SABC pledges impartial treatment of political parties

“As the public broadcaster we have the responsibility to treat all political parties in an equitable manner and we will try to remain impartial and objective in both our news coverage and comment,” said the head of SABC News, Dr Snuki Zikalala.

Research shows that 80% of adult South Africans choose the SABC as their primary source of news. At least 86% of voters will have listened to an SABC news broadcast in the days and hours proceeding Election Day.

The SABC as a public broadcaster occupies a distinctive position of trust in the lives of our viewers and listeners. It is our duty to provide consistent, relevant and top-quality information on which all South Africans can rely as they discuss current issues, deliberate and form opinions.

'No bias'

The acting group CEO of the SABC, Gab Mampone, has denied reports that he was hauled over the coals by the ANC for alleged bias in coverage of the party.

He said that at meetings held with various political parties, including the ANC, the SABC re-iterated that it will ensure that its coverage continues to present a fair and balanced view of South Africa, including the political environment.

Internal research conducted by the SABC disproves the allegations that the breakaway “Shikota group” received favourable treatment from the SABC in recent weeks.

An analysis of 405 TV items and 510 radio items broadcast between 8 October and 8 November showed that the ANC received more than 50% of the coverage.

The SABC has appointed an independent monitoring company to scrutinise its coverage daily to ensure it meets the standards of fairness and impartiality.

Every news bulletin, every panel discussion, every public affairs programme and all coverage of participants in the election will be scrutinised. This will ensure that the entire SABC News staff - from the editors to individual reporters - remains conscious of their mission to report on the election in a fair and balanced manner.

The SABC believes that it is the only media organisation that will do this. The organisation understands how incredibly important the election coverage will be - because more than eight out of 10 South Africans - or 27 million people - rely on the SABC as their primary news source.

Code of conduct

The SABC's editorial code of conduct provides the framework within which the news staff will conduct their daily business. The corporation also subscribes to the codes of the Broadcasting Complaints Commission and operates within the provisions of the Broadcasting Act.

The SABC is facing concerted and increasing pressure on its newsroom by political parties, and the SABC board called a special meeting of its News Committee to deal with the issue. Executive producers, in particular, raised concerns about pressure they are being subjected to, threats that are levelled against some journalists and news staff who are subjected to verbal abuse.

The SABC acknowledged that whilst SABC journalists have a constitutional right to hold political views, inter- or intra-party political activism or factionalism would have no place in their newsrooms and that action will be taken against any employee who promotes political activism and factionalism within the newsroom. It said it would defend its journalists against political attacks.

The corporation is confident that it will provide its viewers and listeners with wide-ranging and unbiased coverage in the run-up to the election.

The SABC's News and Current Affairs Division is the largest news-gathering organisation on the African continent. There are 15 editorial offices nationwide, a countrywide network of correspondents and over 2000 news contacts.

“We are uniquely placed to provide the overwhelming majority of South Africans with adequate information to enable them to make their choices on Election Day. As a corporation we will strive to do this in a balanced and impartial manner.”