is appropriate.

FXI welcomes calls in the report for greater media diversity, without which press freedom remains an elitist issue. We therefore call for the following:

* speedy establishment of the Media Development and Diversity Agency * speeding up of 4 year community radio licencing process by ICASA, and * a need to protect the independence and integrity of the public broadcaster during restructuring.

In conclusion it may be worth noting the recent reports on the decline of readership of the Zimbabwean government owned daily, The Herald. This trend should be a salutary lesson to those in power that a vigorous and critical press is a necessary component of a democracy. The editor has conceded that is suppressed stories which were negative about President Mugabe and Zanu-PF and has attributed the decline to this biased reporting. What this shows is that trying to convert media to advance the interests of a specific party may serve a propaganda purpose in the end it does lead to that media being distrusted and the audience seeking its news elsewhere.

Contact: Nanagolo Leopeng ( Information and Publications Officer) 403 8403 (011) Laura Pollecutt (Executive Director) 083 604 1073