Or, at least, that is what it looks like at first glance. Africa media freedom seriously threatened 1 may 2015, 18. Media watchdogs are voicing concern about curbs on press freedom. South africaindicating that the global deterioration in press freedom is not limited to autocracies or war zones. Aug 05, 2019 the press council of south africa has published an easytoread code of ethics manual for journalists titled decoding the code. Pdf the african national congresss radio freedom and.
Press freedom in south africa and why selfregulation i. Its my freedom of expression to say what i want and to have my own opinion. Monitoring and defending freedom of expression and privacy on. The first case of this nature involved the sale of church premises which sparked, among others, a facebook campaign in which the dutch reform church was likened to judas iscariot selling out for 30 pieces of silver.
Dw looks at the media in africa where restrictions range from subtle forms of. Media diversity and transformation media accountability. Media freedom remains under threat in southern africa, says amnesty international media freedom in sa is regarded as guaranteed but fragile and the countrys position in an international ranking. Monitoring and defending freedom of expression and privacy. South africa ranks 52nd out of 179 countries in reporters without borders rsfs 20 index of press freedom down from 42nd position the year before.
Media freedom remains under threat in southern africa. For both these countries, democracy brought greater and constitutionally protected freedom of the media. South africa unisa, and the department of journalism, film and television at the university of johannesburg uj. Subsaharan africa press freedom south africa dodged a bullet.
The freedom of the press report assesses the degree of media freedom in 199 countries and territories, analyzing the events and developments of each calendar year. Forget all the emotive arguments for and against selfregulation of the media. Where do we draw the line on freedom of expression in sa. I am honoured by the request of the national press club to. Less than five african countries today appear in the totally free category of. However, according to the reporters without borders worldwide press freedom index, south africa s press freedom ranking is slipping, dropping from 31 in 2005 to 44 in 2006. Media freedom in south africa broadcasting complaints. Their freedom provides for independent scrutiny of the forces that shape society, and is essential to realising the promise of democracy. The relationship between the president and the guptas, and its impact on south african media, is covered in. Media law and practice in southern africa 5 in south africa itself a liberal freedom of information regime has recently been enacted. Launched as a counter response to the void that was left by the banning of antiapartheid political activity in south africa, radio freedom initially conducted its broadcasting activities in south. South africas democratic constitution promotes liberal values the rights to freedom of expression, association and access to information in an environment. For example, journalist donald woods became renowned after he fled to live in the united kingdom in exile. This erosion of media freedom has mirrored the gradual loss of support for the governing party, the anc.
It was launched in 2012, and aims to promote participatory media and communications policymaking in the public interest in south africa. The right to freedom of expression insouthafrica jane duncan. Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the constitution and. Media freedom day in south africa marks the day in 1977 when the apartheid government banned two newspapersworld and weekend worldand a church journal, pro veritate, along with 18 black. Social media use has led to numerous law suits both in south africa and abroad. Some 1,000 people protest on november 22, 2011 outside the south african parliament in cape town against the protection of state information bill.
Attacks on journalists continue through physical intimidation and theres also the threat of new laws. Magazine issue 54 october 2017 in october, those of us working in the media sector and related fields pause to rememberread more. Although everyone in south africa has the right to freedom of expression in terms of section 16. Such is the gloomy summary of the state of media freedom in africa in 2010.
Africa media freedom seriously threatened amnesty international. For the worlds largest democracy india, elections fit as the. Each country and territory receives a numerical score from 0 the most free to 100 the least free, which serves as the basis for a status designation of free, partly free, or not. The 1991 windhoek declaration is a historic call for media freedom by african journalists. Freedom house 2016 classified south africa as partly free. In the world press freedom index 2016, south africa was ranked 39, the same position as in 2015. After the apartheid era, south africa tried to build a democratic and free media system. Media law and practice in southern africa obscenity laws and freedom of expression a southern african perspective no. An opportunity for aejmc and its members to play a leadership role in defining the terms of the debate over what freedom of the press means, where it applies, and what it. In the uk, chris cairns, a new zealand cricketer, won a law suit against lalit modi, the former chairman of the indian premier league, after modi accused him, on twitter of match fixing. Hate speech takes on a whole new meaning in fragile, volatile democracies like south africa. South africa has a constitutional legal framework protecting press freedom and a number of other pieces of law that promote editorial independence, media diversity, independent regulation and. In the words of judge chetty in braithwaite v mckenzie 2015 1 sa 270 kzp, in todays world the most effective, efficient and immediate way of conveying ones ideas.
Media freedom remains under threat in southern africa, says. The key differences between hate speech and free speech in. The rate of decline also accelerated drastically, with the global average score suffering its largest oneyear drop in a decade. Article pdf available in journal of southern african. What is more, an important part of the apartheid states strategy was to play to the fears of south africans. Dw looks at the media in africa where restrictions range from subtle forms of censorship to imprisonment for journalists just. It is this absolutist approach to the media that forms what has essentially been. The constitution of 1997 provides and guarantees freedom of expression, media freedom and independence and it contains a lot of legislation that regulates the media. Code of ethics manual for journalists protecting media freedom. Press freedom has a chequered history in south africa. The hope that south africa would be a beacon of media freedom and plurality when apartheid ended with the election of president nelson mandela has, sadly, faded. It is obvious that the campaign to make press freedom and freedom of expression. In southern africa, a decline in press freedom was observed in south africa with the harshening of press legislation. This text explores the dynamic and potentially explosive field of media ethics from a south african perspective.
Abstractthe hope that south africa would be a beacon of media freedom and plurality when apartheid ended with the election of president. The media space has changed a lot with the emergence of social media. Social media provide new and innovative means of giving south africans a voice and they can play an important role in safeguarding the right to freedom of expression. Sep 26, 2015 hate speech takes on a whole new meaning in fragile, volatile democracies like south africa. Pdf the round table media freedom in south africa martin. Colin sparks chapter contextualises contemporary south african media within. Substantial progress in the field of media freedom has been achieved in africa in the past 20 years. Philippines, and south africaattacked the credibility. Oct 26, 2018 south korea has seen dramatic rise in the latest world press freedom index. Media law handbook for southern africa konradadenauerstiftung. South africa icasa, the film and publications board fpb and others. There are two international covenants that impact on freedom of expression, the international covenant on. Among other things, she has conducted research into public broadcasting regulation in south africa, funding models for community radio, the impact of the criminalization of journalism in africa, media codes for elections, and mainstreaming gender. When, in 1977, the apartheid government banned the world and weekend world, and when percy qoboza was imprisoned for six months, without.
Then and now the shifts in anc media policy ambivalence 2. Oct 18, 2017 four decades after the black wednesday crackdown on the media and the black consciousness movement, south africa is a different country. Media freedom remains under threat in southern africa, says amnesty international media freedom in sa is regarded as guaranteed but fragile and. As emerging democracies in africa, the political communication systems of south africa and namibia have undergone major shifts since the early 1990s. This erosion of media freedom has mirrored the gradual loss of support for the governing. Nov 20, 2015 closer to home, there have been various lawsuits in south africa over defamatory statements made on social media. May 19, 2016 south africa has a constitutional legal framework protecting press freedom and a number of other pieces of law that promote editorial independence, media diversity, independent regulation and. Decoding the code is an ethics made easy manual or a code of ethics for dummies which attempts to simplify decisionmaking of complex and vexing questions of what to or not to publish under deadline pressures. The high road1 2 prof kobus van rooyen sc3 one i am honoured by the request of the national press club to deliver the percy qoboza memorial lecture. As south africa marks media freedom day, its clear that its battle isnt over.
Freedom of the press 2015, the latest edition of an an. Drawing on approximately 50 semistructured interviews with journalists, politicians and political intermediaries in south africa and namibia, as part of a multicountry comparative study, this article explores how values like freedom of speech, media responsibility and the democratic role of the media are understood by these various role. As we begin the new millennium, however, it is africa that still needs to overcome this authoritarian perception of the truth and grant the media freedom. Understanding the limits of freedom of expression in context. Looking at south africa, with a media freedom score of 33, the country ranks 69th out of 197 countries, overall, and second in sub.
The press council of south africa has published an easytoread code of ethics manual for journalists titled decoding the code. It is a platform that reflects the pulse of the society. Evident of some improvement, in 2008 the press freedom ranking picked up to 36. Oct 21, 2017 media freedom day in south africa marks the day in 1977 when the apartheid government banned two newspapersworld and weekend worldand a church journal, pro veritate, along with 18 black. Local media and civil society organisations such as the south african national editors forum sanef and the.
The first response to an accusation of defamation or hate speech may well be. Pdf the african national congresss radio freedom and its. While some sectors of the south african media openly criticised the apartheid system and the national party government, they were hampered by various amounts of government censorship during the years. The media are allowed only as much freedom as is consonant with preserving the status quo, while the ruling partys tolerance of a certain amount of criticism enables it to claim that media freedom exists in south africa. Although everyone in south africa has the right to freedom of expression in terms of section 16 of our constitution, this right can be and is limited.
It is not easy to write a book about media law in southern africa due to the difficulty in accessing. Jan 26, 2012 forget all the emotive arguments for and against selfregulation of the media. Alongside eritrea and ethiopia as two of the most censored countries in the world in first and fourth place respectively there are countries like namibia, ghana, cape verde and south africa that score highly when it comes to freedom of information even though those countries too experience challenges to media freedom. Freedom of the press 2015, the latest edition of an annual report published by freedom house since 1980, found that global press freedom declined in 2014 to its lowest point in more than 10 years. Here, protests, strikes and disputes rapidly escalate into extreme violence, and even death.
In the 2018 report, south korea is ranked 43rd, up 20 spots from the previous year. In these circumstances, it is hardly surprising that the media have come in for intense. Abstractthe hope that south africa would be a beacon of media freedom and plurality when apartheid ended with the election of president nelson mandela has, sadly, faded. Four decades after the black wednesday crackdown on the media and the black consciousness movement, south africa is a different country. Code of ethics and conduct protecting media freedom. The authors analysis of the south african normative. Media freedom in africa remains under attack inter press. The key differences between hate speech and free speech in south africa what you can and cant say in south africa remains a divisive issue. This chapter is also available in french as a downloadable pdf file at. After the arab spring and other dramatic political movements, this years index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the. South korea has seen dramatic rise in the latest world press freedom index. It enables citizens to make informed judgments on the issues of the day, a role whose centrality is recognised in the south african constitution. Hate speech and free speech are two entirely different. Grounded in ethical theory, the public philosophies of communication and media performance norms, this text provides guidelines for individual ethical decisionmaking to media practitioners and media groups.
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