In a week that saw 17 various organisations present their views and concerns around the proposed Protection of State Information Bill, the media were stunned by the presentation of Media Monitoring Africa, who slammed the media for their poor reporting on this bill.
The organisation was scathing in its attack of the very same media it monitors and it is no small wonder that none of the media that filled the gallery on the day when the Public Protector also made her presentation had the guts to run with this story. The question that should be asked is why did this happen?
Well the answer is not too hard to find.
The presenter, Ms Justine Limpitlaw, noted that the debate on this piece of legislation has been one-sided and biased towards the media. "The media did this country a disservice with its biased and poor reporting. A number of good aspects of this bill, and there are many, have not be reported on," she said to some grumbling by journos who had packed the gallery.
We have been on record calling for a balanced, sober and fair reporting on this matter simply because we were worried about the nature of the debate which was driven by the media. The public were not given the accurate facts on this bill and it was made as if all things under the sun were to be classified and no access whatsoever will be made available. Various forms of hyperbole were used to instil fear in the minds of the ordinary public about a legitimate action of government.
So the comments of MMA are not farfetched. If anything, we feel vindicated by same. That such comments come from a credible, independent body with a long history in media should be a great source of concern to everyone who cares about the role of media in a constitutional democracy such as ours.
The sad, but true, state of affairs in this regard is that the media chose to take a negative position against the bill and made it known that they are opposed to it and will reject it, by whatever means. To have expected them to provide a fair, balanced and critical reporting - as demands the media code - would have been similar to trying to find a needle in a haystack. To have attempted to complain to the press ombudsman would have been an even futile exercise for, as the Public Protector observed during her presentation, "he who pays the piper often calls the tune".
The media should remember that they have a duty in our democracy to hold government, private sector and the society in general accountable and they should do their work without fear or favour. But poor and biased reporting has no place in a constitutional democracy such as ours.
We acknowledge that there are legitimate concerns with some provisions of the bill and we are confident that the Ad hoc Committee that is processing this bill in the National Council of Provinces will do its work accordingly.
Enquiries contact:
Brian Dube
Ministry of State Security Spokesperson
Cell: 082 418 3389
