The relationship between philanthropy and press freedom - 7 Jul 2008

One of the most interesting and enjoyable media roundtables I attended recently was one organised by Shelagh Gastrow of Inyathelo to workshop the issue of defining philanthropy - and its crucial role in the maintenance of civil society - with key media and academics. The crux is to try instill a culture of philanthropy in South Africans, who, while giving liberally to religious causes and in some cases charities, do not support organisations that ensure our democratic society prevails as well. Largely underreported and misunderstood, philanthropy is also reliant on individual donations to fund the many civil society organisations that act as watchdogs and advocates for causes such as press freedom, democratic ideals, fund medical and other crucial research, and so on. We as journalists rely on the non-profit sector to provide the data, research and knowledge of a range of issues for us to supply the nation with news. And as citizens of a democracy, we rely on NGOs to alert us of issues, such as attacks on media freedoms. Gastrow has defined the issue elegantly in her thought leadership article in today's newsletter, saying: “Attempts to rein in the media affect individual freedom. Attempts to rein in civil society organisations would also affect individual freedoms.” As civil society, we rallied round when displaced people needed help during the recent xenophobic attacks. What are we doing long term to ensure attacks like that never happen again, or to ensure our democracy prevails?