Media has a much bigger role to play
WALKING up to the president of the country or cabinet ministers and holding them accountable by asking uncomfortable questions without fear of being thrown in jail or having the story banned is one of the things about the post-apartheid South Africa that SABC journalist Ludwe Ngoma will forever be grateful for.
Ngoma, 50, who began his journalism career in the Transkei just over a month before covering former president Nelson Mandela’s release from prison, said journalists these days were better off than in the old dispensation and had an even bigger role to play than before.
He said under the old regime the media was used more as a propaganda tool than a service to the community.
“Today, our role as the media is very different and is a huge one. It is to educate the community about their rights. Many did not have rights in the past and as a result either do not know that they do or are simply not aware of the extent of their rights.
“Through the media, many are made aware of their rights to basics such as healthcare and education, as well as consumer rights,” he said.
As the country commemorates 20 years of democracy, Ngoma said there was indeed a good story to tell, although not for everybody. “There are people who are still protesting about unfulfilled promises dating back to 1994,” he said.
“But thanks to the introduction of chapter nine institutions like the SA Human Rights Commission that ensure people’s rights are upheld, through the media the state is held to account.”
Ngoma, who is now the SABC’s assignment editor for radio, said the establishment of structures like the SA National Editors’ Forum helped protect journalists’ rights and also allowed them to challenge state authorities.
“There was no such luxury before. In the past, the media was merely a propaganda tool of the ruling party and media houses had to toe the line and only give the public what government wanted them to hear.
“Many truths could not be spoken, but now anything is brought to the fore,” he said.
“Even now leading up to elections, there are many debates and everybody talks freely.
“We have all these rights as the media these days, but they, of course, come with responsibilities,” Ngoma said.