Steven Friedman, writing in Business Day yesterday, argued that journalists do not have much to fear from the proposed Protection of Information Bill. In the process of making an excellent point, namely that those that will be the hardest hit if the Bill is passed will be ordinary citizens who wish to engage in grassroots [...]
Posts under ‘Freedom of expression’
Why now?
There is no doubt that the media is facing the greatest threat to its freedom since the advent of democracy. The proposed Protection of Information Bill and Media Appeals Tribunal, the proposed Protection from Harassment Bill (which thankfully seems to have been put on hold), the proposed Independent Communications Authority of South Africa Amendment Bill [...]
Would Media Appeals Tribunal be constitutional?
Many people have asked me whether the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal (MAP) would pass constitutional muster. We already know that the proposal for a MAP is wrongheaded, self-serving, deeply reactionary and unnecessary. But if Parliament passed a law that further limited the freedom of the printed media to publish what it deems important, and if [...]
Boiled chickens pretending to be plumed peacocks
Suddenly there is a lot of (artificially whipped-up) hysteria about the media doing the rounds amongst certain politicians. They want to muzzle the media by introducing a Media Tribunal “with teeth” and are also hell bent on passing the Protection of Information Bill which will criminalize much of what goes for investigative journalism in this [...]
Sleepwalking through an empty life
Sometimes I wonder whether we would all not have been far happier if we had known absolutely nothing about what was happening in our world and if we were unable to remember – even for one week – how we had been wronged and hurt by others.
What if we had not been able to remember how the apartheid [...]
The ANC, human dignity and freedom of the media
When Tony Blair became leader of the British Labour Party he set out to befriend media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Murdoch owns The Sun, the biggest tabloid newspaper in Britain, as well as Sky News. In previous elections The Sun had supported the Conservatives and Blair understood that he needed the support of The Sun (topless page [...]
On the Fifa World Cup by-laws
Two recent events highlight the rather draconian nature of the municipal by-laws adopted by all host cities in order to safeguard the profits that Fifa hopes to make from the Football World Cup in South Africa.
First, news reached me of a women being detained for distributing political pamphlets at the Durban Fifa Fan Fest. Then [...]
Fifa World Cup: Feel it, it is here (then shut up)
Great confusion reigns about directives issued by someone in the South African Police Services (as the Constitution refers to it) or the Police Force (as the militarists and other enemies of freedom refer to it) to a number of municipalities not to allow marches for the duration of the 2010 World Cup. According to Professor Jane Duncan:
A [...]
Secrecy is the enemy of democracy
National security – like patriotism – can be said to be the last refuge of scoundrels. All around the world tyrants and supposed democrats justify oppression, torture, obsessive secrecy, spying on citizens, and state-sponsored assassination – all in the name of national security. National security becomes an excuse to invade other countries and assassinate their [...]
Zapiro, freedom of speech and the Burka
It is rather ironic that Zapiro is in hot water for drawing a cartoon bemoaning the fact that some followers of the Prophet Muhammad have no sense of humour. It would be like me being assaulted by ANC Youth League members for saying they are politically intolerant. The vehement response from Zapiro’s critics sort of proves his point.
But [...]
