Pretoria - The South African National Editors' Forum (Sanef) will engage with government over the Protection of State Information Bill, the group said on Tuesday.
"We will also engage with ANC and government leadership on this matter with the objective of finding a solution that builds and supports South Africa's constitutional democracy," Sanef said after the National Assembly passed the Bill.
However, Sanef said it would continue to work with fraternal organisations and civil society formations to stop the Bill.
Sanef said it was saddened by the decision of MPs who voted in favour of the Bill.
"South Africans from all sectors of society have made it clear that they believe the bill is a danger to democracy, and a threat to their rights. We had hoped MPs would hear the clamour at the gates of the legislature, but they chose to stop their ears," it added.
Editors from across the country were present for the debate in the National Assembly and were "struck by the intensity with which opposition parties sought to repudiate the bill in its current form and to delay its passage".
After the final vote, the editors left the public gallery in protest.
"This need not be the end of the road, however. The remaining serious flaws in the Bill can still be remedied in the National Council of Provinces, or returned to Parliament by President Jacob Zuma.
"If that doesn't happen, the Bill has only one destination: the Constitutional Court. Sanef hopes legal action won't be necessary, and that the occupants of the people's parliament will seize this last chance to do the right thing," Sanef said.
