Kiss the feet of investigative journalists

THE theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day on Monday was ‘Information as a Public Good’, underlining the indisputable importance of verified and reliable information.

It calls attention to the essential role of free and professional journalists in producing and disseminating this information, by tackling misinformation and other harmful content.

It reminds the media industry to stay true to its ethics and fair and honest dissemination of information.

Perhaps more importantly, governments are also reminded of the need to respect their commitment to media freedom.

Every year journalists throughout the world sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of exposing the truth.

They are persecuted and die because they are hated by politicians, corruptors, crime syndicates, and all kinds of dangerous lowlifes whose immoral deeds journalists bring to the public eye for scrutiny.

The South African government was quite decent in its support of Press Freedom Day on Monday, declaring it remained steadfast in its commitment to uphold press freedom, which is enshrined in our Constitution.

‘Since 1994, government has been resolute in the belief that an independent and free media is vital in strengthening any democracy. This year’s Press Freedom Day is a call to affirm the importance of valuing information as a public good, realising the importance of having access to credible information, especially in an era of mis- and disinformation.

‘At the core of what is termed fake news, is the devastating impact that it leaves on individuals, the public and democracy. In response to misinformation across borders, journalism provides the most effective means of ensuring that public debate is based on established facts.’

Perfectly said - even if only in a public relations sort of way.

But the populace, who feeds on and benefits from credible journalism, couldn’t really care a fig about something such as press freedom, or the immense privilege of having a free press - until it is taken away or seriously suppressed, of course, as is the case in so many African, South American, Asian and Middle East countries.

South Africans must always bear in mind that a free press is never a given. Most probably don’t even realise how close we came to having unregulated information being compromised by the ruling party’s Secrecy Bill.

So, every day we must kiss the feet of determined investigative journalists who bravely and painstakingly soldier on to expose the corruptors and thieves of public money.

Without a free media, crooked arms deals, the state capture saga and other such shenanigans would probably still have been buried deep in the dungeons of secrecy.

NB: Readers should note there is a big difference between the formal, traditional media platforms distributing verified information and are answerable to a strict press code of conduct, versus the zillions of uncontrolled social media platforms more often than not spewing forth unconfirmed libelous rubbish and conspiracy theories.