Birth of Press Council amid furore

Read more about what Guy Berger has to say concerning the “hard work ahead” for the Press Council here.

Blacklisting

Business Day writes that the FXI “may have lost a ‘key witness' in its upcoming hearing against the SABC on the blacklisting of some political commentators and journalists”, the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD). According to the Mail & Guardian Online, the SABC has denied blacklisting Middle-East commentators. In response, the FXI late yesterday evening released a statement on the SABC's clarification of its agreement with the SAJBD, finding that it raises more questions.

Meanwhile, SANEF has welcomed the dismissal of the interdict preventing the Mail & Guardian from publishing a report about alleged corruption, abuse of power and intimidation by a senior official at the SABC.

According to a press statement issued yesterday, Thursday 2 August, SANEF “trusts that Judge Preller's judgment and his statements on the duties of newspapers to publish and inform the public – especially when public monies are involved – will influence other judges to make the right decision when similar gagging interdicts are sought by people who are being criticised or their alleged activities exposed by the media”.

“What was it all for?”

And despite Mafika Sihlali, the SABC head of legal services, threatening to press charges on Wednesday 1 August against the Mail & Guardian and Sunday Times newspapers (see SABCnews.com), today's editorial from the Mail & Guardian Online, entitled “No such luck, Sihlali!” asks: “What was it all for? After twice blocking the publication of allegations against him based on an internal SABC audit report – and causing enormous inconvenience to the Mail & Guardian – SABC legal chief Mafika Sihlali failed to file papers or even make an appearance at the final interdict hearing on Wednesday this week.”

“Waiting for a response”

SABCnews.com reports that the SABC board has said that it “expects to make a statement on a leaked Internal Audit Unit report, detailing allegations of corruption and abuse against one of its employees, in the next few days” (click here) and that the board is “still waiting for a response from Mafika Sihlali, the head of the corporation's legal services, with regard to corruption allegations levelled against him” (click here).