Joe Thloloe, the Press Council's venerable ombudsman, often points out that reforming the self-regulatory structure is not about appeasing the ANC.
He's entirely right - we need to deal with the merits of ANC criticisms separately from any underlying political agendas.
Redressing internal weaknesses will undercut much of the external criticism. But sustainable self-regulation in the longer-term also depends on the system actually improving journalists' adherence to ethics - and, through that, a strengthened press service to society.
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