Independent community newspapers vital, says Carrim COMMUNICATIONS Minister Yunus Carrim told community newspaper publishers in Johannesburg on Friday that it was especially important to preserve the independence and quality of community print publications. Mr Carrim was speaking at the Association of Independent Publishers (AIP) conference in Boksburg, which Public Protector Thuli Madonsela and members of the media also attended. AIP deputy president Moses Moyo said community publications around the country struggled to procure advertising from retailers to sustain their operations, although the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has committed 30% of its advertising budget to advertise in community newspapers. Mr Moyo said the independent press, which produces 7-million print copies monthly with a readership of close to 28-million, would also work to improve content in community papers and organise the subsector. President Jacob Zuma, in a recent address to Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) journalism students, said reports from the media had a negative impact on perceptions about South Africa, and he proposed that equal media attention be devoted to positive developments. In the same week, however, Mr Zuma made an unexpected about-turn on the Protection of State Information Bill, referring the controversial document back to the National Assembly for adjustments because the current bill "did not pass constitutional muster". Mr Carrim replaced Dina Pule as communications minister after a cabinet reshuffle in July. Towards the end of her tenure Ms Pule clashed with weekly newspaper Sunday Times over reports of her management of the department and allegations that her alleged boyfriend, Phosane Mngqibisa, benefited improperly from his relationship with her. Mr Carrim said the freedom of the press reflected the quality of the country’s constitution, and condemned the recent arson attack on Zamdela-based community radio station Karabo FM as an attack on that media freedom. "The independent media is crucial to the freedom of the press. The ANC and the government, whatever you might think, have a long heritage of advocating media freedom," Mr Carrim said. He said the independent media strengthened democracy through its propensity to give voice to diverse views, "which would otherwise never be heard". "This media seems to be less sensational and somewhat more informative and educational in ways that the mainstream media isn’t. It is also through this form of media that the diversity of our languages finds expression," he said. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela said protection of media freedom was always crucial as no ombudsman office or watchdog body in South Africa could do its work in holding the powerful to account effectively without the vigilance of the media. "The media shines a light on abuses of power. They expose those who abuse public power but they also shed light when big business misbehaves," she said, citing price-fixing of bread and the collusion of construction companies in the construction of stadiums for the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Mathatha Tsedu, director of the Print and Digital Media Transformation Task Team, said while it was good that the government would direct some of its advertising business to community papers, he was concerned that a high concentration of state advertising would create community papers overly dependent on the state, and so compromise independence of content. He also said he did not entirely agree with Mr Zuma’s proposal to the TUT journalism students about media coverage in South Africa. "I agree that positive and negative developments both deserve coverage. But I don’t agree with the president’s assertion that Mexican media ignores crime stories out of patriotism. Mexican media ignores those issues because covering them would leave the reporters vulnerable to gang violence in the country," Mr Tsedu said. Mr Tsedu said the task team had concluded its report on the pace of transformation in print and digital media and it would be released soon. BDLive
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 14:00:18 +0000
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