Right2Know statement on the Press Freedom Commission (PFC)
The Right2Know Campaign welcomes the Press Freedom Commission’s (PFC) ‘Listening to South Africa Campaign’ and their public hearings which begin today (Thursday 19 January) in Cape Town. This is a critical process aimed at strengthening non-statutory press regulation in South Africa. The PFC review must bring greater efficacy and credibility to our non-statutory regulatory system. If this process fails to deliver the necessary reforms, it seems very likely the ruling party will launch a Parliamentary investigation aimed at establishing a statutory Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT).
The Right2Know aims to ensure everyone living in South Africa is free to access and to share information. A diverse media with significant sections independent of government and corporations is fundamental to any democracy that is open, accountable, and able to meet the needs of its people.
In this context we are opposed to statutory regulation of the press content and believe that a number of changes can be made to improve current regulatory system that enhance public confidence and ensure better journalism.
It is our sincere hope that the PFCs public consultation process and final research report will be conducted in a thorough and consultative manner. We applaud the PFC for garnering 190 written submissions – this is a higher level of engagement than many parliamentary processes evoke. We call on the PFC to make all of these written submissions publicly available.
We are however concerned that two of the PFC public hearings in the Eastern Cape and the Free State have been cancelled.
We are also concerned that the time allowed for the PFC to complete its research report is not sufficient. The PFC needs to review the material gathered from its tour of four countries (India, UK, Denmark and Tanzania), it must review all 190 written submissions and take all material delivered at the public hearings into account before the drafting of the final research report which is due for completion at the end of March 2012. We recommend that the PFC’s lifespan be extended by some months, to allow for both sufficient time to review all relevant material and, more importantly, to allow for additional and more widespread public consultations.
The Right2Know campaign will be making a submission to the PFC at Community House, Salt River, Cape Town today and have called on our supporters to participate in the consultative process across the country.
