Zuma: Media must serve public's, not owners' interests

(Image: GCIS)

Interacting in Parliament with about 70 second-year journalism students from the Tshwane University of Technology, Zuma stressed that the media remained a vital part of society, but asked what kind of image the media were helping to create of South Africa in order to help reconstruct the country.

"[Does] the population, the public, determine how the reporting should be - the very people the media say we live for?" asked Zuma.

He said reporting had to be tailored in a certain way for it to sell, adding that at times the heading of an article for example is not what the article is about.

Zuma said education remained the biggest challenge to transforming the country, but he questioned what the media were doing to explore the country's education challenges.

He pointed out the media failed to report how the legacy of apartheid continues to affect South Africa today - through for example growing urbanisation and service delivery.

"If we say we are reconstructing South Africa, what kind of image do we want to create and who determines it?" asked Zuma.

"The reporting must help society to be informed, but also in a decent fashion, that's the point we (the government) are making," said Zuma.

Responding to one student's question on whether the Information Bill would limit the freedom to report by journalists, Zuma said the bill was before the Presidency which was considering whether to sign the bill into law or not.

"A state must have some secrets, there's no state that would not have secrets, otherwise it's not a state," he said, adding that the security of the state could be undermined by reporting that crossed the line.

"The argument (by some people) is that we don't want any line, we want to report as far as we can. You could be undermining the security of the state," he added.