MEDIA STATEMENT
THE BCCSA RULES IN FAVOUR OF THE SABC
Johannesburg- Wednesday, 21 February 2018 –The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA) ruled in favour of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in respect to a complaint submitted by Mr Thinus Ferreira regarding the news item that was broadcast on 02 November 2017 at 18H00.
Mr Ferreira felt that the SABC’s News Division failed to produce and deliver a balanced, fair and accurate report of the ‘Black Monday’ protest. In his complaint, he condemned the use of strong language, visuals of the old South African, AWB and German Swastika flags and questioned why the flags were shown. He further stated that the SABC spread wrong information and made an issue of national importance worse.
The SABC disputed these claims, maintaining that the march was fairly covered and the focus of the story was about the actions of the protesters. The story was angled to look at other aspects that had not been covered. Nowhere in the clip did the reporter or the Minister say the burning of the flag happened on that day. Whether the words used in the story are strong or not, it is Mr Ferreira’s subjective view.
Having considered all the facts from the Complainant and the Respondent, the BCCSA found no contravention of the Broadcasting Code of Conduct. The evaluation report specified that the complaint was not fair, accurate and truthful and the news item in question was presented in a correct context and in a fair manner without intentional or negligent departure from facts whether by distortion, material omission or summarisation. Mr Ferreira’s complaints were therefore not upheld. The SABC is pleased with the ruling as it serves as a clear indication that we are upholding the BCCSA’s code of conduct and the editorial policy.
As a public service broadcaster, the SABC would like to reassure its audiences of its unwavering commitment to deliver news that is well-researched, accurate and unbiased, without compromising its public mandate, integrity and editorial independence.
Please refer to the attached BCCSA ruling.
Ends
Media Enquiries
Mr. Kaizer Kganyago
SABC Spokesperson
082 306 8888
