More support to take MAT off the table

It suggests running ongoing campaigns to inform the public of their rights, ala the Broadcasting Complaints Commission adverts.

This follows calls made on Wednesday 11 August by City Press editor Ferial Haffajee and Wits University's Prof Anton Harber at the Critical Thinking Forum, hosted by Mail & Guardian and Amandla, for the ANC to take the proposed media appeals tribunal off the table.

While ProJourn believes that there is room to evaluate and strengthen the mechanisms through which the print media regulates itself, it fully agrees with comments made during this debate that such impetus for self-improvement should not come from the ANC, but rather from within the media itself.

It agrees that the media faces challenges in terms of ownership, transformation and diversity, a point made by Jackson Mthembu, the national ANC spokesperson, and concurred with by Harber and the AIDC's Mark Weinberg. It further agrees with Harber, who noted that the ANC is taking on the privately owned media but doing nothing about the broadcast and community media. Harber challenged the ANC to sort out the SABC and "get serious" about supporting community media first.

Ombudsman operating well

ProJourn believes that the much maligned press ombudsman has operated reasonably well, with a host of decisions going against the media, who have been ordered to publish apologies and corrections, often on their front pages.

Most recently, City Press was ordered to print a front-page correction in connection with a story relating to Matthews Phosa, while the Saturday Star was instructed to also publish a page one correction to a story relating to the murder of AWB leader Eugene Terre'Blanche.

These, as well as many other judgements - both in favour and against the press - when examined closely, show that there is no case for accusations of bias when it comes to the press ombudsman, contrary to the unwarranted and unsubstantiated criticism directed at this office by the ANC.

A retired judge listens to appeals and members of the public have recourse to the editor concerned, and the courts, besides lodging a complaint with the press ombudsman.

No need for alternatives, strengthen system

Mthembu made the point that while the media has come out strongly against the proposed media appeals tribunal no alternatives have been suggested. ProJourn believes that the alternatives would be, as suggested on several occasions, to review and strengthen the current system. There is no acceptable alternative to self-regulation.

A statutory body (and the statutory bit is the important part, as Harber stated) should not and could not be acceptable to the media, or any right-thinking citizen with an eye on their constitutional rights and hard-won freedoms.