Media Monday - hot topics and topics that make us hopping mad! 21 November 2011

Posted: 21 November 2011 | News - Newsletter | Categories: Gender, Democracy and Governance, Media Freedom and Performance

On the menu this Media Monday:

·         Mac Maharaj vs the media: is he exercising his right or is the public’s interest of paramount?

·         SOS Coalition to picket outside the SABC building

·         16 Days of Activism: what should media tell you?

Maharaj saga: does he have a point; do we have the right to know? 

We should all by now have heard either from our weekend newspapers or from social media (which is fast proving to be news breakers, or just source of news for many) about Mac Maharaj’s alleged “pushing and pulling” with the media. This regarding allegations by the Mail and Guardian that he lied about his involvement with the arms deal, and that he was censoring the paper by threatening legal action if the story was (fully) published.

The newspaper published a story with blocked out statements which it said were evidence pointing to Mac’s lies, but could not publish it as Mac was threatening a legal case against the publication if it went ahead and published the statements. The statements which the Mail and Guardian regarded as evidence were from documents related to an interview which Mr. Maharaj had with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). Maharj said the documents were obtained unlawfully and in contravention of the National Prosecuting Authority Act.

Just a quick overview, the NPA Act has s certain Section 28 in it which deals with confidential interviewing processes that the NPA may conduct under oath during their investigations. Now according to the this Section as pointed out by the Daily Maverick, no one except the national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) or his permission may disclose any information about the record of evidence given at that investigation or from such interview process, or any of the relevant documents. It is on the basis of such Act (and Section) that Maharaj threatened legal action.

Of course one of the arguments by the media was that, despite the relevant pieces of legislation and all that, Maharaj’s involvement in the arms deal was of the public interest given his high public standing. He is the Presidential spokesperson afterall… does Mac have a point in taking the legal route on this matter, and to prevent the media from publishing unlawfully-obtained records, clearly protected by law? Does he have a point? Or do we have a right to know? Is Mac’s legal antics tantamount to censorship as was alluded to? Was he right to say that for the media to throw in the “secrecy bill” into this whole saga was a cheap shot and a little too hysterical? What are your views on this whole saga?

Speaking of “secrecy bill” and media being hysterical, what then became talk of the country (and all over the media space)  following the Mac avs media showdown was how the NPA Act signals what is to come should the controversial Protection of State Information Bill be passed into law in its current form. The African National Congress (ANC) is now reportedly steamrolling the bill which will be voted before the National Assembly tomorrow (Tuesday), at which the ANC is expected to use its majority vote to rush the bill through.

The National Press Club (NPC) to observe what it calls "Black Tuesday" when Parliament is scheduled to vote on the controversial proposed legislation, in effort to protest against the ANC’s plan with the bill. This evoked a reaction from State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele's advisor Dennis Dlomo, who said that the media was not being honest about the bill. This after the minister himself had reportedly labelled those protesting against the bill proxies funded by foreign spies. Quite interesting actually to have the whole Honourable Minister of State Security being the one giving credence to conspiracy, isn’t it? Once again, is the media being hysterical about the Info Bill, or are there real concerns here? Find us on Facebook and Twitter and give us your views on the issue…

SOS Coalition to take decisive action regarding the SABC 

In the midst of the crises faced by print media as indicated in the above top story, problems seem to deepening at the public broadcaster. In fact, things are getting worse and worse so much so that the SOS Coalition has decided to explore a different strategy and plan of action.

Active calls for a serious action regarding the ongoing problems at the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) are expected to reach an all-time high this week on Thursday when The SOS: Support Public Broadcasting Coalition will be picketing outside the SABC offices. The hour-long protest action against the public broadcaster will take place outside the SABC headquarters in Johannesburg on Thursday from 1-2pm.

The Coalition says in its press statement that it has forwarded a series of letters including to the Chair of the SABC Board and to members of the SABC board calling for decisive action, but has received no formal reply to date. This, they say, is indicative of the deep leadership crisis that exists at the SABC, hence the decision to picket.

Among other demands the Coalition is making are the axing of the SABC Board Chair Ben Ngubane and the filling of critical top posts at the broadcaster such as that of the CEO, CFO and the COO.

Join the picket and join the course towards the betterment of the public broadcaster… you can also follow the picket live on Twitter via #sospicket on Thursday to get updates of what will be happening, as it happens.

16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign: what role is media expected to play? 

It’s that time of year again when gender equality voices in South Africa are amplified and speak out about what they think is important when it comes to women’s rights – it’s the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign. This is also a time when media tend to intensify coverage of issues around gender, especially violence against women, whereas often throughout the year media’s focus on gender dwindles.

So what type of reporting will we see in the media over the next few weeks and will it touch on some of the things that affect women most when it comes to gender-based violence, such as HIV/AIDS, prevalence of teenage pregnancies, broader impact of virginity testing on the rights of women and others? What type of coverage would you like to see in the media? What issues would like to see given more prominence? How would you like the media to cover the issues to sensitise the public and raise awareness on them?

Were you happy with how the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence Campaign has been covered before? What improvements would you like to see this year? What tips do you have for the media regarding its reportage of this important issue? Send your suggestions and views to us via Facebook and Twitter...we'd really like to hear from you.