The Parliamentary Indaba held on 22 and 23 September 2011 in Parliament attended by industry associations, lobby groups, small commercial and community media representatives, organs of state (Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA), Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), MICTSETA, Competition Commission, FP&M SETA and Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), discussed under the theme ‘Transformation and Diversity of Print Media’. The presentations focused on a range of areas from:
- Who are the players in print media, looking at the mainstream media, community media and small commercial media as defined in the terms of the MDDA Act
- Understanding the value chain from writing, publishing, printing, distribution, advertising challenges
- Barriers to entry (mainly printing and distribution costs, market structure, etc)
- Measurement of media diversity
- Concentration of ownership and control and possible legitimate interventions needed including setting up of ownership cap and minimum concentration thresholds
- Lack of diversity in the entire value chain including ownership, control , language, gender, content, etc
- Need for a commitment to transformation agenda and targets set up through a tool like a media charter
- Underfunding of the MDDA in respect of its print media mandate;
- Voluntary nature of the contributions to MDDA by the mainstream print media houses
- Employment equity
- Conditions of employment
- Impact study of MDDA since inception (socio-economic, empowerment, diversity, etc)
- Skills development and capacity building.
Having regard to all the fundamental issues and the challenges, the committee views this indaba as the beginning of a process aimed at confronting, together as South Africans, the challenges in respect of transformation and diversity in print media, and provide solutions for urgent implementation.
The committee commits to further engagement and consultation on this matter and will consider a second Indaba on Media Transformation and Diversity, around February/March 2012. In the meantime, the committee calls on GCIS and MDDA to conduct research providing updated data on trends of ownership and control, state of print media transformation and diversity, indicators and measurement tools for media diversity, and a socio-economic study on MDDA since inception.
The committee also calls on the Competition Commission to prioritise a probe into a possible anti-competitive behaviour into the print media business processes and the entire value chain. Having noted the transformational changes that have taken place since 1994 as presented by the Print Media South Africa (PMSA), the committee noted with regret the fact that the average black ownership in South Africa media to date is 14% and gender is 4% (as presented by PMSA presentation).
The committee note the commitment by PMSA to develop a transformational strategy and calls on the GCIS and MDDA to initiate a consultation process exploring the need for setting up transformation targets aimed at substantially giving meaning to the framework provided by the BBBEE Act and Code of Good Conduct, including the possibility of the media charter, having regard to the PMSA commitments and adoption of the Code as a measurement tool for goal setting as a basis.
The GCIS and MDDA should urgently engage with the National Treasury on the possibility of either amending the MDDA Act or a Money Bill to provide for an obligated contribution to the MDDA by the mainstream print media in order to enhance the existing partnership for media development and diversity.
