Mohamed Ameen Dabhelia – 2016-06-24

Right2Know activists stood in solidarity with allied organisations at a picket outside ICASA in Sandton earlier today.

The regulator’s Complaints and Compliance Committee (CCC) heard a formal complaint brought by Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition (SOS) and the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) regarding the SABC’s decision to ban visuals of the destruction of property in protests across its news and current affairs bulletins.

R2K Media Freedom and Diversity Organiser Micah Reddy says another spontaneous protest took place at the SABC offices in Cape Town after three of its journalists were suspended.

“SABC Journalists were suspended after getting into a disagreement with the SABC management opposing a decision to cover our protest on Monday.”

Last week Monday R2K had a national protest against the SABC management, which yielded a good turnout especially in Johannesburg.

“We’ve said that we will keep the pressure on the SABC, the backlashes against the decision on the part of management to ban visuals of violent protests have been quite encouraging.”

Reddy says that there has been influence on the SABC and on Hlaudi Motsoeneng in particular from political parties.

“This is a classic example of state capture, this is a fractionally undermining the editorial independence at the SABC.

He says that there is a concerted effort and a systematic plan to bring a particular faction within the SABC into the ANC’s sphere of control.

Reddy says that although it might be very difficult to write off the SABC, South Africans are losing hope in the national broadcaster.

“This is the most important media machine in the country, in as sense that it has such a wide reach among ordinary South Africans.”

He says that although history should have conclusively proved to the SABC that it was wrong to ban coverage of violent protests, the carnage in many parts of Tshwane this week should remove any doubt that censorship of these events could reduce the number of protests.

“In spite of the SABC’s ban, the Tshwane uprising has proved to be one of the most violent of all social protests in recent times, not only that, but protesters themselves chased news teams out of the affected areas proving they weren’t just trying to get publicity for their cause by playing up to the media.”

Reddy adds that the R2K demands an SABC that deals with violence associated with protests by contextualising it and treating it with the nuance and sensitivity it deserves, rather than pretending it doesn’t exist.

Twitter: @thedabhelia