ANC push for external regulation of media

THE ANC has again pushed for the external regulation of the South African media.

ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu, who is chairman of the ANC NEC subcommittee on communication, said yesterday self-regulation had failed even as the media had tried to improve its regulation.

“Self-regulation has failed and reaffirms the need for an independent regulator of the media,” he said.

The ANC has called for a media tribunal and external regulation of the media since before its Mangaung conference in 2012.

Mthembu, who was presenting the policy on communications to be discussed at the ANC’s policy conference in June, was particularly unhappy with the print media, which he said needed to be regulated.

“Parliament must urgently undertake an inquiry into how to regulate the media.

“We [the ANC] would like to go to parliament to show parliament how self-regulation has failed.”

Mthembu highlighted the refusal by the Independent Media group, which includes The Star, Cape Times and Cape Argus newspapers, to have complaints adjudicated by the print media ombudsman, as evidence of how self-regulation had failed.

There needed to be a print media regulatory environment, he said.

Explaining ANC unhappiness with the media, Mthembu said: “The print media hardly recognises achievements we do make in terms of economic or social progress.”

He said when the ANC complained about the print media’s constant negativity and refusal to acknowledge achievements, the newspaper responded: “Why should you praise a fish for swimming?”

But, he said, the media was quick to criticise. “When that fish is unable to swim well, they [media] go to town as if the fish has never swam. That is the problem. “Give merit where merit is deserved . . . “When the media has a front-page story that is incorrect and an apology is printed a few weeks later, it will be much smaller than the original story.”

The government must ensure radical regulations on cross-media ownership and the ANC wanted the print media to have more black ownership, he said.

The policy also called for more newspapers in black African languages.

Mthembu admitted the government was behind on rolling out digital migration of television from using analogue broadcasting, missing deadlines and behind internationally.