Paris, France, and Darmstadt, Germany, 23 August 2010.

The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) has expressed concern over the implications of a proposed Protection of Information Bill currently before the South African parliament.

"The proposed legislation would shield the government from press scrutiny and effectively criminalize activities essential to investigative journalism," WAN-IFRA said in a letter addressed to the President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma.

In its current format the bill empowers officials to classify any public or commercial data as confidential on vaguely defined "national interest" grounds without having to give an explanation. Such powers could be used to outlaw coverage of issues including public law enforcement and judicial matters.

One of the most alarming aspects of the bill is its lack of a "public interest" defence for use by journalists to support the disclosure of classified information, an omission that means anyone found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of official or classified information could face severe penalties.

A separate proposal to replace the country's independent Press Ombudsman and Appeals Panel with a government-appointed Media Appeals Tribunal risks turning the current self-regulatory system into an instrument of political censorship. Members would inevitably face an inherent conflict of interest, whereas the present system has repeatedly acted with neutrality.

In line with the Declaration of Table Mountain, WAN-IFRA's call for African states to promote the highest standards of press freedom that was recently endorsed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the organisation urged President Zuma to amend the Protection of Information Bill to uphold constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press "and to ensure that any future media reform in South Africa fully respects international standards of press freedom."

His Excellency Jacob Zuma
President of the Republic of South Africa
Union Buildings
Private Bag X1000,
Pretoria,
0001
South Africa

BY FAX: +27 12 323 8246

19 August 2010

Your Excellency,

We are writing on behalf of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) and the World Editors Forum, which represent 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries, to express our serious concern at two recent moves by the ruling ANC that seriously threaten press freedom in South Africa.

The Protection of Information Bill currently before parliament seeks to replace apartheid-era legislation with far-reaching provisions that would virtually shield the government from press scrutiny and criminalize activities essential to investigative journalism.

Under the bill, officials would be empowered to classify any public or commercial data as confidential on vaguely defined "national interest" grounds without having to give any explanation. Such powers could be used to outlaw coverage of such issues as public law enforcement and judicial matters, with political appointees having the final say over which information should be classified.

One of the serious deficiencies in the legislation is that there is no provision for a "public interest" defence by journalists and others to support the disclosure of classified information. Anyone found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of official or classified information could face heavy penalties.

We are also seriously concerned at an ANC proposal that parliament appoint a Media Appeals Tribunal to adjudicate on complaints against the press. Such a government-appointed agency could be used as an instrument of political censorship, as has happened many times across Africa, and members would inevitably face an inherent conflict of interest. We respectfully remind you that an effective self-regulatory system, including a Press Ombudsman and an Appeals Panel, is already in place and has repeatedly been shown to act with neutrality.

We bring to your attention the Declaration of Table Mountain, endorsed at the 60^th World Newspaper Congress and 14^th Editors Forum in Cape Town in June 2007 and recently signed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in July 2010.  The Declaration of Table Mountain, among other things, calls on African states to promote the highest standards of press freedom in furtherance of the principles proclaimed in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other protocols and to provide constitutional guarantees of freedom of the press.

We respectfully call on you to ensure that the Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunals proposal are either amended in line with constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press or withdrawn altogether. We ask that you ensure that any future media reform in South Africa fully respects international standards of press freedom.

We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Gavin O'Reilly                                                             

President                                                                                 

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers

Xavier Vidal-Folch

President : World Editors Forum

 

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WAN-IFRA is the global organization for the world's newspapers and news publishers, with formal representative status at the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. The organization groups 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.

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cc:        Faith Pansy Tlakula, African Commission Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression

            Jackson Mthembu, ANC spokesperson

enc.      Declaration of Table Mountain

August 16, 2010

H.E. Jacob Zuma
President of the Republic of South Africa
Pretoria, South Africa

Dear President Zuma:

We are writing to express our concern about legislative proposals that would severely restrict South Africa's independent press corps, which is distinguished for its dynamism and professionalism. We call on you as the head of state and leader of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) to ensure that such proposals are either amended in line with constitutional safeguards for freedom of the press and access to information, or withdrawn altogether in the interest of preserving the transparency, accountability, and democracy gained after apartheid.

The Protection of Information Bill currently before parliament is meant to replace an apartheid-era law dating from 1982. Yet the broad language and far-reaching provisions of the legislative proposal introduced by Security Minister Siyabonga Cwel is reminiscent of apartheid-era regulations since it would virtually shield the government from the scrutiny of the independent press and criminalize activities essential to investigative journalism, a vital public service. Journalists, under the proposed law, would face heavy jail time for violations.

Under the bill, officials and state agencies would have unchecked authority and discretion to classify any public or commercial data as secret, confidential, protected, or sensitive based on vaguely defined "national interest" considerations and without any explanation, according to our research and legal experts. National interest would, for instance, include "details of criminal investigations," a definition that risks chilling coverage of public law enforcement and judicial matters. Political appointees overseeing state intelligence agencies would have final say over which information should be classified or not. The bill places the onus on journalists to establish "public interest" (broadly defined as "all those matters that constitute the common good, well-being or general welfare and protection of the people") to justify declassifying any information. Journalists and others found guilty of unauthorized disclosure of official or classified information could face up to 25 years in jail.

We are also concerned about an ANC proposal to establish a special tribunal called the Media Appeals Tribunal that would issue unspecified sanctions for complaints against the press. As the leader of the ANC, we call on you to urge the ANC General Council to abandon this proposal as government-sponsored media regulatory agencies across Africa have been used time and time again as instruments of political censorship. Moreover, we believe members of the public already have mechanisms of legal redress to settle disputes with the press in addition to the existing media self-regulatory institutions.

Beyond our concern about legal developments, finally, we are concerned about the August 4 arrest and ongoing prosecution  of Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Africa on charges of "fraud, forgery, and uttering," (which, in legal terms, means "to issue a forged document") over an unpublished story critical of the police--especially in light of reports that suggest his the arrest may have been in retaliation for critical coverage of ANC officials in Mpumalanga, particularly Premier David Mabuza.

Mr. President, we welcome government spokesman Themba Maseko's recent assurances that the government has no plans to "muzzle the media in any shape or form." The growth of South Africa's democracy will depend on the government's acceptance and tolerance of the media's scrutiny of its performance.

We therefore call on you to amend or shelve the Protection of Information Bill and the Media Appeals Tribunals proposal as they undermine guarantees for a free media and access to information as enshrined in the Constitution, the Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information and the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa. We ask that you ensure that any media reform in South Africa is the result of a transparent, consultative process reconciling the interests of government, the ANC, and the concerns expressed by the overwhelming majority of civil society.

Thank for your attention to these important matters. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Joel Simon
Executive Director

Source: The Committee to Protect Journalists

The Local Media Awards 2010 is a partnership between Sanlam and the Media Development & Diversity Agency (MDDA).

The Awards aim to encourage excellence and to reward meritorious work in community journalism. The media partners for the Awards are the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) and the Print Media South Africa (PMSA). The projects is implemented in partnership with other organizations representing the Local Media, like the National Community Radio Forum (NCRF), National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Independent Federation of Religious Broadcasters (IFRB), Forum of Community Journalists (FCJ), and the Association of Independent Publishers (AIP).

The Call for Entries is open between 02 – 31 August 2010 and the Awards ceremony will be hosted on 05 November 2010.

OBJECTIVES OF THE EVENT

• Reward and recognize excellence in the Local Media i.e. Print, Radio, Television and New Media;
  
• To encourage all grassroots media to go beyond the call of duty and produce news and current affairs that meets the highest standard and to also recognize their hard work;
  
• To promote professionalism in the Local Media and built capacity in the respective areas of focus;
  
• To contribute to the growth and development of the media;
  
• Entrench the commitment to enhancing journalism as a career in the South African public

Click here to download the Call for Entries pack.

FREE TO ALL MEMBER COMPANIES AND TRADE UNIONS THAT ARE MEMBERS OF THE STATUTORY COUNCIL

• Procedural Fairness need not be expensive - it is not necessary for disciplinary inquiries to follow the criminal justice model.

• A cost effective and efficient system is what the courts now promote.

• Nobody expects printing, packaging or media specialists to be legal specialists as well.

• Learn the basics of Fairness - its not complicated - just good, old-fashioned common sense. 

• Latest Labour & Labour Appeal Court judgements -

The Statutory Council for the Printing, Newspaper and Packaging Industry will be hosting a one-day workshop on the above and all unions that are parties to this council and all employers that pay levies to this council are invited to attend.

WHERE AND WHEN WIILL THE WORKSHOP BE HELD?

Cape Town		20 September 2010
Johannesburg		22 September 2010
Durban		04 October 2010
The venues will be announced in due course
COST		FREE TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL

The Presenter:

The workshop shall be presented by Mr. Leon Pillay, the general secretary of the council, an accredited CCMA commissioner and a trainer with many years of experience in the field of Labour Dispute Resolution.

Mr. Pillay has a BCom (Hons) degree in Human Resources Management and a LLM (labour studies).

Requirements for Attendance

 1. Confirmation of attendance should be submitted by 27 August 2010.

2. Names and contact details of attendees must be supplied to council

3.Levy payments should not be in arrears.

Please Note

Each workshop shall accommodate approximately 30 delegates and should numbers significantly exceed 30, a second workshop will be held on another day and delegates will be informed timeously. Delegates will be selected on a ‘first-come-first-served' basis.

Download the Confirmation Slip here.

Print Media SA (PMSA) notes with grave concern the arrest of Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika, who was taken into custody by the Hawks on Wednesday, 4 August 2010.

Wa Afrika was taken into custody by a large contingent of plain clothes police officers shortly after a meeting of the South African National Editor's Forum which, ironically, was convened to discuss threats to media freedom.  According to media reports, wa Afrika was then transported to Mpumalanga.

Whilst there has been no official confirmation from the Hawks, media reports as well as statements made by the office of Mpumalanga Premier, David Mabuza, indicate that wa Afrika was to be charged with fraud and defeating the ends of justice in relation to an allegedly forged letter of resignation addressed from Mabuza, to President Jacob Zuma. 

PMSA is deeply concerned about the manner in which the arrest was carried out, which appears to have been designed to intimidate the media, as well as subsequent events that have occurred. 

Of particular concern is the information black-out imposed by police in relation to the arrest.  The conduct of the police in refusing to provide the relevant information about wa Afrika's whereabouts and the charges against him is unacceptable.  Considering the high profile nature of the arrest as well as the suggestion that it may have been politically motivated, the public is entitled to be informed about all developments in relation to this matter. 

The arrest of wa Afrika is of particular concern as it has occurred in the midst of the most serious onslaught against media freedom since 1994.  The Protection of Information Bill and the ANC's proposal for a Media Appeals Tribunal point towards a growing intolerance of media freedom which is incongruent with the values of our Constitution. 

For enquiries please contact:

Ms Ingrid Louw
CEO: PMSA
Tel: 011 551 9600

Dear Members

As you are aware, it has been a turbulent few weeks for media freedom with Parliament considering a Bill that if passed in its current form, will result in widespread censorship of political speech.  The contentious Protection of Information Bill is currently being highly debated in South Africa and Print Media SA has engaged with government in this regard. 

Please find attached for your information, the Print Media SA submissions on the Protection of Information Bill which was submitted to Parliament in June 2010.