For those of you from my generation, I’m sure you wonder what a country without media freedom is like. This year, we not only celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa but also 20 years of media freedom. During the apartheid era journalists in South Africa were not allowed to freely express themselves and the media was controlled by the government http://goo.gl/tJB9Ve. Imagine living in such confinement? Not being able to let people know the truth; not speaking your mind because of fear of execution. Awful right? Well South Africa has come a long way with its media freedom and went as far as ranking Forty-second out of 179 countries in reporters without border and is currently ranking fifty-second http://goo.gl/3UHlGf.
A part of the media is still however under the ownership of the government: SABC channels and radio stations such as 5fm and radio 2000 but way more information is issued out than during apartheid. We still have independent channels such as e.tv so we still receive unbiased and truthful information. All publications in South Africa fall under four major ownerships and there are rumours of cooperation bias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_of_South_Africa. I do not completely agree with these rumours though; there is still some diversity in the news we receive because these publications do not all fall under one ownership. I wonder what you think about that.
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Countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland and our beautiful South Africa are represented by PRISA which is basically an institute that ensures good practice in public relations and communication http://www.prisa.co.za/about-us/26-about-us/80-what-is-prisa. Aren’t we very fortunate to have a body that helps us unite and grow in this profession? I mean, we even have the PRISM awards given for the best public relations campaigns and to the best performing public relations agencies. Isn’t that a good way to motivate people to do their best? That’s why I personally think that the public relations practice in South Africa is very successful. If you don’t agree with me I’m sure you have good reasons to and I would love to hear what your reasons are.
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This was an awesome read. It made me realize how oblivious I was to how fortunate we are as a nation. Although there are barriers with transparency, we're light years ahead a lot of countries. This allows for the democratic dream to prosper in a sense. Interesting statistics, refreshing read.
ReplyDeleteYes, many countries do not have this privilege, journalists still live with the fear of expressing themselves, especially in Africa. We still have countries with dictators as presidents so living in a democratic country is surely a fortunate thing.
DeleteWhat a wonderful piece of literature. Very informative! It shows how the media plays a crucial role in shaping this healthy democracy. It has undoubtedly evolved and
ReplyDeletebecome more active over the years, From being just an informer it has become an integral part of
our daily lives. South Africa has the the gods smiling at them with an established transparent democracy and freedom of expression. What a fortunate nation!
Yes, the media does indeed play a crucial part in democracy. It lets us know everything and anything we need to know and at the time they happen. That's where the importance of media freedom comes in, if the media cannot freely express themselves and be truthful then the country is not a democratic one.
DeleteThanks for the read Clarisse. You have reminded me of how important media truly is! It's a way of gaining knowledge and not being so rigid. It's true that we're fortunate as a nation to be given fair and accurate news. Through media we're always sure to learn something new and find ways to assist others or better our lives.
ReplyDeleteCheers to true democracy and freedom of expression.
You're right Grace, honestly without the media we won't have any knowledge of what's going on within the country and around the world. So thank goodness we live in a country that gives us truthful and unbiased news.
DeleteInteresting piece of information, that just made me realize how privileged we are to live in a democratic country, where the media is actually transparent with us and informs us about what happens in our country on a day to day basis, not only are they transparent but they also offer us with a platform where we can state our opinions.
ReplyDeleteYes, there's no democracy without transparency. We are indeed very privileged
DeleteBeautiful. Although we live in a country where corruption, poverty and unemployment are on a rise, we shouldn't forget the positive aspects as well. Having media freedom and the ability to be who you are in a world where people go to jail for expressing themselves is a privilege we should never take for granted. :)
ReplyDeleteIndeed, it's really nothing to take for granted. The nation really needs to know how lucky they are because living under dictatorship is nothing pleasant at all
DeleteProfessionally: I will have to agree with you because the role that PR plays both in the corporate world and in the general public, it really is influential most importantly game changing.
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed game changing and more people should start realising the value of Public relations.
ReplyDeleteWell its true we are celebrating Media freedom and Public relations is right there too because it is evolving with time and its becoming a profession to contend with in South Africa.
ReplyDeleteIt is Pachida, and we can already foresee how great it will become in the next couple of years
DeleteTrue we are celebrating media freedom and i'm glad that things has changed since the Apartheid era, i don't think most people would be involved as they are or be up to date with whats going on. And Public Relations is also evolving with time.
ReplyDeleteYes, Democracy has brought us a lot of good things. Media freedom being one of them, allowing people to freely express themselves which is always a good thing.
DeleteBut that doesn't mean that, they must always say whatever comes out of their minds without thinking twice about what must be said. therefore they must learn to think carefully before saying what needs to be communicated and they must learn to use freedom of expression carefully.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. I do think that sometimes this freedom is abused and lines are crossed, so it is very important to think twice before you speak.
DeleteYour information is very useful and I don't the country was going to be what it is today all thanks to media freedom
ReplyDeleteAmen to that Miss Pinks
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