Today, the media industry across South Africa celebrates the 45th Black Wednesday, also known as National Press Freedom Day.

As the government states: “The day serves as a reminder of how far the South African media has come and also affords us an opportunity to reflect on media freedom.”

Press Council of South Africa executive director Latiefa Mobara, on behalf of the council, pays tribute to the media for ‘robustly defending and growing press freedom’ in the country.

“Our remarkable press freedom and the determination of the media to expose wrongdoing is playing a vital role in society. Overwhelmingly, media owners and journalists endorse and implement the Press Code of South Africa in their reporting.

“Our code ensures that journalism is fair, accurate, responsible and accountable. The Press Council keeps journalism fair by mediating and adjudicating complaints against our members – and it is fair to say that in the vast majority of complaints we find that our members have adhered to the Press Code.

“As a result, South Africa’s media – particularly those who subscribe to the Press Council – are trusted in a world where fake news and untested allegations and rumours abound.”

Mobara said in the decade from 2013, the Press Council received just over 5 000 complaints against its members.

“In the vast majority of cases, our public advocate and press ombudsman found in favour of the media. For example, in 2021, we received 845 complaints. Of those, only 32 were referred to the press ombudsman for adjudication and only three were taken on appeal to the Press Council’s appeals panel.

“The majority of the complaints were resolved by mediation by the Press Council’s public advocate, Fanie Groenewald, or were declined as having no merit or were withdrawn by the complainants. We are often accused by complainants of being biased in favour of our media members. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our independent co-regulatory system of mediation and adjudication is designed to ensure majority public representation at every level.

“We are very proud of the robustness and independence of our mediation and adjudication system. Complainants get a very fair hearing.”

She explained the origin of National Press Freedom Day. “On October 19, 1977, South Africa’s apartheid government banned three publications and outlawed several anti-apartheid groups in a one-day crackdown. South Africa’s media can be immensely proud of what they have achieved in the most difficult trading conditions to reinforce, extend and defend hard-won, responsible media freedom in our country. We salute them and are proud to have played our part in this.”

"As we commemorate #MediaFreedomDay, we salute our nation’s hardworking journalists, editors and other media workers who continue to fulfil their important role in the service of democracy." – President Ramaphosa #BlackWednesday pic.twitter.com/EA5fkz8va2

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) October 19, 2022

Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele added: “A free media is an integral part of our democracy and government is committed to press freedom. We value our regular interactions with the media formations such as Sanef, the Press Club and the Press Gallery. We will continue to further strengthen our relations and cement the importance of independence of the media. The freedom of the press must be respected because any threat to the freedom of the media undermines our democracy.”

Gungubele said the constitution entrenches the right to freedom of expression, including media freedom because it recognises that the media plays a crucial role in ensuring that all South Africans and government are held accountable.

“We recognise the media as partners in strengthening our democracy and promoting our rights, which many have fought and died for during the years of struggle. We embrace any platform that allows us to strengthen relationships with the media, while also allowing us to speak about the work of government and to share our successes and challenges,” added Gungubele and said government appreciates the good work done by local media.

“Especially the diligent work that journalists did during the Covid-19 pandemic. Today, we also remember the brave journalists who lost their lives while bringing reliable information to our homes.”