Not that any relationship between Government and media should be warm and cosy, because that would simply imply that one has control of the other and the victim of a relationship that is too warm and cosy is the democracy itself.
For a democracy to function properly, there always has to be some tension between government and the media. But, for this tension to be constructive, both the media and government need to known when to get visibly and vociferously upset about something and when to just keep their traps shut.
And most importantly, for both to get their facts straight.
Super-sensitive
Unfortunately in South Africa, we have a ruling party and a mainstream media that are both extremely sensitive to criticism.
Government and particularly the ruling party are not shy to voice their disdain of media these days, with ministers lining up to complain about how they have been misquoted or not quoted at all.
They are becoming paranoid about the media, but in my opinion, they are nowhere near as paranoid as our mass media.
While South Africa's media are very good at handing out criticism in bucket loads, they do not like getting it back at all. To say that they are sensitive is putting it mildly.
Both to blame
I firmly believe that right now, neither side can be blamed entirely for the impasse, lack of trust and complete lack of respect that exists between the media and government and ruling party today.
On one hand, government and the ANC do lay themselves open to criticism and satire. They make strange, knee-jerk statements and communicate decisions to the public either very late, very badly or both.
On the other hand, as the recently released report on the Sunday Times showed, the South African media has been making too many mistakes far too often. So much so, that it is safe to say that the standard of SA journalism leaves a lot to be desired.
Telling both sides of a story used to be a cast-in-concrete paradigm in the mass media in this country but these days this is by no means necessary for publications and broadcasters. Personal opinions and political bias among journalists have long been creeping into what should be objective reportage.
Media arrogance
Frankly, government, politicians and big business have a legitimate beef when it comes to unfair treatment by the media. And, quite frankly, the media's self-regulation teeth have become blunt and ineffectual. Making reparation for mistakes, particularly in newspapers, leaves a lot to be desired and there is still the perception that apologies take place in fine print on page 55 [Here's an interesting article on How to ask a newspaper for a correction from Ragan's PR Daily Europe - managing ed].
There is a lot of arrogance in our media today, so much so that freedom of the press and freedom of expression are as much under threat from the media as they are from the ANC.
Quite clearly, while Government needs to get to grips with its own people tipping off the media and perhaps start to shoot them instead of the messenger, it also needs to get its act together in the way and speed with which it responds.
The mass media has to get its houses in order as well, because right now it's a mess, with dirty laundry all over the place.
If the media wants to avoid things such as protection of information acts and all sorts of other muzzling threats, they need to get their own houses in order and go back to the basics of objective reporting. And, most of all, avoid sensationalism for the sake of sales.
There is no question that journalists in SA today are not as well trained as they should be. They are also under an inordinate amount of pressure in terms of job security because of the tough times and threat of the unknown most mass media are still experiencing.
Sensationalism
Many are trying to make their mark and stand out above the crowd. Some are achieving this by simply doing a really great job. But, far too many are grabbing at dodgy sensationalist straws to make names for themselves. A problem exacerbated by newsroom hierarchy by not putting enough effort into checking facts before rushing into print or onto air.
Government, the ANC and the media need to grow up and start behaving like responsible adults instead of churlish adolescents.
A tribunal, daresay?
Of course it would be really tempting to say that, to help them both on their way to adulthood, an independent tribunal might be the answer. I stress the word INDEPENDENT.
But frankly, I don't believe that Government, the ANC and especially the media have the guts to allow adjudication of disputes by a body over which they have no control or influence.
But, they can't go on like this. Something has to happen before something breaks irreparably.
Government, the ANC and the mass media are equally to blame for the unacceptably high level of timewasting twis that exists among them. They all need to grow up and sort it out.
