Support for media tribunal is 'appalling'
NEWSWATCH: SA Press Council chairman Raymond Louw said yesterday that he is 'appalled' by ANC and SACP support for a media tribunal and says it not only reveals 'a startling ignorance about what goes on in the press ombudsman's office,' it is also unconstitutional, reports IOL and Mail & Guardian, the latter also reporting that the DA is on the warpath over the ANC's proposed moves against the media. Back at the SABC, meanwhile, the broadcaster is also doing its bit to stay in the news, with board chairman Ben Ngubane calling his board members 'undisciplined', reports IOL.
For more:
- IOL: 'Media tribunal violates constitution'... Louw says that the government's moves are a clear violation of the constitution. He also says, as reported in Mail & Guardian, that the ANC and the SACP don't seem to have a clue as to how the ombudsman's office actually works.
- Mail & Guardian: DA takes aim at media tribunal, info Bill... Sounding quite Churchillian, Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille says "We will never surrender our right to know" and has vowed to take the fight to preserve media freedom all the way to the Constitutional Court.
- IOL: Ngubane slams irate SABC directors... Responding to reports of board members being somewhat underwhelmed by his leadership, SABC board chairman Ben Ngubane says they are "undisciplined" for airing the board's dirty washing in public.
See also:
- ANC.org.za: discussion paper on media transformation, ownership and diversity
- Bizcommunity special section: special focus on media freedom
- Bizcommunity Twitterfall: #ZAmediafreedom
- Google News Search: Protection of Information Bill media appeals tribunal
- Twitter Search: #ZAmediafreedom
- Google Blog Search: Protection of Information Bill media appeals tribunal