Media Monitoring Project opposes the Film and Publication Amendment Bill

1. Presentation to Parliament Portfolio Committee of Home AffairsFilm and Publication Amendment Bill William Bird For the Media Monitoring Project Wednesday 2 May 2007

2. The MMP The MMP is a human rights driven, non-governmental organisation specialising in media monitoring with the goal of advancing a media culture, in SA and the rest of the continent, that is critical and fair, free, diverse and ethical.

3. The MMP monitors the media • South African based human rights NGO; • Started in 1993 to monitor the media in the run up to SA’s first democratic elections; • Conducted over 100 media monitoring projects: • Race (SAHRC, CSVR); • Elections (94,95,99,00,04,06); • Gender (GBV, GMMP); • HIV (WITS, MAP); • Children (CMMP). • Promote more accountable and accessible media; • MMP research is used to advocate for a more informative and educative media;

4. The MMP monitors the media • MMP internationally recognised; • GMMP data analyst 76 countries: half the world; • Extensive research on representation of children in he media; • Submissions to ICASA and PPC, Communication.

5. FPB Bill: Where does MMP stand? MMP strongly supports: • Human rights focused legislation that serves to enshrine rights in the constitution; • Protection and promotion of children’s rights; • The Film & Publications Board as means of educating and informing people to enable them to make informed decisions about media; • Legislation that seeks to prevent child abuse.

6. FPB Bill: Where does MMP stand? MMP strongly opposed to: • Unconstitutional limitations on human rights, present, especially media freedom; • The Film and Publications Amendment Bill in its current form.

7. MMP Opposed: Why? • Questions about children’s participation; • Bill poses significant threats to media freedom; • Bill is impractical; • Bill seems confused.

8. MMP Opposed: Children’s participation • Object of the act to “protect children.” • SA also signed and ratified UN CRC, including right to participation in all matters that affect them, and have their voices heard. (Articles 12 and 13); • No indication given as to if and how children participated in drafting the Bill; • No provision made for children’s participation in processes in the Bill. • Danger of speaking for children without children.

9. MMP Opposed: Danger to Media freedom • Deletion of Section 22 subsection 3 – giving exemption to newspapers. Also deletion of Section 23 subsection 3 – exemption of ICASA licensed broadcasters; • Impact is to require that they submit material for classification. This constitutes clear violation of freedom of expression.

10. MMP Opposed: Danger to Media freedom • Option of encouraging all to apply for exemption on individual basis as possibly envisaged(22(2)) must also be strongly opposed; • Such a system may in future be easily abused!

11. MMP Opposed: Impractical • Worst Case scenario: the exemptions are deleted; • Nature of news is tends to focus on many of the issues raised in Bill – child abuse, propaganda for war, incitement to imminent violence or advocacy of hatred based on group characteristic; • Section 16 would mean upwards of 35% of all news to be submitted for classification prior to publication;

12. MMP Opposed: Impractical • Newsrooms in best case would be only day late with news, in most cases would grind to halt; • In SA over 120 radio stations, over 300 newspaper titles, 5 tv channels; • 35% of news on radio @2hours/week average = 84 hours or double working week. Approx 26 000 print stories/week @5mins/item=2100 hours/week; • What about internet?? • What about mobile??

13. MMP Opposed: Impractical • People will be encouraged to seek international sources of news and information to exclusion of local content; • Self-censorship/avoidance of classification: Local media will refrain from reporting on child abuse, war, racism, xenophobia, sexism etc; • Bill will reach into areas it cannot regulate. E.g. Defn of film would include cell-phone films;

14. MMP Opposed: Impractical • i.e. objects of the act will not be met, and they will not be met at great cost to taxpayers.

15. MMP Opposed: Seems confused • Role of Department of Home affairs and the Department of Communication or ICASA?; • Seeks to protect children yet excludes them; • While it includes new technologies does not seem to address self produced content – that can be easily distributed – e.g. cell phone video.

16. Children in the media • Four key issues: • Children seldom seen in media • When they are 1 in 4 are shown as victims; • Gender stereotypes persist; • Abused children are idenified – not child pornography.

17. Back to the Bill: Key Q is :WHY? • Media in South Africa often fails to exercise rights to media freedom in a responsible manner. The Bill is thus aimed at ensuring compliance and respect for the constitution; • There is some truth in this: • MMP research shows 1 in 10 stories on child abuse further violate children’s rights;

18. WHY???????? • The cynical: The Bill in the way it is produced is is a clear attempt to clamp down on and control the media in South Africa; • The optimist: The Bill is a clear attempt to raise and highlight issues of protection of children in the media. This does not mean limiting freedom of expression it does mean ensuring that all media adhere to basic ethical journalism – tabloids and broadsheets;

19. Children in the media

20. WHY????????

21. Children’s rights violation ” I crawled out of bed covered with blood” – FRONT PAGE IMAGE Full Colour of girl. X Y (Girl Surname) 13, witnessed the murder of her best friend in Place X. She was raped and stabbed, but managed to escape. This is her story about the night of the murder. IMAGE of both young girls XY 13, and the murdered 12 year old had been inseparable since preschool. Blood on the hands They played football together, went to the same class and met each other almost every day. This Friday everything ended. The best friend is dead and her stepfather, 26 years old, is in custody for the murder. He is also suspected for raping and stabbing X who managed to escape. Yesterday X could leave the hospital, after surgery. It has been two days since the murder and X just got home to the house of family in southern Place. …she still has blood on her hands. On her neck she has a plaster. Her best friend’s stepfather stabbed her in the stomach and in her back. First, she silently looks at a drawing with red hearts. Then, she starts to tell us about the night of horror. X’s words about the hours before the murder…“One a clock at night, the stepfather went into the boy’s bedroom to see if he was sleeping. He called my best friend to come. The 12 year old girl went there and her stepfather closed the door. ..”

22. WHY???????? • The Daily Voice and Daily Sun often give South African media a bad name – all the more offensive in that it is driven by profit not news; • Bill in current form is like using a sledgehammer to hang a picture.

23. Way forward • Bill in current form needs to be redrafted in such a way as to promote media freedom, include children in future processes, incorporate shifting technologies and self produced content; • In future revision, submitted, that the importance of media literacy as key tool to assist children and adults needs to be mainstreamed. Other key ministry’s should be brought on board, e.g. Dept of Education; • Media need to be encouraged to strengthen self regulatory mechanisms and take clear positions on key human rights issues. DHA can work with them in doing so; • All need to work with media, under resourced, skills shortages etc. Can have positive outcomes;

24. Way forward • Daily Voice complaint and positive outcome; • Working with the Star – significant shifts; • While this must occur the Bill in current form needs to be redrafted.

25. Thank you William Bird Director Media Monitoring Project Email: williamb@mediamonitoring.org.za www.mediamonitoring.org.za