In the following essay I will be analyzing an opinion piece written by Deputy Minister of Transport, Jermy Cronin and in doing so, I will apply certain theoretical media concepts. In conjunction with this, I will also analyze opinion pieces whom have responded to his specific piece.
In my opinion, I have found that Jermy Cronin’s argument that a Media Tribunal should be put in place, in truth makes no point, as to what the Media Tribunal should deal with. As soon as he highlights a supposed, under researched fault with the Media, he renders his own statement meaningless, with the statement “ again, it is not properly a matter for the proposed tribunal.” (Cronin;Umsebenzi-Online;2010). He in turn makes no real point as to why a media tribunal should be put in place.
He implies that Journalists who make use of bad-sources and under researched stories, in his opinion should be brought to a tribunal, as he believes that self-regulation within the media has not succeeded, yet this being said, he has not done any of this either in his own work.
Reg Rumney from the online mail and Guardian, argues against Cronin’s statement that self regulation has failed within the media:
Surely that newspapers run apologies, sometimes spontaneously and without the intervention of the Ombudsman, means that self-regulation is working? (Rumney;Mail and Guardian; 2010)
In my personal opinion I think that there is a more sinister, power hungry reason, behind the media tribunal. I am also against the idea of a state controlled tribunal, as I strongly believe that the media should be independent from any political ideologies, in turn enabling it to report in the most objective and most progressive way possible, without having to broadcast the agendas of a political party.
“I am appealing to the many ANC members of influence, who know in their hearts that this campaign is not actually about so-called ‘brown-envelope’ or irresponsible journalism, to stand up and stop this reckless effort to undermine the freedoms of all South African citizens” (Du Preez as cited in Mail & Guardian online; Reg Rumney)
He also makes a point of placing negative attention on Journalists and one specific journalist unnamed in another article, which he merely assumes without any real source to be Business Day’s Peter Bruce, who publicly stated they the will not discuss the matter with the ANC’s secretary General on the grounds of principal. (Cronin;Umsebenzi-Online;2010). Cronin implies that the ANC is following the right procedures and that the actions of the media are but childish. It might be so that the ANC, has done the right thing to allow the media to discuss the issue openly. Yet as we all well know, that a Journalist was chased out of Luthuli House by the ANC youth-league leader Julius Malema not so long ago.,So in all honesty I completely understand why many journalists feel uncomfortable meeting with the ANC.
He makes use of sly tactics within his writing to create a sense of separation with those who are against the media tribunal, by bringing up recent disagreements, that have really no weight in the media tribunal bigger picture, and thus setting a negative agenda.
...If editorial “independence swings on profit maximization, then we will tend to get exactly what we are often getting. Trashy tabloids aimed at the working class, and acres of middle-class whingeing in what passes for serious journalism. In short, journalism that panders to the lowest common denominator in its target audience... (Cronin;Umsebenzi-Online;2010)
The statement that Cronin makes here has no legal grounds to stand on. As there is no law in place, defining what journalism should be and what Newspapers should base their content on. South Africa has one of the world’s most liberal constitutions and for such a law to exist it would be in direct violation of our constitutional right of Media Freedom
“You can’t increase state power over what may be published and still argue that your country has media freedom” (Guy Berger; Converse Column)
Ombudsman Joe Thloloe told SAPA that “Any system imposed from outside the press itself will be an imposition and in violation of the Constitution” (As cited in News 24)
He also negatively points out, that newspapers are aimed at the working class and middle class. I do not think that this is necessarily a bad thing, seeing that throughout the Apartheid era, newspapers aimed their content at an elite minority of people. Logic dictates that in a democracy, they should aim their content towards the majority of the people of the country and their interests, and most of us fall under the working and middle classes.
Cronin only later says that the media tribunal should not force the media to become docile lap-dogs (opposite of watch-dogs) for the ruling party (Cronin;Umsebenzi-Online;2010). I feel that his intention is quite clearly the exact opposite, to what he has already said before this statement. He goes on to say that he feels that individual journalists shouldn’t be fined for stories, as stories are often written in a collective of thought and thus the companies should be fined, the individual shouldn’t be negatively affected (Cronin;Umsebenzi-Online;2010).
Reg Rumney disagrees and stresses that the journalist will in-fact be effected negatively, as he knows from prior experience under the Apartheid regime, the pressure then put on journalists, not by the government but by the company, increases under these circumstances (Rumney;Mail and Guardian; 2010). This tactic only changes the order of how oppression and censorship is played out on the individual, it in a sense acts as a guise for what is really happening. As a indirect pressure from the ruling party.
An alternative proposed solution rather than a media tribunal, in my opinion makes for a better solution than the current solution, which is a media tribunal.
“Government and the ANC should be pressuring the media to jack up their own self-regulation to a point where justice an accountability can be seen in when the media get things wrong.
Government must realize that self-regulation is the only option. Anything else will be perceived to be censorship and subjugation of a free press. And perception, of course, is far more powerful than reality.”(Chris Moerdyk, Bizcommunity;2010)
Recent responses have interestingly taken a sarcastic note, in what I believe is an attempt from independant journalists to silence or lower the importance of the opposition’s voice, Adam Haupt uses this technique in response to Cronin’s opinion piece:
“If a media tribunal, an artists’s tribunal and an academics’ tribunal do not go far enough in securing the assurance that the ruling party seeks, then it can also set up a whistleblowers’ hotline so that defamatory remarks and actions can be reported swiftly and efficiently without fear of retribution from civil society.” (Adam Haupt;2010;Mail&Gaurdian)
I am completely against a media tribunal, even the idea thereof. I do not think that Jermy Cronin has in anyway convinced me that South Africa’s Media industry is in need of a Media Tribunal. It is unconstitutional and unethical and extremely vague. I lift my pen in the air and say to you: Blood shall flow from my pen, not my fellow journalist’s blood, but anyone who threatens my freedoms as a journalist, as South African, as Human being. I will write until the day I can write again, I will write you to your defeat.
Bibliography:
• Jeremy Cronin; Do we need an independent media tribunal?;2010; Umsebenzi-online.
• Reg Rumney;Open Letter to Jeremy Cronin;2010; Mail and Gaurdian Online; 2010
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/regrumney/2010/08/05/some-more-red-flags-on-the-media-tribunal/
• Joe Thloloe; News 24, Ombud warns agains media tribunal; 2010, reported by Sapa
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Ombud-warns-against-media-tribunal-20100730
• Chris Moerdyk, ANC’s Media Tribunal - watchdog with rabies; bizzcommunity.com;2010
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/15/50595.html
• Adam Haupt; Media Tribunal: Why Stop There?; Mail and Gaurdian Online; 2010
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2010-08-11-media-tribunal-why-stop-there
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