Print this page <http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article874941.ece/Union-cheers-SABC-probe-ruling?service=print#> Union cheers SABC probe rulingJan 26, 2011 3:27 PM| By ------------------------------ The high court ruling ordering Icasa to relaunch a probe into alleged political interference at the SABC in 2006 was a victory for the public, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA said. ------------------------------ SABC headquarters in Auckland Park *Photograph by: Times LIVE*
" Any attempts to take back the SABC to the Snuki era must be defeated. " "This judgment by Judge Claassen is a victory for the working class and the public in our ongoing efforts of making the SABC a truly public and independent broadcaster that serves the interests of all South Africans," spokesman Castro Ngobese said in a statement. "The judgment should serve as a locomotive [sic] in burying the manipulation and abuse of the SABC news and current affairs to advance sectarian and factional political interests." Ngobese urged the SABC to release its own report on how it planned to combat manipulation of the news department. The Communication Workers' Union said the judgment confirmed its long-held view that the broadcaster was being used to fight political battles. The union described the ruling as a "wake-up call" to South Africans. "We must ensure that the SABC becomes an independent broadcaster that serves the interests of the working class, the poorest of the poor and the South Africans in general. "Any attempts to take back the SABC to the Snuki era must be defeated." Judge Claassen referred the matter back to the Independent Communication Authority of SA (Icasa) for it to re-examine the complaints about the broadcaster. In June 2006, then SABC CEO Dali Mpofu instituted an inquiry into whether former news and current affairs executive Snuki Zikalala imposed limits on the use of analysts, commentators and experts in the news and current affairs division. The inquiry followed a statement by then SAFM presenter John Perlman. The Freedom of Expression Institute (FXI) laid a complaint with Icasa alleging that, by excluding certain commentators, Zikalala violated the Broadcasting Act's requirement for its public services to provide independent and unbiased news and current affairs programming. Icasa dismissed the application and also ruled the evidence contained in the record, which the SABC considered an internal document, was inadmissible in future proceedings at Icasa. The FXI then took the matter to court. In his judgment Claassen said Zikalala's "politically motivated manipulation" of the SABC's news coverage of the 2008 Zimbabwe elections violated the broadcaster's duty to meet the highest standards of journalistic professionalism and provide fair, unbiased, impartial and balanced coverage. -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
