Question 1: How do you balance commercial pressures with editorial independence?
Peter Bruce: Business Day
If you concentrate on editorial independence, the commercial pressures go away. I try to run a profitable newspaper, but never at the cost of its independence to say what it thinks fit.
Chris Whitfield: Cape Argus
You don’t. Editorial has to be entirely divorced from commercial pressures if it is to have any credibility (and thus also to provide a credible medium for advertisers).
Themba Khumalo: Daily Sun
Primarily, Daily Sun is for the reader. The most important aspect of our operation is to engage a significant segment of the South African market in the language and style that they understand, prefer and can identify with. We cover issues that are important to this segment and reflect their lives from day to day. By being a mirror, a friend, and adviser to people who were widely misunderstood and totally ignored by other newspapers, we have created access for business to a very vibrant, positive and upwardly mobile market. A sharper focus on what we we are about enables us to maintain the balance.
Ingo Capraro: Son
By vigilantly sticking to our editorial/ethical code and especially our promise to our readers – “Son sien alles”.
Moegsien Williams: The Star
The editors of all independent newspapers are given letters of appointment which spell out the duties of the editor. One of the clauses in the letter relates to the independence of the editor and confirms he or she has sole and utter responsibility for the entire content of the paper. We live in an age when it is not possible to have a Chinese wall between the editorial and commercial departments. We have to work together as a team. But at the end of the day, I am responsible for all the content in my newspaper (including advertising content) and it’s my job to ensure it is accurate, credible and relevant to my readers.
Thabo Leshilo: Sowetan
As the editor, it is important that one remains vigilant to attempts by commercial management to encroach on editorial territory. It should always be borne in mind that advertising is driven by the desire to maximise commissions while publishers want to make as much profit as they can. Bad publishers do not appreciate the value of quality publication to profitability. While accepting the need to make profit, editors should be driven by the quality bottom-line. It is, therefore, imperative for editors that they constantly drum it into their publishers’ heads that they cannot compromise quality for the sake of profits. Editors must protect their turf to ensure that they produce publications of the highest quality, which, in turn, provide an attractive forum for advertisers. It is a sad feature of our journalism that commercial imperatives sometimes prevail above editorial independence. As for me, I have come to accept that there will always be tensions between commercial and editorial imperatives. I am always alert to attempts by advertising to push the envelope too far.
Martin Williams: The Citizen
While there is always potential for conflict between commercial pressures and editorial independence on newspapers, it is not a big problem on The Citizen. I might prefer more space and more colour pages but I understand when the limits are determined by commercial imperatives. Like all SA newspapers, we depend on the support of our advertisers. We appreciate them but we can’t let them influence editorial content. Advertisers, I think, understand that the newspaper’s credibility would be weakened if we allowed them to dictate. That would lower the value of the space they are paying for. Part of my job is to guard that credibility.
Tyrone August: Cape Times
In order to survive, newspapers obviously need to be commercially viable. At times, this does make it necessary to enter into discussions with the newspaper’s commercial departments. Inevitably, this means some degree of give and take, for example on pagination. However, for a newspaper to retain its editorial integrity and independence, commercial imperatives cannot be allowed to take precedence over matters of editorial content.
Question 2: In your view, what is the biggest threat to press freedom in SA?
Peter Bruce: Business Day
One threat is internal. Bad journalism is a threat to independence because bad newspapers lose readers and that’s when journalists come under pressure to compromise their independence to commercial interests. The other threat is the ruling party. When it says you can report what you like, they mean it. But they don’t mean how you like. They don’t like opinion, jokes, conjecture, inference, and many of the more common components of a modern newspaper story.
Chris Whitfield: Cape Argus
There are several, but the biggest at the moment may be the suggestion from the ANC’s Polokwane conference that a media tribunal be established. The proposal arises from a desire to meddle with media output, and such tribunals have proved elsewhere to be the first steps down an anti-democratic path in which media freedom is severely restricted. The published comments by ANC president Jacob Zuma – in his website newsletter – and the letter written by the SACP’s Blade Nzimande to Media24 management about City Press would seem to reinforce suggestions that the new ANC leadership is not kindly disposed towards the media. On a less elevated level, the conduct of government officials generally towards journalists does not suggest a warmth towards media freedom. For example, it is becoming increasingly difficult to get helpful information out of the police service in the Western Cape. That said, we in the media are sometimes guilty of not exploiting our freedoms. Resource-starved or poorly trained newsrooms, and the consequent inadequate coverage, are hardly going to advance our cause.
Themba Khumalo: Daily Sun
Bureaucrats! The continued talk of a Media Appeals Tribunal worries me. Clear answers have not been forthcoming on how this proposed tribunal will function, and one gets a sense that the honeymoon we have enjoyed post-1994 is headed for trouble. One cannot help but be left with a picture of people who are convinced that a free press will temper with their appetite to amass power at whatever cost.
Ingo Capraro: Son
The ANC. This should be more than obvious to anybody reading newspapers.
Moegsien Williams: The Star
The most important safeguard in any democracy is eternal vigilance. Society and the media must be watchful and guard against especially those who wield power such as government and big business. They have the ability and power to pressure and limit the media if and when it suits them. We need to ensure that there is openness and transparency within society and the only guarantee is a free and unfettered media. An additional, internal threat relates to the quality of journalism. If the quality of journalism is poor, the credibility of our content suffers. We need to strive towards quality journalism at all times and see it as the best way to serve our society as asked of us in Article 16 of the South African Constitution.
Thabo Leshilo: Sowetan
The biggest threat to press freedom in South Africa lies in the public’s ignorance about the desirability of press freedom. It is an unfortunate feature of a democracy that journalists seem to be alone on this one. The general public is largely conservative. It still views journalism as an encroachment on people’s private lives. That’s why there is never a major outcry whenever journalists are prevented from doing their jobs. We have our work cut out for us convincing the public, as Sanef tries, that press freedom is their freedom. We need to win over the people on whose behalf we exercise press freedom. People have to understand that the Sowetan, for instance, would not have been able to publish its recent condom scandal exposé. The public needs to understand that the Sowetan would not have been able to alert them to the dangers posed by poor quality condoms unleashed by greedy businessmen who bribed SABS employees to certify the condoms.
Martin Williams: The Citizen
There are two main threats: First, the weakening of editorial teams through lack of investment in salaries and training. Second, the strong current within the ruling party that seeks to censor us with media tribunals, court cases and the like. In combination, this means we have a weakened fourth estate facing political bullies.
* Dailies with copy sales higher than 40,000 were included in this article.
■This Q&A first appeared in !_LT_EMThe Media!_LT_/EM magazine.
