R2K alarmed at threats to Madibeng FM staff
A scene outside Madibeng FM. Photo: Serodumo Sa Rona Facebook page
The Right2Know Campaign is seriously concerned by the threats made against the station manager and other employees of Madibeng FM, a community radio station in Brits. Earlier today members of the Bapo Ba Mogale Traditional Council and their associates attempted to force the station to cancel a live interview with critics of the Council’s deal involving notorious mining company Lonmin and a controversial businessman.
According to media reports, a crowd of around 150 people, among them the so-called “Ambassadors” who are alleged to be the Council’s enforcers, descended on the station, which was soon taken off air. R2K has spoken to the station manager who now fears for his safety. He said that the station has been receiving threats since it began looking into the story and that people had called into the station on air to make death threats against him.
Regardless of the veracity of claims regarding the deal, such grave threats to the safety of media workers must be forcefully condemned. Community media plays a vital role in the overall media landscape by telling the stories of the marginalised communities that make up the majority of this country, and by filling the gaps left as a result of the mainstream media’s urban middle-class preoccupations. With hundreds of local print publications and radio stations, the reach of community media is far and wide, and its role in servicing the information needs of millions of South Africans, contributing to media diversity, and providing a platform for alternative voices should not be underestimated. Yet community media workers face serious threats to their livelihoods and their ability to do their jobs without fear or favour.
Very often, the major challenges and threats facing the media are amplified at the local level. Dwindling revenues, a lack of adequate funding with no strings attached, and insufficient support for community media, jeopardise the ability of community journalists to safely go about their work. This also leaves community media especially vulnerable to political and commercial interference and the undue influence of local power brokers, like a microcosm of the SABC saga. Moreover, community media workers are often on the frontline of dangerous stories – holding hostile local actors to account, covering violent service delivery protests and so forth – but they lack the institutional support of their colleagues in the big media companies. Few would remember when the offices of Karabo FM were torched, and perhaps fewer still would remember the name of Mike Tshele, the community journalist who was killed by police covering protests very close to the offices of Madibeng FM.
While the media spotlight is on the SABC we must not forget the struggles of those in community media. An attack on media freedom anywhere is an attack on media freedom everywhere! We condemn the intimidation tactics of those trying to suppress reporting on the Bapo-Lonmin deal. We call on the police to treat this case with the seriousness it deserves and to take the necessary measures to protect the Madibeng FM staff. We also call on civil society, media organisations and the public at large to show their support for the media workers at Madibeng FM.
