South Africa’s Broadcasting, Electronic, Media and Allied Workers Union has issued the following statement regarding public broadcaster SABC’s news reports. The statement reads: “BEMAWU is extremely concerned with what appears to be the censoring of the SABC’s news reports. It has been reported to us by several of our members that they have been instructed to not report on ANY activities of the expelled ANC Youth League leader, Mr Julius Malema.
“The instruction went as far as to say that even if he is assassinated, or he dies in any other manner, it should not be reported on any SABC platform until top management has instructed otherwise. News staff have been warned also not to report on his whereabouts or what he is doing. This instruction apparently came from Solly Phetoe and Mike Seluma and was conveyed to all news editors around the country. A special meeting was called in some regions this morning to inform all news editors of this instruction.
“BEMAWU regards this as a gross violation of the principles of journalism and also an attack on freedom of the press. As a public broadcaster the SABC is duty bound to report news in a fair, unbiased and accurate manner, and without influence from top or any other management of the SABC. We have informed our members to not comply with this unlawful instruction and to report the news of the day without fear or prejudice and to judge what should go on air purely on the news value and principles of the editorial policy of the SABC. This reminds BEMAWU of the censoring of news by the apartheid government and total control of the public broadcaster by the ruling party. If management dare to touch any of our members ignoring this unlawful instruction, BEMAWU will defend our members and take the matter to the highest court.
“We call on an urgent investigation of this sorry state of affairs at the public broadcaster and we demand that the strongest action be taken against those top managers responsible for this instruction.’
