Expert critiques global media giants

International media expert and educator Govin Reddy: “During apartheid, blacks and indigenous peoples, or ‘coloreds,’ were denied opportunities to practice journalism. There were very few trained black journalists, particularly in broadcasting, and very few blacks wanted to work for the state-controlled SABC.”

4:09 p.m., Nov. 17, 2005--The growing pains of a free press in South Africa and the emergence of media giants as a result of corporate takeovers and globalization were among the issues addressed by visiting scholar, international media expert and educator Govin Reddy during a talk, “News, Citizenship & the Media: An International Perspective,” at noon, Monday, Nov. 14, in the Trabant University Center Theatre.

An international journalist and University of Stellenbosch (South Africa) Professor Extraordinaire of media management and ethics, Reddy was active in his country’s anti-apartheid movement and was imprisoned for six months, placed under house arrest for five years and was exiled for 10 years. After the apartheid system collapsed a decade ago, he was involved in the transformation of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) from state control to public broadcasting during the administration of Nelson Mandela.

“South Africa is one of the new democratic states in the world, having gained its independence from apartheid in 1994,” Reddy said. “Since then, the media in my country has undergone a profound transformation, as has the society.”

Among these changes, Reddy said, is a new constitution that includes a bill of rights similar to that of United States. The South African constitution--and its mandate for a free press--is considered one of the most progressive in the world, Reddy said.

Before independence, there were about 115 laws controlling the media in South Africa, Reddy said.

“It was highly restrictive, and the media, including the SABC, was under total state control,” Reddy said. “With the coming of liberation and freedom, the SABC had to be changed. I was one of three South Africans asked to transform the SABC into a truly public media.”

While the end of apartheid saw the beginning of independent public media, there were problems in getting media organizations to reflect the country’s demographic makeup, which includes a black population that accounts for about 70 percent of South Africa’s 44 million population.

“During apartheid, blacks and indigenous peoples, or ‘coloreds,’ were denied opportunities to practice journalism. There were very few trained black journalists, particularly in broadcasting, and very few blacks wanted to work for the state-controlled SABC,” Reddy said. “When liberalization came in 1994, those who had been denied did not have the skills, and this created a whole new set of problems.”

Reddy said that while there was a temporary lowering of journalistic standards after the fall of apartheid, the implementation of long-term training programs should result in a balance of white, black and colored indigenous individuals that more accurately reflects the country’s racial and ethnic demographics.

Another problem, Reddy said, is that the media in South Africa tends to be urban-centered and is largely in English, the accepted language of commerce and politics.

“There are 11 languages in South Africa, and there is a large rural population that does not speak English,” Reddy said. “
“Hardly any media serve them, and nobody covers them.”

Media in America

While the media in South Africa faced the challenges and reaped the rewards of a profoundly changed society, many media observers there and elsewhere hold a different perspective on the nature of the media in America and how it works.

Reddy: “The patriotic press was uncritical and went along with whatever the Bush administration wanted to do. The media in America let its citizens down by not making it clear that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”

“The old perception was that the United States had one of the most fierce news media in the world, and that the government remained aloof and did not interfere,” Reddy said. “While Americans at the United Nations preach to others nations that government should not interfere with the working of a free press, the perception outside the United States is that its government does indeed interfere in ways, such as seeing who is granted broadcasting licenses.”

Reddy also said that media observers outside the United States questioned the objectivity of the America media because of the development of what he called a “patriotic media” that did not question the government enough about the reasons for going to war with Iraq.

“The patriotic press was uncritical and went along with whatever the Bush administration wanted to do,” Reddy said. “The media in America let its citizens down by not making it clear that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.”

Media observers outside the United States also have questions about the use of embedded journalists by the Pentagon during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

“We think that journalists should be seen and not go underground, and that they should be as detached as possible,” Reddy said. “We are not sure if an embedded journalist who spends days and weeks with the troops can report objectively.”

Corporate media giants

Another trend with serious implications for the future of a free press, Reddy said, is the growing number of corporate takeovers that result in a few companies gaining control over a large number of previously individually owned media outlets.

“In the past, publishers had certain values--they knew that newspapers were important and that they could help determine what happens at election time,” Reddy said. “The goal today for these giant media corporations worldwide seems to be getting the highest ratings and the biggest piece of the advertising cake. Instead of serving their citizens, these organizations now spend most of their time watching their company’s bottom line.”

Reddy, who earned his master’s degree in African history from Northwestern University, has held senior management positions around the world, including chief executive of SABC radio and deputy director of the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism, both in Johannesburg.

He has presented papers at more than 30 international media conferences, has served on the faculty of the Salzburg Seminar and is a past president of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association.

Reddy’s talk was sponsored by UD’s Center for International Studies, the Center for Community Research and Service, the School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy and the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy.

Articles by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Duane Perry

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