Who has influence on media

 

Who has influence on the media

By Qaqamba Matundu

When it comes to who has the influence on the media, journalists, and what stories to appear in the media in South Africa, it has been reported that "The government has been able to keep media wrapped around its finger since the beginning of media. This can lead to unfair advantage in a political race between parties that are making campaigns that are running the other reputation with, for all we know, false information. The public has even been known to have a change in opinions after watching or reading a source from the media. The government has learnt how to persuade everyone, which is why our voices are more important than ever in our generation. The government is taking control of the media making it harder for individuals to form valid opinions without it being influenced." (ukessays,2018)

Perceives report as ''In August 2017 came an announcement that the former government spokesperson and so called "Gupta crusader" Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi had bought ANN7, the 24-Hour news channel broadcast on DSTV, and the pro-government newspaper owned by the Gupta family Oakbay Investments, the sale to 100% Manyi owned Lodidox was financed by the Guptas in a 450 million vendor financial deal (the New Age went for 150 million an ANN7 for 300million). Former employees have said their work was regularly edited to fit with the Gupta family agenda. Greg Nicholson wrote in his analysis in the Daily Maverick. Meanwhile, the New Age has despite how readership profited off the family's ties to government leaders earning lucrative advertising subscription and event deals with the state. Manyi is reported to have played a key role in the Bell Pottinger scandal and was an outspoken critic of "white monopoly capital", a catchphrase of the Pottinger propaganda campaign. Amongst other things he is also said to have embarked on a Twitter crusade to discreate former finance minister Pravin Gordan.

At the beginning of 2017, Sanef expressed its unhappiness at chaos unfolding at the State of National Address (SONA) preparations in February which saw the Economic Freedom Fighters ejected from the Parliament. Sanef lamented what it called the growing securitization of parliament. Journalists were prevented from reporting on the events by the authorities, including having their freedom of movement restricted. Sanef said in a statement that amongst other incidents, journalists based at parliament's media offices were hapered from leaving and returning to their riot police. Some photographers were also prevented from taking photographs.

The companies and businesspeople that have influence on the media includes Tiso Blackstar Group, previously Times Media Group that announced that it was shutting down the print edition of the Times, the daily tabloid that was launched in 2007. Tiso managing director Andrew Gill said declining circulation of the tabloid meant that it had become unprofitable, despite an increase in its vendor prices, publishing a thinner edition and cutting its circulation and reach. Instead, Tiso wants to focus on an online premium product of the publication. Changing from print to fully digital would necessitate changes in editorial processes and newsroom structures. Gill stated in his letter. The retrenchment process was only expected to be completed by the end of January 2018, and by the closure. Eight staff have already been retrenched at Tiso over the past years.

The Independent Media group meanwhile launches its own ombud office in May, following its withdrawal from the industry's press council in 2016. Speaking at the launch of the office which was representative in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape executive chairman of the group lqbal Surve, insisted that Independent Media was opposed to media appeals tribunal as proposed by the ruling ANC government and its withdrawal from the Press Council should not be seen as a lack of commitment to independent regulations by the industry. The Independent Media withdrew from the press Council because it wanted complaints to waive their rights to further legal action, citing exorbitant legal costs. It has included a waiver clause in its new press code

One of the examples where government is showing influence in the media was when journalists were facing death threats character assassination prevented from doing their work by the police, intimidated by things, and chased away by the crowd. In at least one instance, the death of a journalist has been blamed on a sustained and disturbing campaign of intimidation.

While the harassment of journalists received some attention in the context of the Gupta family and further revelations of corruption and state capture threats on journalists in this country are coming from all quarters and in different contexts. Journalists receive death threats, are chased from scenes of unfolding news events, their events, their movement restricted, are robbed and their characters assassinated. At least one death of SABC journalist is being directly blamed on a campaign of intimidation and harassment after she insisted on her right to report freely and without censorship at the public broadcaster. Muthambi who was a communication minister in an echo of a supreme court of appeal ruling in 2016, the minister was found to be incompetent and to have interfered in the SABC boards' deliberation. The parliamentary inquiry revealed that she had amongst other things undermined the board in 2014 when she changed the SABC's article of incorporation, giving its executive greater power. In further twist the inquiry found that this change may not have proper legal standing following her failure to register it with the companies and intellectual Property Commision (CIPC). " (Kruger and Finlay,2017)

The government indirectly controls what is put out into the media and is bribing privately owned news stations to do the work for them. The government believes that if they have privately owned stations take a bribe that they technically doing anything wrong because the station chose to take the bribe meaning that they believe in whatever cause they are about to put in their newspaper or radio station. ''The private owner, in contrast has preference over advertising revenue and contribution represented by the utility function where the first term is advertising revenue and C is the subsidy from the government to the private owner.

In conclusion, the government has put more work into pretending not to have a significant role in the media than doing anything to help locals. The government has taken a source meant to help locals and turn it into a monstrosity of a power that can influence a mass to do most anything. Our generation needs to stand up and fight for our freedom that others have been fighting for generations. If this continues at the pace that it is currently going at, we will have zero means of selling false information from information making us powerless against the government influence over the media.