Matthews, Siluma in SABC News den, but what about revising editorial policies?

Approached to comment on the appointments, Rhodes University's Jane Duncan told Bizcommunity.com this week: "Matthews and Siluma are respected names and their appointments will, I'm sure, go a long way to restoring public confidence in SABC News. However, there is more to be done. One of the most important tasks that seem to have fallen through the cracks is the revision of the SABC's editorial policies."

Conflation of roles is unhealthy

The former Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) executive director stressed that, while the public broadcaster's editorial policies are strong in many respects, they lack a strong statement on the watchdog role of the news, adding that their conflation of the group CEO and editor-in-chief roles is unhealthy.

Duncan, currently based in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, added: "The implementation of the recommendations of the Sisulu Commission of enquiry need to be audited, especially as the High Court has vindicated the findings.

"I raise these issues because any appointment made in the absence of a review of the policy and procedural failures that gave rise to the loss of editorial credibility will not resolve the problem.

"It will merely place new people in a structure whose practices remain untransformed from the days of Snuki Zikalala. If similar controversies arise to the ones that arose in 2006 and 2007, Matthews could find himself in the same position that he was in when he was head of television news the first time round."

Found guilty of political bias

Zikalala is the SABC former director of news who caused a stir after he reportedly ordered the blacklisting of political commentators seen too critical of the African National Congress (ANC). He has since been found guilty of political bias by an independent commission of enquiry, whose findings have been vindicated by a High Court.

Critics accuse the SABC of acting as a propaganda machine for the ruling party - a 'serious' charge both the SABC and ANC keep on denying.

Duncan said: "The board must prioritise these tasks. Otherwise, the perception may take root that the broadcaster lacks the will to root out practices that allowed political bias to creep in the first place. The likely result will be that SABC News will merely shift its cheerleading practices from Thabo Mbeki to Jacob Zuma."

Duncan is the chair and professor of media and information society at Rhodes University.