Tokyo Sexwale loves to tell the story of an aggrieved Crimean War commander who had been receiving terrible press back home in Britain.
A newspaper reporter had been writing unfavourable reports about his conduct of the war. Incensed by the anger that the reports were causing in his home country, the commander finally confronted the correspondent and gruffly chastised him.
Among other places, Sexwale told this story at the announcement of a crackdown on housing-tender fraud, which his department is conducting in conjunction with the Special Investigations Unit. He was encouraging the media to vigorously hold power to account. But often, at the end of the parable, he directs a rider to media about the accuracy and fairness in reporting: "But you must also not write about things we do not do."
This parable demonstrates the tension that has - and will probably always - exist between the media and society's power-wielders.
It is no different in our nascent republic, which has been grappling with this tension since 1994.
It was precisely with this in mind that editors and ministers gathered at the Mount Grace resort in Magaliesberg last weekend to tackle matters around media and government relations.
With a powerful delegation comprising a third of the cabinet, and a media contingent consisting of the bulk of South Africa's senior editors, the gathering was bound to be explosive.
Add to this the fact that the summit took place against the backdrop of a raging storm about proposed curbs on the free flow of information and South Africa's stealthy but sure march towards secretiveness.
So yes, there were certainly fireworks and some solid body blows were landed. But I am pleased to report that this was done in a congenial spirit with either side taking the punches with just a grimace.
Following the meeting there have been questions about whether some kind of Faustian pact was reached, and whether the nation's editors came out charmed into limp-wristedness.
The answer is emphatically in the negative. The real pact was one of affirming the constitutional legitimacy and roles of the two institutions. We agreed on improving mechanisms for better information flow, for smaller meetings to deal with pressing issues and to have annual summits to talk about our republic.
South Africa's media will continue to play its role in holding power to account, exposing malfeasance where it exists and reporting on developments in the political sphere.
The institution will continue to serve as a platform for creative, vibrant and (sometimes) heated debate on the direction of this republic.
It may seem odd for the two institutions to see the need to meet and "affirm" each other. Indeed, the very idea of editors and government heading off for a retreat and squaring off (effectively) as equals would seem strange to many in both the democratic and undemocratic worlds. We would like to claim it as a uniquely South African practice but, if it does exist elsewhere, it would be a rarity.
It is something that goes back to 2001 when - at the height of the former president's Aids denialism - the relationship was at a very low ebb. Government and the media met at Sun City and began grappling with their relationship. There have been subsequent engagements, but on a much smaller scale.
Given the tone of the then-president and that of the rottweilers around him, some of those meetings were often bruising battles. Both sides would come out wiping floods of sweat off their bodies and blood from their noses. Nonetheless, it was those engagements that helped establish the summits as an institution which we will be able to pass on to future generations.
They help clear up what is often a poisoned public discourse in South Africa, a discourse that has been made even more toxic by the blood-lust among some in the ruling elite who seem convinced that journalists are descendants of the survivors of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their instinct is to do to our tribe what was done to the people of those two cities. Fortunately South Africa will push them aside and fight hard to ensure the entrenchment and nurturing of a free and open society.
Beyond the current skirmishes, South Africa will have to ensure the development of a mature relationship between these two institutions. This must be a relationship that understands that the ordinary South African citizen comes first.
As the society develops, those in power will understand that if there are things they do not like the media writing about, they will not do those things. And the media will accurately and fearlessly write about the things that the citizens need to know.
The republic will be the richer for it and the citizen will be the greatest beneficiary.
- Timeslive
A newspaper reporter had been writing unfavourable reports about his conduct of the war. Incensed by the anger that the reports were causing in his home country, the commander finally confronted the correspondent and gruffly chastised him.
"I do not like the things you write about," he told him.
To which the reporter responded: "Well, then, do not do things I write about."
This parable demonstrates the tension that has - and will probably always - exist between the media and society's power-wielders.
It is no different in our nascent republic, which has been grappling with this tension since 1994.
It was precisely with this in mind that editors and ministers gathered at the Mount Grace resort in Magaliesberg last weekend to tackle matters around media and government relations.
With a powerful delegation comprising a third of the cabinet, and a media contingent consisting of the bulk of South Africa's senior editors, the gathering was bound to be explosive.
Add to this the fact that the summit took place against the backdrop of a raging storm about proposed curbs on the free flow of information and South Africa's stealthy but sure march towards secretiveness.
So yes, there were certainly fireworks and some solid body blows were landed. But I am pleased to report that this was done in a congenial spirit with either side taking the punches with just a grimace.
Following the meeting there have been questions about whether some kind of Faustian pact was reached, and whether the nation's editors came out charmed into limp-wristedness.
The answer is emphatically in the negative. The real pact was one of affirming the constitutional legitimacy and roles of the two institutions. We agreed on improving mechanisms for better information flow, for smaller meetings to deal with pressing issues and to have annual summits to talk about our republic.
South Africa's media will continue to play its role in holding power to account, exposing malfeasance where it exists and reporting on developments in the political sphere.
The institution will continue to serve as a platform for creative, vibrant and (sometimes) heated debate on the direction of this republic.
It may seem odd for the two institutions to see the need to meet and "affirm" each other. Indeed, the very idea of editors and government heading off for a retreat and squaring off (effectively) as equals would seem strange to many in both the democratic and undemocratic worlds. We would like to claim it as a uniquely South African practice but, if it does exist elsewhere, it would be a rarity.
It is something that goes back to 2001 when - at the height of the former president's Aids denialism - the relationship was at a very low ebb. Government and the media met at Sun City and began grappling with their relationship. There have been subsequent engagements, but on a much smaller scale.
Given the tone of the then-president and that of the rottweilers around him, some of those meetings were often bruising battles. Both sides would come out wiping floods of sweat off their bodies and blood from their noses. Nonetheless, it was those engagements that helped establish the summits as an institution which we will be able to pass on to future generations.
They help clear up what is often a poisoned public discourse in South Africa, a discourse that has been made even more toxic by the blood-lust among some in the ruling elite who seem convinced that journalists are descendants of the survivors of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Their instinct is to do to our tribe what was done to the people of those two cities. Fortunately South Africa will push them aside and fight hard to ensure the entrenchment and nurturing of a free and open society.
Beyond the current skirmishes, South Africa will have to ensure the development of a mature relationship between these two institutions. This must be a relationship that understands that the ordinary South African citizen comes first.
As the society develops, those in power will understand that if there are things they do not like the media writing about, they will not do those things. And the media will accurately and fearlessly write about the things that the citizens need to know.
The republic will be the richer for it and the citizen will be the greatest beneficiary.
- Timeslive
1 comment:
By your own admission Tokyo you have lost R1,3 Billion.
how can there be a story not written about what you did not do?
Like control your department.
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