"We call for evidence-based reasoning in debate about the Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT), and we are deeply concerned about the disproportionate and unbalanced accusations about the print media and its journalists made by this discussion document," William Bird, MMA executive director, said yesterday, Monday, 9 August 2010, in a statement.
The ANC's 20-page document 'Media Transformation, Ownership and Diversity' will be up for debate in September at the party's National General Council.
But, while the independent media fraternity was hoping for a fruitful engagement with the ruling party around the burning issue, which risks creating a climate of fear in South Africa, ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema's latest declaration that there will be no debate about MAT has sent a chill down journalists' spine.
"We have already decided. We want Parliament to appoint a tribunal, make it law," Malema was quoted as saying by a SAPA news report, carried in various online news outlets.
"These people are dangerous, they write gossip and present it as facts," Malema claimed.
However, the MMA statement tore through the ANC's document, calling it 'rhetoric' and 'assertive' and that it unambiguously accuses the media of irresponsible and unfair reporting.
"This document could be accused of doing the very thing that it condemns, making unsubstantiated accusations," Bird said.
The ANC repeatedly asserts that the press ombudsman (Joe Thloloe) is 'weak' and 'biased' towards the media as he is a former journalist. The MMA, however, said the party provides no proof to back up this assertion, such as past rulings by the press ombudsman that would point to an inherent bias.
The ANC document suggests that Parliament appoint those sitting in the MAT to guarantee independence, transparency, accountability and fairness. But the MMA refutes this argument, saying it is flawed as Parliament is currently dominated by the ANC and as such, is naturally weighted in favour of this party and its policies.
"The ANC claims that citizens have complained to it that they have been victims of unfair and unsatisfactory decisions by the system currently in place. Again there are no statistics or other evidence provided to support this claim," Bird said.
The MMA said it acknowledges that print media is faced with key issues such as concentration of ownership versus the need for diversity of ownership, commercial imperatives and sensationalism at the expense of the public interest, and equality and accessibility.
Nevertheless, the organisation calls for a holistic approach in seeking to debate the MAT and carefully balance all arguments, as such a debate cannot continue on the basis of fear mongering and political threats.
"A popular legal adage says 'hard cases make bad law'. We need to make sure that a minority of instances of questionable, sensational or dubious reporting does not lead us to adopt a course of action that future generations will regret," Bird pointed out.
"Media is essential to the development and deepening of democracy, and a media with faults is better than a media muzzled."
