Spit & Polish
Saturday, September 4th, 2010 Uncategorized.
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Media freedom and public debate are the life breath and the heartbeat of a functioning democracy. They are not sacred icons and we all know that the media do not always work perfectly. They get things wrong and they often step out of line.
Despite that, a free press is as essential to a healthy society as oxygen and blood are to the human body. Here in South Africa, I think we have been relying on and believing in the era of "Madiba Magic". he is still an iconic and beloved presence but our sense of adulation and hope has receded.
Big events like the World Cup are wonderful image-builders for the country. We have a right to be proud, but it was a purely commercial enterprise and a temporary "feel-good" interlude. As that elation recedes, we are hearing the grubby stories of non-payment andbroken promises and contracts.
But there are rather more serious reports, like the shooting of miners at the Aurora Grootvlei mine near Johannesburg, a business allegedly linked to a nephew of President Jacob Zuma and a grandson of Nelson Mandela.
According to the South African Press Association, police said they recovered four bodies three days after security guards apparently mowed down several supposedly illegal miners who were combing the mine for gold seams.
Dead bodies pose tough questions for any company, no matter what its financial or political status is. The police must investigate and give answers to the public.
I am pretty sure many people would have liked to see this story vanish from the headlines. but that is exactly why it must go onto the front page of every newspaper in the country.
The media must ask the questions the people of South Africa want to hear answered. how much luck do you think you would have if you, Joe Public, went to the senior executives at the Aurora Grootvlei mine and asked for answers? how welcome would you feel if you marched in to demand why the information went nowhere for three days?
Which member of the public would have the guts to walk into the office of the security firm that employed the guards accused of shooting the miners and demand a full account? There’s a fair chance you’ll get a lot more than a simple "no comment".
That’s why we have newspapers, reporters and editors. They do the job the citizens cannot do. Information is crucial to the financial, political and personal choices we all make. If we cannot trust the independence and freedom of expression of the media, then we are in a situation no better than Zimbabwe, Haiti or the Sudan.
That’s what I believe, and I am still surprised when I get a letters like this one from Johannes Tshidada in Soweto.
"I think the white-owned media are behind tarnishing the ANC government and instead they are promoting the ‘good work’ of Helen Zille’s DA in the Western Cape. The likes of Redi Direko, Mondli Makhanya and Mzilikazi (wa Afrika) are being paid big money to be used as representing the so-called black elites.
"To be candid with you Barry, I don’t see how a white person who has never experienced poor service delivery, let alone sleeping hungry in his or her lifetime, can be concerned about what is taking place in Alexandra or Thembisa.
"It’s a given statistic that over 99% of whites live in developed areas with most basic services running smoothly, agree?
"So, why do they have to worry about service delivery towards this poor black oke in the townships? that does not add up to me. What about you, Barry? The only reason is to discredit the ruling party, nothing else and that is why I feel the proposed media tribunal is very relevant."
That’s an opinion I understand, but I think it is under-informed. Tshidada takes a jab at Zille. do you remember that, when she was on the Daily Mail, she was one of the first reporters to expose the murder of Steve Biko, when the police said his death had been "an accident". do you really think the courage she showed has degenerated into self-promotion?
In the unlikely chance that such a change has happened, why form a coalition with Patricia de Lille, one of the toughest, most abrasive, honest whistleblowers in public life?
Do you discount the charity work that newspapers and the other media do? The media for which I work have had me planting trees in Soweto, building houses in shanty towns and collecting warm clothes and blankets in winter and delivering them to the needy.
Those initiatives happen every year and they achieve good things. do you really think such projects are merely a facade behind which the media conceal their plan to dominate and disenfranchise the poor?
There are still vast inequalities in South Africa. but individual citizens cannot change the economic and demographic structure of poverty and township life. only government and politicians can really do that effectively. let us not forget that they work for us – not the other way around – but it does not feel that way.
If politicians have nothing to hide; if their portfolios and their personal holdings are transparent and appropriate; and if they opposed all corruption issues, they would be celebrated in the streets by a loyal nation. do you see that happening?
As I watched the trials of Jackie Selebi and Glen Agliotti, and saw the layers of lies and corruption being unwrapped, it seemed like a reminder that without a functioning media in this country, we would lose almost everything we have gained.
Writes on Ronge
As a movie critic, you must be quite chuffed about the government’s current involvement in opening up funding for local movies, especially when one considers we have had almost three years of recession, which has affected filmmaking worldwide.
However, I wonder if we are breaking new ground. I still see many films made to the apartheid, Aids, crime template. Possible exceptions might be White Wedding, Jozi and possibly White Lion. do you agree with me, or do you think we are moving into a better, more enlightened era?
Mary Gumsley
Hi Mary
You raise an interesting point, but the movie business is all about finding funding and making profits and that places fimmakers on the horns of a dilemma. Government agencies do sometimes fund movies without any high expectation of a profit, but they measure their success in cultural or political terms because government funding usually goes with a message. It is part of their political process.
That’s why so few independent South African films actually make a profit. There are exceptions, like Leon Schuster, who has a golden touch with local fans who turn out to see anything that carries his name, but he is unique in the field.
I think White Wedding would have made a modest profit, but I doubtJozi did. I know for a fact that Barry Hilton, a top comedian who always pulls in crowds for his stand-up shows, invested a lot of his money in his film Finding Lenny, but he did not grow rich from it. I also think generic, touristy wildlife features like White Lion will make their money overseas.
To put it bluntly, with most of the government funding for feature movies expect to see the government’s image and society at large being positively portrayed in return for the funding.
Independent producers and directors who don’t work in terms of that model are compelled to stick to proven commercial formulae, like gory thrillers or raucous teenage comedies, in the hope that they will score a hit with commercial results that will give them the bucks to make the films they really want to make, and that’s an expensive risk to take.
<a href="http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article614681.ece/Spit–amp–Polishtag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article614681.ece/Spit–amp–PolishSat, 21 Aug 2010 22:02:42 GMT 00:00″>Spit & Polish