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Comment to the Beeld newspaper The ANC's media discussion document and subsequent policy conference report raises important questions for media freedom, and also some potential dangers. On the positive side, the documents raise the importance of achieving a public funding base for the SABC, which was contained in the Stellenbosch resolutions. It is encouraging to see that the ANC is acknowledging a lack of progress on this resolution, which has led to SABC 4 and 5 grinding to a halt even before they have been set up, owing to the non-appearance of public funding. The events surrounding SABC 4 and 5 can only be described as a debacle. The SABC has also reaffirmed the importance of the MDDA which is an important body for achieving media diversity in South Africa, through the funding of community and small commercial media. The ANC has also raised important issues relating to the growing consolidation of the commercial media, which is having a negative impact on media diversity. Currently, there are three major media groups dominating the media, which bodes ill for a diversity of voices. The ANC has raised this as a key media freedom issue, and correctly so. What is ironic, though is that through its influence on government policy, the ANC could have done much to prevent further media consolidation. Instead its own members have been involved in buy-outs and mergers, and its own members effected a relaxation of foreign ownership restrictions in the broadcast media. To this extent, the ANC must take responsibility for the very problem it is decrying. On the downside, the report from the policy conference proposes an investigation into the effectiveness of self-regulation, and further calls for 'remedial measures' to promote the rights of all South Africans, including the possibility of establishing a media tribunal. These proposals imply that the ANC may be considering state regulation as a viable alternative to self-regulation, which will threaten media freedom. Just last year, there was an attempt by the Department of Home Affairs to subject the media to pre-publication censorship. In spite of the fact that this move was roundly criticised, and the government's commitment to media freedom has been reaffirmed, there now seems to be an attempt to bring statutory regulation back through the ANC's media policy. This is a worrying development. There can be no doubt that consolidation and commercialisation of media place strain on media freedom. The race for the bottom line means less investment in investigative journalism, the blurring of lines between advertising and editorial, the juniorisation of newsrooms, and the crowding out of the concerns of poor people. The ANC discussion document has pointed these trends out as being negative for media freedom, which is a correct observation. However, media transformation to better reflect the interests of the poor and the marginalised will not be achieved through state control of media content. In fact, it may well lead to censorship of these very voices if they filter into the media, as they are often the most outspoken voices on service delivery issues. This does not mean that the media should be left to the vagaries of the market. The state has a role to play in promoting diversity, and possibly restricting media concentration through anti-trust measures. In other words, it should create an enabling environment for a diversity of views to be heard. But it should not get into the business of deciding whose views should be heard once this diversity of media is achieved. This will amount to censorship. Readers have left 2 comments. 1. dzfMrreMSZYB
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