Researching threats to media freedom in South Africa
We are thankful to have supported the Thomson Reuters Foundation with its latest report on threats to media freedom in South Africa.
Relying on surveys, focus group engagements, and case study analysis, the report details 17 threats across four primary categories: abuse of court processes, regressive and enabling legislation, technology-facilitated harms, and labour-related and sustainability challenges. It also provides a series of recommendations to respond to these threats.
The report was drafted by Michael Power, Wendy Trott, Phenyo Sekati, and Sophie Smit from ALT Advisory, in association with Power Law Africa, and we are thankful to, among others, Will Church, Joanne Sawyer, Gakii Mbae, Loise Sigana, and Elizabeth Onyango from the Thomson Reuters Foundation for supporting us throughout the research process.
We are also thankful to the South Africa Expert Group, which included Dinesh Balliah, William Bird, Nicole Fritz, Michael Markovitz, Izak Minnaar, Samkelo Mokhine, Sbu Ngalwa, and Dario Milo for reviewing our findings, and to Kate Skinner from the Association of Independent Publishers, Reggy Moalusi from the South African National Editors’ Forum, and colleagues from the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism for distributing the survey questionnaires to their members.
We hope that this research contributes to ensuring that, both in law and in practice, South Africa’s hard-fought press freedom is not further eroded, but is allowed to flourish and perform its vital constitutional function.
Access the report here:
Weaponising the law: Threats to media freedom in South Africa
