A statutory media tribunal would not only be unconstitutional but would not solve the plethora of problems in the industry, a discussion group concluded on Tuesday,
Representatives from the Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI), and the legal, political and media sectors who met to discuss the ANC's proposal said the ANC had done a disservice to itself. However, it had highlighted crucial problems in the industry.
These were ownership, access, the juniorisation of newsrooms, standards and ethics.
Jane Duncan from the FXI said the proposed body would be obviously unconstitutional, and would not fly.
She said however the ANC had highlighted the crucial problems in the industry and these needed to be addressed.
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Susan Smuts, the managing editor of the Sunday Times, said one of her biggest questions was what the purpose of the tribunal would be.
She said the media did write "quite damaging stories" about politicians and officials. However there were bodies in place to deal with these complaints.
"They do have lots of options, so why a tribunal?
"If anything good is to come from this it is that we look at things and see how we can do them right," she said.
She said the options included the press ombudsman, the Broadcasting Complaints Commission of SA, the right of reply, and the court of law.
DA spokesperson Jack Bloom said he felt that the standards and quality of journalism should be questioned.
He said that while politics were not for sissies and politicians needed to be thick-skinned, journalists also needed to be competent and accurate in reporting. - Sapa
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