by Carey Finn. The News24 editor-in-chief shares insights into staying strong — and safe — in SA news journalism, where media freedom and truth are increasingly under threat.
Tag archives: media freedom
Kate Skinner — keeping an eye on the fourth estate
by Carey Finn. The executive director of Sanef says it’s time for a media-ethics inquiry.
Dissident Spin Doctor: Assaulting our media — let slip the dogs of war
by Emma King. Has anyone else been worried about the recent outright and coordinated attack on our free media?
Media Report: The press freedom ‘hit parade’
a The Media Report 2014 feature by Jon Pienaar. Media freedom and open information are hallmarks of democracies. But even states that refer to themselves as democratic have resorted to curtailing press freedom in the name of ‘security’.
Bizos rules on contentious EWN cartoon
Primedia’s internal ombudsman, Adv George Bizos, SC, has found that, while Eyewitness News’s recent satirical political cartoon “A Congress of Clowns” “may have been in bad taste and facetious,” there were no grounds for a claim of defamation or racism, and that EWN’s “swift response” had been appropriate.
Ad of the Week: You have a right to know
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) Right2Know is an organisation that was formed in 2010 to oppose the Secrecy Bill, and it has continued to do so in the form of parliamentary lobbying, street demonstrations and various campaigns. The latest took the form of an email campaign by Ireland/Davenport.
Ad of the Week: Airbrushed into nothingness
by Oresti Patricios (@orestaki) The Mail & Guardian weekly newspaper is well known for its oppositional stance in South African politics, and once again has made its position clear with its latest print campaign, “Freedom is Knowing”, prepared by TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg.
BBC interview with father of Chad le Clos and why it is a loss for the free Internet
by Herman Manson (@marklives) In a stunning victory South African swimmer Chad le Clos took gold in the 200m butterfly at London 2012. Le Clos’s father, Bert, was being interviewed by the BBC shortly after Le Clos received his medal. His father, emotional and excited at once, gave an interview pundits in the States have referred to as the “media moment of the games so far.”
South Africans accessing the BBC website wanting to watch the interview with the farther of their newly minted national hero will receive nothing but the le clos father bbc interviewfollowing message “Cannot play media. Sorry, this media is not available in your territory.”
For the International Olympics Committee the free Internet is not a place to cross borders or a showcase of international co-operation. It is a stumbling block in coining it (more than usual).
Occupy Twitter in the name of the global citizen
Twitter can now censor tweets by country. National borders, drawn on paper and defended with razor wire and guns in the physical world, now have a presence on the internet as well. You won’t find politicians complaining — but maybe the rest of us should.
What the POI Bill says about the gradual erosion of our democracy
The Protection of Information Bill has just been steamrolled through and rubber-stamped by Parliament – a body tasked with balancing the demands of the executive with the best interests of their constituents – something it has consistently failed to do. In favour – and seeking the favour of – the executive.