Press freedom is under siege
I refer to the letter by Barrie Lovell "ANC government worse than the apartheid regime" in The Saturday Independent dated 7 August 2001. The ANC government is indeed endeavouring to muzzle the press with its proposed Media Tribunal and the Protection of Information Bill that is at present being debated in Parliament. This is most unfortunate, since a restriction on media freedom impacts on other important rights, as Lovell points out in his letter.The following words of John Milton, the famous 17th century poet, in an erudite essay entitled The Areopagitica, who protested vehemently against the pernicious censorship of the press by the licensing laws of the time:'Whoever knew truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter' are apposite at this juncture of our political life in South Africa.
Press freedom is under siege in South Africa from various quarters. This freedom, more so than other fundamental rights, is open to abuse. However, the fact that it can indeed be abused does not justify restrictions on it. Freedom of the press and other media is protected by section 16 of the Constitution. Freedom of expression, of which media freedom forms an indispensable part, is fundamental to democratic government and the philosophy of human rights because, as the famous American Judge, Cardoso declared, it 'is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom'. Although media freedom is not absolute, where it is restricted this must accord with the values found in a democratic society.
The real danger to press freedom is that of self-censorship caused by what is known as the chilling effect. The Media is chilled when persons whose conduct or speech is constitutionally permissible are intimidated in order to coerce them to retreat from intended conduct by threat of draconian action.
The threat that the Media Tribunal and the harsh penalties that the Protection of Information Bill proposes will hang like the sword of Damocles over investigative journalism, which is so essential for the democratic process. This threat will most certainly have this kind of chilling effect. What is at stake is not merely media freedom, but a robust and informed discourse on all sensitive and crucial social and political issues, affecting our democracy and the body politic.
Media freedom is indeed a seminal right, and must be nurtured and cherished, no matter who employs it, and no matter how distasteful or uncomfortable the message. The true beneficiaries of the right to a free press are not essentially media organisations, but the public at large, who have a right to be informed. We ignore any threat to the press, at our peril since the cost of liberty is eternal vigilance.What is required at this time is a vigorous and informed debate on the issues involved.
Cllr George Devenish BSC LLD.
7th August 2001
