Pluralism is a bigger priority than press ownership

by Guy Berger

 There's renewed focus on newspaper ownership by the ANC, even as the ruling party is becoming less hardline about the Media Appeals Tribunal and the Secrecy Bill.

Ownership by the ANC, even as the ruling party is becoming less hardline about the Media Appeals Tribunal and the Secrecy Bill.
Ownership was a prickly issue in parliament last week, when the Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) presented its annual report for the 2009/10 year.

Thumbs up for the Government Chief Communicator

By Themba Sepotokele

Give it to Themba Maseko. The Government Chief Spokesperson has an unenviable job of keeping the lid tight on government information until the right time, while on the other hand providing accurate and timely information to the media. He is the first person journalists will call to comment on issues of national interest, to confirm or deny what journalists were told by their sources and to comment on issues pertaining to government communication.

The Media Should Take Media Freedom Day Seriously

By Themba Sepotokele

As I entered the chastely centre near the Law Faculty at Wits University during the seminar on Media Freedom Day on Tuesday, October 21, I was greeted by rows and rows of empty chairs. I had hoped that the room would be filled to capacity as it was an important day for the media, especially with the discussion on the mooted Media Appeals Tribunal and the Protection of Information Bill.

The Collective Responsibility Project – Editorial Independence vs. Editorial Balance.

By George A. Hill

It was mid-winter in Cape Town; the kind of day where the South Easter blew violently and brought with it sharded raindrops. I had a long walk to the journalism department at what was then called Peninsula Technikon. Not even the horrid weather could keep me away from writing my entry exam to study journalism. Filled with ideals of changing the world and telling the people’s story of a newly-liberated South Africa, I sat down rain-soaked and battered and entered into my vocation as a truth-seeker.