AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER the First Home Grown Analysis of the Media Landscape in Africa
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AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER The first home grown analysis of the media landscape in Africa SOUTH AFRICA 2018 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER The first home grown of the media landscape in Africa SOUTH AFRICA 2018 Published by: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) fesmedia Africa Windhoek, Namibia Tel: +264 61 417523 E-mail: [email protected] www.fesmedia-africa.org © This work is licensed under the Creative Commons’ Attribution-NonCommercial – ShareAlike 2.5 Licence. ISBN: 978-99945-77-65-1 The sale or commercial use of all media published by the Friedrich-Ebert- Stiftung (FES) and Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is prohibited without the written consent of the FES and MISA. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in this volume do not necessarily reflect the views of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung or fesmedia Africa. fesmedia Africa does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. CONTENTS SUMMARY 5 SECTOR 1 9 Freedom of expression, including freedom of the media, is effectively protected and promoted SECTOR 2 23 The media landscape, including new media, is characterised by diversity, independence and sustainability SECTOR 3 37 Broadcasting regulation is transparent and independent; the State broadcaster is transformed into a truly public broadcaster SECTOR 4 49 The media practise high levels of professional standards THE WAY FORWARD 65 The African Media Barometer The African Media Barometer (AMB) is an in-depth and comprehensive description and measurement system for national media environments on the African continent. Unlike other press surveys or media indices the AMB is a self-assessment exercise based on home-grown criteria derived from African Protocols and Declarations such as the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa (2002) by the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights. The instrument was jointly developed by fesmedia Africa, the media project of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Africa, and the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) in 2004. The AMB is an analytical exercise to measure the media situation in a given country which at the same time serves as a practical lobbying tool for media reform. Its results are presented to the public of the respective country to push for an improvement of the media situation using the AU-Declaration and other African standards as benchmarks. The recommendations of the AMB reports are then integrated into the work of the 19 country offices of the FES in sub-Saharan Africa and into the advocacy efforts of other local media organisations such as MISA. Methodology and Scoring System Every three to four years a panel of 10-12 experts, consisting of at least five media practitioners and five representatives from civil society, meets to assess the media situation in their own country. For 1½ days they discuss the national media environment according to 39 predetermined indicators. The discussion and scoring is moderated by an independent consultant who also edits the AMB report. After the discussion of one indicator, panel members allocate their individual scores to that respective indicator in an anonymous vote according to the following scale: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator In 2009 and again in 2013 some indicators were replaced to align with changes in the media landscape. Consequently, in some instances, the comparison of indicators of previous reports is not applicable (n/a), as the indicator is new or has been amended considerably. 2 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2018 SECTOR 1 The sum of all individual indicator scores is divided by the number of panel members to determine the average score for each indicator. These average indicator scores are added up to form average sector scores. Outcome The final, qualitative report summarises the general content of the discussion and provides the average score for each indicator. Panellists are not quoted by name in the report, in order to protect them from possible repercussions. The reports can be used as a tool for possible political discussion on media reform. In countries where English is not the official language, the report is published in a bilingual edition. In facilitating the AMB, the FES (and MISA, in SADC countries), only serves as a convener of the panel and as guarantor of the methodology. The content of the discussion and the report is owned by the panel of local experts and does not represent or reflect the view of FES or MISA. By the end of 2018 the AMB had been held in 31 African countries, in some of them for the fifth time already. Luckson Chipare Sara-Nathalie Brombart Regional Director Director Media Institute of Southern fesmedia Africa Africa (MISA) Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Windhoek, Namibia Windhoek, Namibia 3 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2018 ALGERIA CAPE VERDE ISLANDS MALI CHAD SENEGAL GUINEA NIGERIA ETHIOPIA CAMEROON BENIN IVORY COAST UGANDA TOGO GHANA KENYA GABON DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO CONGO TANZANIA MALAWI ANGOLA MOZAMBIQUE ZAMBIA MADAGASCAR ZIMBABWE NAMIBIA BOTSWANA MAURITIUS ESWATINI SOUTH AFRICA LESOTHO See above 31 AMB Countries (2005-2018) 4 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2018 SECTOR 1 African Media Barometer South Africa 2018 Summary South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions, with a Bill of Rights that enshrines the rights of all people in the country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and freedom. The right to freedom of expression and the media is protected in Article 16 of the constitution, with limitations that are reasonable and justifiable in an open and democratic society. Freedom to access information is guaranteed in Section 32(1), which states that everyone has a right of access to any information held by the state and information held by private persons that is required for the exercise or protection of any right. These rights create an environment where freedom of expression and opinions are guaranteed and respected. However, the existence of apartheid-era legislation still on the statute books such as the National Key Points Act,1 the Defence Act and the Riotous Assemblies Act, has the potential to curtail freedom of expression in the country: the state may invoke these laws at any time. One example was the use of legislation from the apartheid-era to hinder critical reporting on public money spent on former President Jacob Zuma’s private homestead at Nkandla. Journalistic freedom of expression and the right to freedom of expression by creative writers and activists seem to be under threat, as seen in the cases of journalists and authors receiving death threats and the banning of the film Inxeba (The Wound) which tackles issues of homosexuality, culture and masculinity. Some environmental justice activists have been murdered for speaking out against fracking and other environmental issues. These developments create a chilling effect on freedom of expression. The government honours regional and international instruments on freedom of expression and freedom of the media and makes efforts to incorporate these into the country’s laws. Conversely, it is also introducing legislation that hampers freedom of expression, such as the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill, and the Film and Publications Amendment Bill. A fully functional democracy in any country depends on access to different sources of information. South Africa has a wide range of sources of information across the media spectrum (print, broadcasting and digital media). However, access is skewed in favour of upper-income audiences who are well served by a plurality of media, while the lower-income population has limited access to diverse and plural information sources. Due to the fact that the South African media is largely corporate and advertising driven, the poor and marginalised are the least important group for the media to reach because of their low disposable income. Language also acts as a barrier to access as most publications are in English, thus limiting access to non-English speaking readers. Community media, specifically broadcasting, has the potential to provide access to marginalised people. South 5 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2018 Africa has over 120 licenced community radio stations, yet there is little support for community media from the statutory Media Development and Diversity Agency. Some community broadcasters are paying up to 200,000 South African Rand (ZAR) (14,372 United States Dollar (USD)) a month to Sentech for signal distribution. The low financial support from government has led to many community broadcasters becoming dependent on airtime sales and therefore adopting a commercial model. The push towards commercialisation in the community radio sector endangers its community mandate and not-for-profit status. A plurality of media does not necessarily result in diversity. South African media lacks diversity regarding offering content that addresses the gender, class, race and ethnic complexities of the country. Voices of women, rural citizens, the disabled, sexual minorities, ethnic and religious groups are marginalised in the media. There is also little diversity of styles, genres and formats. Mobile telephony fills in the access to telecommunications gap as penetration reached 150% in 2014. A study by Google, known as the Connected Consumer Survey (2017), found that 60% of South Africans (approximately 16 million people) now use a smartphone. Despite the pervasive use of mobile phones in the country, there are still issues of digital inequality. Studies have shown that the price of data in South Africa is the most expensive of all leading African economies. According to the report by World Wide Worx (Internet Access in South Africa 2017 Study) there are 29 million smartphone users but only 22 million internet users.