Black lists, easy monitoring and race revealed

Posted: 13 December 2006 | News - Newsletter | Categories: Gender, Media Freedom and Performance

In this update - the SABC blacklist report, the revealing race report and an article on high profile Triumph billboards shown in Johannesburg.

Whose blacklist is it anyway?

To gain a sober perspective on recent allegations of a politically biased SABC, the MMP has produced a report which reviews a six week period of print media coverage of the events and debates which have challenged SABC impartiality. Using an operational definition of serious, systematic bias, the report also includes an analysis of the fairness of the SABC since 1994.

Although the report finds that over the last decade ‘it is difficult to mount a convincing case which can carry a conclusion of bias’, the MMP report raises concerns about current developments, subsequently backed up by the Sisulu commission of inquiry. Emphasising the overall complexity of building a constitutionally compliant SABC, the report welcomes current debates as fruitful contributions in the service of this aim.

Race in the media

Race and xenophobia are hot topics in South Africa. Our racialised history makes racial attitudes subconscious. Consequently, they are sometimes uncritically reflected in the media. This report constitutes an analysis of race and xenophobia in the media.

Think you know how race is portrayed in the media?

Not a Triumph for Women

Considering the recent 16 days campaign, it is disappointing to note the billboard campaign currently ongoing by Triumph International. Rather than ‘supporting’ women, Triumph has produced a range of outdoor adverts which implicitly promote stereotypical views of women.