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President Mbeki
The Chairperson and all members of SANEF present
Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Government Officials
Ladies and Gentlemen

On behalf of government, I wish to welcome all of you present to this historic meeting between representatives of government and representatives of the media.

The precursor to this workshop, of course, was the meeting between some members of the media and President Mbeki on 22 March.

That meeting was an important milestone as it raised critical issues about the relationship between government and the media and the challenges that face all of us in transforming a society such as ours.

The imperatives of our constitutional democracy have also imposed a new and stimulating environment for redefining our body politic and our approach to the challenges facing us as a country.

At the same time, we should not be blind to the damage that was caused by apartheid rule and the legacy we have to deal with as a result. For example the watchdog role of the media was severely curtailed. The media had to adopt various creative postures to deal with this challenge with its attendant distortions.

With the advent of the democratic order and the emphasis on freedom of expression and a human rights culture, a veritable floodgate was opened with regard to the lifting of all manner of restrictions on what the media could publish. The principles of transparency, accountability and responsibility that characterise our new order have made it even easier for the media to operate in, seek the truth and circulate information.

We are aware that the nature of change is invariably contested terrain, taking into account where we come from. The result of this will inevitably be that robust debate which will be the order of things.

Because of our past we have inherited a society that is ravaged by certain extremes with enormous challenges to reconcile the high expectations of all citizens in the country.

Our new dispensation should also lead to an evolving relationship and one that is less burdened than it has been over the last period. While recognising one another's independence, both government and the media should seek a common understanding of our common objectives and, in this, take into account the national interest and priorities.

At the same time, given our history and the fact that we are a young democracy and we all have to find our way on this new road which did not have a road map, it is perhaps inevitable that the relationship would have to experience stresses and strains in this initial transition period.

It is also true that there are differences on what we perceive our respective roles to be in this transition period. These perceptions are, no doubt, shaped by our different experiences in the past and present South Africa. There is no doubt that these are also influenced by the sectors in which we operate and, in turn, affect the objectivity that all of us strive to achieve in our daily working lives.

Let me further state categorically that freedom of speech is enshrined in our constitution, something all of us have striven hard to achieve, even if it cost the lives of some of our compatriots. It is a right that all of us here should surely still be prepared to fight for, and defend with our lives. But beyond that it is true that we sometimes differ on how we interpret the meaning and substance of that right.

Both of us have a shared commitment to inform the citizens of this country, a large portion of which is about what government is doing, over and above reporting on the events in society that interest everyone in a news sense.

We recognise the media has to, among others, ask frank questions about policy choices and how effectively delivery is taking place and how to improve upon policies and the implementation thereof.

In addition, there are also certain prevailing perceptions about the reporting and editorial problems that the media face. These include amongst others;

* Inexperienced journalists;
* Stories that contain factual mistakes and lacking in focus and purpose;
* Poor research stories lacking depth and analysis;
* Poor judgement of story selection;
* Lack of balance in the treatment of stories;

This then tend to give credence to the view that the media is not really an integral part of the transformation process and the unfolding African Renaissance

We also need to look at news values and how you arrive at them - what to cover and what not to cover, in other words what is newsworthy and what is not newsworthy. What remains an open question is what criteria are used to determine what is newsworthy and who determines that.

Given the fact that we have all been part of the history of this country, and have been affected by it in one way or the other, should the media play a role of mere social observers, or should members of the media become part and parcel of the transformation process in our country.

Our coming together this weekend is aimed at encouraging open, frank and constructive debate and discussion. We should therefore not approach this workshop as two homogeneous blocs, but to enrich our understanding of our respective roles and how it can assist with the development in our country.
We look forward to a vigorous exchange that reflects the diversity of views on the issues at hand as represented by the range of views, opinions and perspectives.

Through our continued interaction we hope to ensure rich discourse of issues at hand in our society. It is in nobody's interest that this relationship sometimes degenerate to a level of distrust and acrimony as has sometimes happened over the last period.

May all of us therefore keep focused on these mutually agreed upon objectives of the workshop over the next two days as we seek to gain a better understanding of each other, the nature of a transforming society and the change that is required to improve the quality of life of our people. I for one am looking forward to the exchanges and the dynamic interaction in an environment designed to seek solutions, rather than merely focusing on the fault lines.

This is the spirit that we would like in this workshop, namely open and honest discussion and debate. At the end of it, we must emerge with a clearer understanding of what tasks each one of us has ahead of us to ensure that we achieve our objective of a truly non-racial, non-sexist society.

As we move steadily, but surely towards consolidating our democracy, it is essential for us to deepen our understanding of each other and strengthen our partnership in order to reach our common objective of informing the public, appropriately, in an objective, fair and balanced manner that will enhance transformation and create a better life for all South Africans.

I thank you.

Issued by The Presidency

29 June 2001