SANEF Rejects Attempts by Cricket South Africa (CSA) to Intimidate Journalists
2 December 2019
The South African National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) strongly rejects the attempts by Cricket South Africa (CSA) to intimidate journalists critical of the sport’s governing body by revoking their credentials to cover the game at the country’s major stadiums.
SANEF believes CSA’s actions will have a chilling effect on the media’s ability to cover all aspects of cricket, not just what happens on the field of play, but also what happens behind closed doors where the sport is administered. CSA’s actions smack of bullying, are unacceptable and must be fiercely resisted in order to preserve the independence of the media and journalists’ ability to report without fear or favour.
On Sunday five journalists were informed that they were on a list circulated to all stadiums in the country, including Newlands in Cape Town and the Wanderers in Johannesburg, and that they would not be granted access to report on the Mzansi Super League. Those five reporters are Stuart Hess (The Star), Ken Borland (The Citizen), Neil Manthorp (SABC), FirdoseMoonda (ESPN Cricinfo) and Telford Vice (Cricbuzz.com).
Their accreditation was seemingly reinstated during the course of Sunday and some met with CSA officials at Newlands.