South Africa's media tribunal: US ambassador weighs in on press freedom
(Read article summary)The United States has joined those questioning proposed changes to South Africa's media laws, including a media tribunal and information bill that critics call 'draconian.'
Johannesburg, South Africa
The US Ambassador to South Africa, Donald Gips, waded into the rough waters of South Africa’s debate over media freedom, giving a speech on the need both for responsible reporting and for a media environment free of governmental interference.
Speaking at the South African Institute for International Affairs, a private think tank on the campus of Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, Ambassador Gips suggested that both the media industry and the South African government should find “common ground” in the search for solutions.
"I believe the challenge here is to balance that right of criticism with the need for media professionalism and standards for truthful and fair reporting,” Mr. Gips said. "The overturning of apartheid offered South Africans opportunities to come together to create a Constitution that is a model both in terms of citizen responsibility and for its protection of the freedoms so many fought to achieve. South Africa must not turn away from that history now. America still believes that a free press serves as the front line in the defence of democracy." (Read the speech here in its entirety.)
STORY: In ANC bill, South African media see threat to press freedom
'Media Appeals Tribunal' and information bill
The US ambassador’s speech – which also touched on many other issues, such as bilateral relations between the US and South Africa, as well as education, health, and corruption – is just the latest sign of international concern over efforts by the ruling African National Congress over media freedom.
