Media Monday - hot topics and topics that make us hopping mad! 28 November 2011

Posted: 28 November 2011 | News - Newsletter | Categories: Media Freedom and Performance

Here is what’s on the menu this Media Monday:

  • Hosting COP 17, should we be feeling green?
  • It’s Aluta Continua for Secrecy Bill
  • Malema is finished: really?
  • Your 2012 Media Wish List

Is media excitement around COP 17 ignores real issues? 

Today marks the start of COP 17, hosted in Durban. The event is described as a Conference held annually by the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – which entered into force in 1995 to assess progress in dealing with climate change. The Conference of the Parties, or COP as it is widely known or termed, adopts decisions and resolutions, published in reports of the COP.  Successive decisions taken by the COP make up a detailed set of rules for practical and effective implementation of the Convention.

The Conference has grabbed international headlines, and local media has also come to the party in coverage of this global showpiece. In fact, we started hearing or reading about COP 17 well before its start today. As world leaders put heads together in our background to make decision about world climate and climate change, which will affect us and future generations, we ask, what the media’s role in the Conference is.  Also if hosting this conference is such a big deal why are we making so little out of it?  Admittedly football has more money but working to ensure sustainability on our planet is actually a bigger deal (and it doesn’t make FIFA richer, so it must be better anyway) so why aren’t we celebrating this more?

We actually threw a couple of questions your way a few weeks ago in our Media Monday Bulletin about COP 17. Among other things, we wanted to know if the media made you understand what the COP 17 is exactly all about; if you understand the crux of the matter and issues that will be under discussion at the meeting; what’s next after the Conference, who will be there, who can attend, who are the main players, why is this taking place in our own backyard…etc?

We also wanted to know if the media coverage was informative enough for you as members of the public to get an idea of what it is and what it means for you; and how it involves you; why is it of your concern; and why you should care about COP17. And also whether the event is being portrayed as one for only the elite?

Trade union federation Cosatu has publicly passed its “vote of no-confidence” in the Conference, mainly because civil society (ordinary you and me, basically) will get no chance to take part in the COP 17 proceedings. Workers and the poorest of the poor are ultimately the ones who will feel the real effects of global warming and climate change, that’s basically what Cosatu is saying.

The question then becomes: has the media related to the public and the poor what implications climate change, COP 17, and the decisions taken at the Conference are for them?

Some have indicated a big silence and lack of public debate around the hosting of COP 17. The argument here is that climate issues are closely interlinked with social issues, with the poor of course being the ones who will feel its worst impact.  If we cannot get a global event like this to help focus and have more debates on inequality what will it take?

All these questions aside, the media has really gotten all excited about this event judging by how it grabbed all the headlines today, and even prior to its start. But is the media just excited about it and having something to report on, or does the media’s attention to the Conference show its commitment to environmental issue including climate change? Are we going to see lots of coverage on climate change and environmental issues only during COP 17, or will there be consistency in coverage? And why are the media and our government not using COP 17 to paint SA in a positive light to the world? Give us your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter…

 

Protection of Information Bill: the latest 

The nation observed what many have called “Black Tuesday” last week following a call by the National Press Club (NPC) to the masses to wear black in protest against the Protection of State Information Bill, aka Secrecy Bill. The Bill was put to a vote in the National Assembly and supported despite widespread condemnation from every quarter.

While some have felt betrayed, Ferial Haffajee wrote that her heart broke a little, but the battle is not yet lost.  The next stop for the Bill is the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) which would either give it a go ahead as is, or suggest it be amended and sent back to the National Assembly. The NCOP has reportedly established an ad hoc committee to deal with the Bill, and the SA Editors Forum (SANEF) has welcomed the move.

Meanwhile the National Press Club has called on the nation to observe another Black Tuesday tomorrow in a show of solidarity in fighting against the Bill. This, according to the NPC’s Yusuf Abramjee, is to keep the momentum going and create awareness, and to send a loud and clear message to the government that there was widespread dissatisfaction about the bill.

Is there anyone other than the ANC (and SACP, who said that protests against the Bill are out to weaken and undermine state security) who supports the Bill? Even their very own Cosatu is against it and has made it clear it is willing to approach the Constitutional Court to fight it. And teachers’ union Sadtu has also added its voice in support of Cosatu on the issue. Does this not go to show that something is not on with the Bill, really?

The Nelson Mandela Centre of Memory has also put forward a position paper in which it not only analyses the Bill, but also outlines the remaining flaws it has found in its reading and analysis of it. The flaws and concerns are even outlined in a summary which is actually quite a fair and balanced reading of the Bill. Read it to get what the Bill is actually all about, how it concerns you and why you should be fighting it, and what the noise is about regarding it. Feel free to direct some questions and comments our way on Facebook and Twitter after having a look…

 

Is Malema really “finished”? 

 The Sunday Times reported this past weekend that Julius Malema is finished politically, and will go into cattle farming following his finished political career. But is Malema really “finished”? And what did he mean when he said he was finished, as he is reported to have said so?

Malema has, along with other ANCYL leaders, appealed their suspension by the ANC, and despite this reported admission, he also said in the interview that he hasn’t resigned himself to the fact that he will be out of the ANC. He further indicated that he would not go down without a fight. Quite interesting answers from a man who’s “finished”, isn’t it?

From a media perspective though, does this continuous coverage of Malema mean that we are going to still see more of him in the news even if he is out of the ANC? Tawana Kupe once wrote: "...if Malema did not exist, the media would invent him". Will the media prove correct Kupe’s statement?

 

What is your “Media Wish for 2012”? 

We are fast approaching the end of the year, and what an eventful year it has been media-wise. Media Matters has brought many major, and some less major media issues to your attention and we have loved the feedback from you regarding such issues. We have as a result of your views and opinions had a great success in debating media issues and bringing them to your attention.

We thought it’s only fitting that we ask you to give us your wish for 2012 is, media-wise. For the remaining Media Monday Bulletins we will be asking you to give us your “Media Wish for 2012” on some of the most pertinent media issues featured and discussed throughout the year.

Right up there is our crisis lurching public broadcaster, the SABC, which has been rocked by scandal after scandal. We know for sure that you are not happy with the repeats of old (many foreign) programmes on your television screens! I mean let’s be real here, how many times have you seen David Husslehof or a S’dumo on your tv screen just this year alone?

This Media Monday we ask you: What is your 2012 wish for the SABC? What change(s) would you like to see at the SABC next year (and beyond)? Send your “2012 Media Wish List” to us via Facebook and Twitter.