Cabinet/Sanef Indaba

Mr President, members of the Cabinet, fellow editors ...

Today's gathering finds us - the government and the media - in an intriguing and challenging relationship.

We are joined in contest as much as in concord. Each of us is indispensable to the national project of democratic change, but capable of meeting our own exacting goals only by maintaining a respectful distance, an independence, from each other. This can be, and often is, misunderstood.

Because, far from being merely a form of intellectual fratricide, our robust partnership is really an association of faith ... faith in liberty, faith in human dignity, faith in the freedom of people to speak, decide and act for themselves.

On the face of it, the robustness and tension in the relationship between the media and government can be taken as a natural and healthy consequence of section 16 of our constitution, the right we all have to speak freely.

Yet the South African National Editors’ Forum is concerned that the present level of mistrust and animosity has gone beyond a tolerable and acceptable point, and thus damage South Africa's young democracy.

We feel there's a fundamental misunderstanding of the role and the current state of the South African media, and its ability, for various reasons, to fully and accurately reflect the transformation process.

This is a pity, because the truth is, South African editors do not disagree with President Thabo Mbeki's definition of press freedom, a concept, as he put it that "amounts to no more and no less than the elementary right of all people to have unfettered access to the means of truly expressing their opinions and conversely having access to media that fully reflect their life experience and their aspirations".

We concur.

And, as Sanef, we concede there's too much shallowness, superficiality and unprofessionalism in the South African media, deficiencies which are a discredit to our profession - but deficiencies that much of our programme of action is focused on remedying. In a sense, South African media are grappling with the same issues of transformation as the rest of our society, including government.

That said, our candid assessment of the vital conditions under which we relate to each other reveals inadequacies in the government's ability to communicate, an inability to properly articulate policies and programmes and an inclination to resort too easily to media bashing when failures and mistakes are reported.

To be frank, we sometimes wonder whether or not politicians who call themselves democrats fully support the sentiments expressed by Justice Murray L. Gurfein in his telling judgment in the Pentagon Papers case of 1971:

"The security of our nation is not at the ramparts alone. Security also lies in the value of our free institutions. A cantankerous press, an obstinate press, a ubiquitous press must be suffered by those in authority in order to preserve the even greater values of freedom of expression and the right of the people to know."

As it happens, we have a view, based on independent research, that there are indeed misperceptions about how government is portrayed in the media, and that these misperceptions regrettably inform the negative opinions about the media, held by people in government.

The question is, how do we begin to develop a better understanding of the role of media in a transforming society?

Let's look at the conditions of today, the conditions under which we operate, and under which we are perceived.

Media performance was a mixed bag during the apartheid years: some media wholeheartedly supported apartheid, especially the SABC; others opposed aspects such as so-called petty apartheid and torture while still broadly supporting the white establishment; and yet more played a prominent campaigning role against the system.

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But even the most vocal institutions behind the call for change during the apartheid years were among the tardiest in changing themselves, especially in the nineties. Ironically, it was the SABC itself that was the quickest to change.

Albeit patchy, with even some reversals, change has also come in ownership. When South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994, the media were more or less in the hands of the white minority, but over the past seven years changes have been made which brought about a level of black ownership.

Such changes include well-documented shifts in ownership; publication of new media for the black market; black shareholding in commercial broadcasting; and black ownership in the community radio sphere.

What about equity in the newsrooms and studios of this array of media?

It is fair to say South African media have advanced some way in matching their editors, reporters and broad staff components to the demographic reality. As their representation here shows, there is still much work to be done. Internal training programmes and tertiary-level bursaries for previously disadvantaged students are in place in all media institutions ... something we'll deal with in greater length in due course.

Suffice it to say, bringing equity to staff composition takes time. And it's worth noting that a serious problem the media encounter is that their investment in money and time in the training of previously disadvantaged young reporters is often lost when government departments and other private companies woo these reporters away.

While focusing attention on its own pressing national agenda, the media cannot afford to overlook the global factors that impinge directly on its chances of success.

Newspapers in South Africa, as much as elsewhere in the world, function in a market that strongly emphasises the bottom line of financial viability.

In fact, in South Africa the media – public and private – function in a liberal market economy, designed by government.

South African newspapers have followed the international trend in which afternoon daily newspapers, especially, face a serious threat from television and other media.

Numerous newspapers have had to close down since the beginning of the 1980s, including alternative newspapers which played an important role in the struggle against apartheid.

Newspapers face serious problems in five areas, all endangering their important role in democratic societies:

Globally the percentage of people reading newspapers is dropping and the percentage of household subscriptions is the lowest in history. This is the "silent crisis" of newspapers. Advertisers demand deeper penetration of households than many newspapers deliver.

Globally, according to the World Association of Newspapers, 23 out of 39 countries have shown circulation decreases since 1995.

And 26 out of 39 countries have shown falls in their share of advertising revenue over the same period.

And these circulation falls are reflected locally according to Audit Bureau of Circulation in both the circulations of daily and weekly newspapers.

Though newspapers are - and always were - the largest single advertising medium, the ad rand is being divided among an ever-increasing market of competitors. Ad revenue is growing faster for television and other competitors, and income newspapers once counted on almost automatically is being divided among a large number of advertising media.

Competing media are developing target market capabilities desired by advertisers. So, for instance, direct mail, the world's fastest growing ad medium, can deliver advertiser messages to narrowly focused audiences.

But newspapers, which are broadly based in content, have difficulty meeting advertisers' demand for target marketing.

Many well-financed competitors, including telephone companies, are working on "bypass technology" - what they hope will be attractive, low-cost electronic methods of end-running newspapers. The goal is to deliver at least some news (and lots of advertising), as well as entertainment and other services, directly to homes, not through newspapers.

And, finally, the cost of newsprint ... Of all newspaper costs, only the salary bill is larger. And none is as subject as newsprint to marketplace pricing pressure. Newsprint prices in South Africa have increased by 16 percent in 2001 with the main suppliers, Sappi and Mondi, preferring to export. The price fluctuates between R3 700 and R4 000 per ton.

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So, for all media, the fragmentation of the market means that the bottom line - the profit - becomes ever more endangered as the pool of advertising and potential customers is diverted into many small streams.

One result of this is that indigenous languages, especially in the print media, are seriously neglected.

It has been noted by GCIS Chief Executive Officer Joel Netshitenzhe, that newspapers are read by less than a fifth of the population, "because many do not read and many others cannot afford newspapers or find that the only thing to read in their area are road signs."

The President underlined this point when he complained of the difficulty of gaining coverage of the rural areas, places where, as he put it, "people are working very hard at changing their lives ... but to get a journalist from Johannesburg to drive 500 kilometers on a dirt road, is not easy."

Unfortunately, the fragmentation of the media market means that its function to inform the public in remote areas is seriously curtailed and thus democracy suffers. In newspaper and magazine publishing, distribution costs, particularly for labour and transportation, have soared to 30 percent or more of the circulation departments' total costs, thus becoming a keen threat to profits.

Today, these publishers must carefully select areas of circulation to maximise potential advertising needs among established customers.

The hard truth is that without advertising support, circulation is a cost factor, not a profit generator.

The electronic media – public and private – are, in many ways, confronted with similar competitive challenges.

In the case of the public broadcaster, the main challenge is to function in a mainly commercial environment while carrying a huge public mandate with dwindling financial input from the State.

PBS is expected to

• Broadcast in 11 official languages
• Have news and public affairs programming
• Have educational programming
• Provide services for women, children, the youth and disabled
• Provide developmental and minority sports programming

PCBS is expected to

• Apply the same rules as private commercial broadcasting services
• Comply with same PBS programming values
• Cross-subsidise the PBS
• Control costs and identify revenue streams

Against this background, where does the media really stand, and what are its commitments?

As I mentioned earlier, it is our belief that misperceptions and misconceptions on both sides have bedevilled the relationship between media and government. It has also led to an erroneous impression that South African media are not committed to the future, but are gratuitously negative about it.

Consider this comment by President Mbeki in a recent interview with Hugo Young of the London Guardian: "You see, I think to some extent the press does itself a disservice because it's producing a fair amount of sceptism among many people".

In contrast, a recent study by Media Tenor SA has shown that contrary to popular perceptions, the South African media is overwhelmingly neutral and/or positive about government.

Media Tenor found that 68% of all daily and weekly media reports between February 2000 and January 2001 were positive or without a clear rating.

Significantly, Media Tenor's research substantiates a survey conducted by Comtask in 1996. (Raymond)

But let's be fair. There have been some failures.

While news organisations like the SABC have made huge strides in transforming their newsrooms, it is true that many newsrooms do not reflect the demographics of the communities they serve mainly because of a lack of skills and an inadequate talent pool. This must be blamed in part on the inequitable state of apartheid education and the difficulty of transforming the education system.

We must also accept that there has been a loss of skills as a result of changes in the country - restructuring arising from the changing climate in which media businesses operate, and the poaching of talents by the government, among others.

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Yet, it is simply not true to say the media plays no part in community projects. Various media organisations devote extensive resources to community projects, from education to fund-raising initiatives, job creation projects to HIV/Aids awareness campaigns.

Furthermore, most companies encourage their editors, through their letters of appointment and conditions of employment, to promote and support a nonracial and democratic South Africa and all its institutions. Injunctions to be constructive rank alongside the conventional standards of accuracy, fairness and honesty in media groups' codes of ethics.

And the Minister of Labour will confirm that most media organisations have pledged themselves to the equity process. This is borne out in data submitted at the end of the first year of implementation of the Employment Equity Act.

In summary, then, our faith in the democratic project is unquestionable.

Government transparency and openness in administration is as critical to democracy as it is to the media's capacity to inform.

One of Sanef's ancillary objectives is to encourage government to ensure transparency and openness in administration and to pass laws ensuring maximum freedom of information. Thus, Sanef would like to congratulate Government on the introduction of the Promotion of Access to Information Act. However there are concerns that good thought is not necessarily being translated into good deed. The problem areas seem to be administration and finance.

At the administrative level, the core problem is poor communication between government and the media. There is a gap between our expectations of each other and the reality. Journalists need, but often don't get, quick responses, and access to the right people at the right time.

The problem is exacerbated by the poor performance of government media liaison officers as well as a lack of understanding by some of them of the basic tenets of journalism and how the media works.

Among the practical things we will examine in the commissions to follow are problems as we see them - and suggested solutions - in governance and administration, justice, the economy, the social sphere, international relations and in the general ambit of press freedom.

Typically, problems include poor communication; insufficient access to key officials; and a lack of understanding of media needs, and - on the part of the media - of government constraints. This precis does not do justice to the complexity of issues we shall deal with over the next two days.

In essence, our practical suggestions and recommendations can be summarised as follows:

The President briefs editors at least twice a year, setting the tone for ministers to do likewise with editors and political correspondents;

Media should accept criticism from government as part of the cut and thrust of democracy and where an individual title or station is wrong, it should acknowledge it. However at the same time, the media as an entirety should not be blamed for any lapse by one title or station;

Standards for government MLO at all levels should be established and the head of GCIS should be given the powers to watch over their performances and make appropriate recommendations to their principals;

Training available to journalists should be made use of by all levels of government officials and public representatives so that there can be a greater understanding of the role of the media in society and how news organisations work;

The journalism elements in the training of an MLO should be the same as that for journalists themselves; and the media should be prepared to be part of workshops/visits to improve the relations between the media and MLOs.

On press freedom, we state unequivocally that the media as an institution is as committed to the Constitution as everybody else, committed to transformation and deracialising society and its own - media - institutions, ending the oppression of women and uplifting deprived communities.

Our role is clear: it is to

• inform the public;
• keep guard over the public interest - be a watchdog;
• be accountable to our shareholders and the public; and
• fulfil our role as an indispensable pillar of an open democracy.

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To achieve this:

• we must be independent and economically viable;
• we must have access to state and private institution information;
• legislation that infringes the constitutional rights of freedom of expression, media freedom and the right to information should be scrapped;
• diversity, crucial to ensuring different viewpoints are in the marketplace of ideas, must be promoted;
• the media should be allowed to regulate itself by subscribing to the highest ethical standards and fulfilling its responsibilities as the Fourth Estate.
• the media should strive to improve the quality of journalism and strenghten the watchdog role of the institution through ongoing education and training;
• the government must re-commit itself to the independence of the media and the creation of an environment in which a media industry can grow and prosper; and
• the media must have more regular access to the President and Cabinet as well as directors general as part of an overall strategy to communicate with the public.

We offer these thoughts and insights in a spirit of candour, transparency and trust.

We are here to reinforce an important dialogue, to attempt to be both specific and constructive - and to recognise in a practical way the value of the relationship between the government and the media.

This paper confirms a divergence of views on many issues affecting South Africa's media, but there also seems to be a general consensus on the role of a critical and free media as a democratic value. We have, we believe, demonstrated here the media's commitment to South Africa in word and deed.

And it is that sentiment that we hope will inspire the way forward.

In conclusion, Sanef commits itself to the following:

1. Improving the standards of journalism in South Africa through training, our involvement with the journalism SGB and the pending skills audit.

2. Improving the ethical codes of South African journalism and to this we will proceed with a two-day seminar on Freedom of Expression and Self-Regulation in the Media.

3.Continuing to promote community projects like Newspaper in Education campaigns, Aids awareness campaigns and projects to support struggling institutions and individuals and making ourselves available to assist with skills transfer in whatever MDDA projects come about.

4. Assisting government and its employees to gain a greater understanding of the media through interaction of all kinds.

Together with Sanef's broad aims and objectives, we believe consensus on these key points would form an excellent basis to plot the way forward.

This workshop is in many ways unique and unlikely to be repeated soon. It's therefore imperative, if our efforts are not to be wasted, that we find a mechanism to sustain this dialogue.

But, Mr President, I want to end on a provocative note:

In the end, the expectation of both ordinary members of the public and government on what the media in South Africa can deliver, must take cognisance of the economic environment in which we operate.

It would indeed be foolhardy for a government hell-bent on a capitalist market system to expect the media that operate in that environment to deliver or operate on the basis of an agenda that is essentially socialist.

Thank you.