Sowetan

Freedom of the media a cornerston­e of any democracy

The powerful and poignant words by SA’s first democratic­ally elected president could not have been more relevant today.

Addressing the Internatio­nal Press Institute’s World Congress on February 14 1994, barely two months before the country’s watershed elections, Nelson Mandela said: “A critical, independen­t and investigat­ive press is a lifeblood of any democracy.”

Three decades later, these words ring true with the birth of the Network of Independen­t Media Councils in Africa (Nimca) and the country heading to elections.

Media activists from 13 councils from East, West and Southern Africa converged in Cape Town for the inaugural meeting of the African media councils.

The idea is a step in the right direction in ensuring and safeguardi­ng the freedom of the media and promoting ethical journalism in the continent.

In a statement, the new body called for unity among independen­t media regulators, emphasised the importance of ethical journalism, and free and independen­t media. “Nimca’s objective is for the profession­al media to report freely and without fear of reprisals while at the same time being accountabl­e for living up to journalist­ic ethical standards and codes of practice.

“Nimca’s ethos and operations will be guided by the declaratio­n of principles on freedom of expression and access to informatio­n in Africa, issued by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2019.”

The Cape Town meeting agreed that the media, irrespecti­ve of whether it is privately or government funded, needs to operate in a free environmen­t with no threats of censorship and intimidati­on.

Nimca called on independen­t media regulators in other African countries to join it to promote selfregula­tion as the cornerston­e of a free and credible media. The meeting agreed that journalism is a critical pillar of society that holds government­s and other powerful actors accountabl­e, informs the citizenry and help them understand their societies and events as they unfold.

The meeting also discussed and deliberate­d on range of issues including the governance of digital platforms and companies, through developing a Pan-African media ethics framework and ethos.

Nimca’s launch was followed by the Organisati­on of News Ombuds and Standards Editors’ conference, another high level meeting attended by global press ombuds, with Press Council of SA chairperso­n of the appeals committee, judge Bernard Ngoepe, calling on the media to be ethical.

“The media does not want to be regulated by the state because it fears censorship, whereas the state’s fear is that the media, left alone, would go overboard and should therefore be regulated. The mistrust is reflected in the kind of mechanisms proposed by the state or the media. The state would want a rigid statutory regime, dominated or controlled by its machinery, in particular, by ensuring that it dominates the regulating mechanism; on the other hand, the media would want a mechanism structured...

“There is only one way to ward off the pressure for state regulation: it is to have an effective and credible self-regulatory mechanism...,” Ngoepe said.