Public broadcaster SABC has appointed independent monitoring agency Media Monitoring Africa (formerly Media Monitoring Project) to observe and file daily reports on its coverage of the upcoming South African elections.
The SABC announced its intention to deliver “coverage that is impartial, equitable, accurate and in line with the code of ethics in our Election Pledge” on 11 March at a press conference in Johannesburg.
During the 2004 elections the SABC was criticised for devoting an entire Saturday 7pm news broadcast to the launch of ruling party ANC’s election campaign. This broadcast took place even before the official launch date for party campaigning. The SABC is currently appearing before the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in response to a complaint laid by the Freedom of Expression Institute regarding its “failure to comply with the Code of Condact for broadcasters in its news and in its comment programmes during the period of alleged blacklisting of commentators”.
Speaking at the 11 March press conference, SABC Acting Group CE Gab Mampone said: “We’re really proud to be part of this mammoth task of covering the election period wich culminates in the elections on 22 April. There is new serious contestation among parties this time. The market has widened so the South African public will have more choice. It is a good thing for South Africa to have this multi-party space. Our comprehensive election coverage begins in earnest on Monday, 16 March with the launch of half-hour daily Special Election Broadcasts on SABC2 at 6pm, which will provide up-to-date news and information on elections and political party campaigns. This is in addition to the weekly TV election debate programmes and the radio town hall meetings already being broadcast.”
Mampone stressed that fairness and objectivity were to be the tenants of the SABC’s election coverage. “We are open to criticism; there is a structure within the News department for the public to complain. The SABC is trying to engage with any political parties who feel that they are not getting their fair share of coverage. There will be rules of engagement and we will benchmark ourselves. This benchmarking must be scientific and based on international standards. Our coverage must be vast and cover the deepest rural areas of South Africa.”
Media Monitoring Africa (MMA) is to submit its reports to the SABC’s News department daily, as well as to its Regulatory department to ensure election coverage complies with the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (ICASA) regulations.
Said MMA director William Bird: “MMA has a proven track record and we were appointed by the SABC through a tender process. We were previously the Media Monitoring Project, which was set up in 2003 to ensure fair coverage of South Africa’s first democratic elections. As a public broadcaster the SABC’s role in the elections is fundamental. Therefore it is in everyone’s interest that the SABC does provide fair and equitable coverage.
“Monitoring election coverage is not an easy task. SABC has 20 radio stations and three national TV channels. News is broadcast on an hourly basis on most of those platforms. MMA will be monitoring between five to eight hours of radio and television coverage, seven days a week. The SABC is expected to provide informed, accurate, diverse and fair coverage. We will be giving specific feedback to the SABC. I must stress that the SABC has absolutely no say in how we monitor them nor do they have any input in our content. While it’s true that some of the SABC’s editorial policies have come under fire, others are quite progressive.”
Bird noted that the MMA’s methodology had been refined over 15 years and over 110 projects and was recently appointed data analyst for the Global Media Agency. “During the election period we plan to monitor 60 other platforms in addition to the SABC.
In closing, SABC spokesperson Kaiser Kganyago promised SABC viewers “the best coverage possible – we serve the interests of the electorate.”
