Pretoria - The role of South African media will take centre stage at the second eThekwini Social Cohesion Conference at Moses Mabhida stadium, in Durban, on Thursday.
Communications Minister Faith Muthambi will open the three-day conference, which will be hosted by the eThekwini Municipality’s Parks, Recreation and Culture unit.
Minister Muthambi said while she understands that the print and broadcast media in South Africa are guided by the noble principles of editorial independence, the role of the media is to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best decisions about their lives, their country and their government.
“The role of the media in our democratic country is to empower residents with information about their respective communities, country and government and in doing so, we must be fair to all parties involved in any news story.
“We urge journalists to refrain from writing stories that seem to portray government leaders as corrupt or stories that seek to influence residents to rebel against their own leaders,” she said.
The Minister said what seemed to be the single-most important challenge to some of the South African media houses is to find its place and role in a democracy.
“Moving from a repressive method to democracy system is forcing the media to re-evaluate their function and role as an industry. Now the question is should we continue to view the media as a moral watchdog of our society or as a developmental facilitator?
“As government, we are saying the media should contribute to the transformation of our country. Building social cohesion and promoting values of a caring society are an essential part of the battle of ideas and must underpin as well as inform the manner in which the media operates.
“We are calling all journalists to always strive to write accurate and well balanced stories….stories that don’t cause harm or promote hatred amongst citizens…We want stories that are like a glue that defines and unite South Africans…stories that don’t fuel tensions between South Africans and people from other foreign countries,” she said.
Transformation in the media
With regard to transformation in the media, Minister Muthambi said media diversity supports, promotes, deepens, consolidates and strengthens democracy, nation building, social cohesion and good governance.
“Transformation in the media needs to target the entire value chain and investigate anti-competitive behaviour if any.”
Head of the City’s Parks, Recreation and Culture unit, Thembinkosi Ngcobo, said since 1994 they have been climbing the hill of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic City.
Conference programme
Ngcobo said the conference will be structured in a manner that addresses various issues of relevance both at national and city levels.
On day one, the discussions will centre on topics such as the media as a cornerstone of nation-building or a perpetrator of our racial past; a non-racial South Africa: Illusion or Reality? Reflecting on Xenophobia: where did the nation go wrong?
On day two, delegates will discuss the role of education as a single most important equaliser in a racially divided society; Liveable and caring City by 2030, while day three will focus on creating enabling political and moral conditions for effective women leadership.
Ngcobo said a number of well-known political leaders, opinion makers, administrators, business leaders, members of the media and community leaders and activists will be invited to present and lead discussions which will inform the city’s social cohesion and nation building agenda. Each session will have key note speakers and selected panellists. - SAnews.gov.za
