The Economic Freedom Fighters and the Congress of the People have condemned the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s decision to no longer broadcast footage of destruction of public property during protests.
SABC has argued that to cover the news using such footage is a promotion of these actions and will encourage other communities to do the same.
“This is by all standards a journalistic censoring based on an unfounded logic. It is related to the shallow sentiment that the public broadcaster should only be telling happy news‚” EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement.
The EFF said there were no grounds to think that showing the public that people have burnt down a public building would encourage others to do the same.
“Instead‚ when you do not show what has happened‚ you tell incomplete news and no one ever understands the extent of the frustration and damage that would have occurred.”
COPE said SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng was mistaken that such censorship would put an end to violent demonstrations‚ vandalism and arson.
Cope spokesman Dennis Bloem said Motsoeneng was distorting the SABC’s mandate when he linked his censorship to the function of educating the citizens.
“How do you educate people by keeping them ignorant of what is happening?
“A safe and stable society requires an informed citizenry. His decision to censor footage in order to ‘show that violent protests are not necessary’ is politically ignorant‚” Bloem said.
EFF‚ COPE condemn SABC’s protest blackout decision
SABC has argued that to cover the news using such footage is a promotion of these actions and will encourage other communities to do the same.
“This is by all standards a journalistic censoring based on an unfounded logic. It is related to the shallow sentiment that the public broadcaster should only be telling happy news‚” EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said in a statement.
The EFF said there were no grounds to think that showing the public that people have burnt down a public building would encourage others to do the same.
“Instead‚ when you do not show what has happened‚ you tell incomplete news and no one ever understands the extent of the frustration and damage that would have occurred.”
COPE said SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng was mistaken that such censorship would put an end to violent demonstrations‚ vandalism and arson.
Cope spokesman Dennis Bloem said Motsoeneng was distorting the SABC’s mandate when he linked his censorship to the function of educating the citizens.
“How do you educate people by keeping them ignorant of what is happening?
“A safe and stable society requires an informed citizenry. His decision to censor footage in order to ‘show that violent protests are not necessary’ is politically ignorant‚” Bloem said.
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