The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) notes with concern the statements made by South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela yesterday April 4, 2002 on SA-FM radio on the Tim Modise show.

Mandela accused the media of being unpatriotic by focussing too much on crime in their reporting and not appreciating what South Africa has achieved. He also argued that the kind of reporting coming out of South Africa has caused investment flight.

While FXI by no means wants to paint South African media as immune to pitfalls, we are however concerned by a situation where politicians begin to define what the media should regard as news worthy, in an attempt to rescue investment.

It should be a journalist’s job to inform public, officials included and underpinning that work is the need to protect human rights. If journalists report less on crime, for example, as the former President suggests, then they would be liable for failing to do their duty. Reportage and criticism of national issues is on its own an act of patriotism and an appreciation of what South Africa has achieved and journalists should be left to express their patriotism by remaining true to the demands of their profession.

Crime affect all people in South Africa and people should know how safe they are in the country they reside in. Furthermore to argue that investors leave from South Africa because of media reports on crime is like shooting the messenger, and misrepresentation the complex reason why investor flight is taking place.

If South African media point to the country’s pitfalls, the authorities will be able to understand the concerns of the people and where to focus when seeking solutions. National solutions do not lie in investors alone, but also in citizens and other institutions of the country.

To accuse a group of professionals of being unpatriotic, the particularly media also poses a threat to democracy because it begins to stifle input into national debates. Democracy demands that people express their opinion on all matters that affects their lives without fear and the media is a mirror of that.

We have in the past few years witnessed the situation in Zimbabwe, where authorities began to accuse journalists of being unpatriotic and the situation has now developed to a point where journalists are now being harassed, face arrest and even fear for their own lives.

While we can not absolve the media from contributing to national development, we feel that they should be given space for them to define what they find as news worthy. It should also be noted that journalism is also a profession that stands for honesty and for journalists to ignore what they regards as important and news worthy is central to the ethics of their profession.

For further information please contact:

Freedom of Expression Institute Information and Communication Scotch Tagwireyi Phone: 27 11 403 8403 Cell: 27 82 821 0756 Fax: 27 11 403 8309