PRESS CLUBS NEED TO RECONSIDER THEIR ADMISSION CRITERIA
6 May 2012
The Office of the ANC Chief Whip calls on the National Press Club and its associated structures to revisit their membership criteria, reflect on what role members should play during press club briefings, as well as conduct a frank discussion on the desirability of having politicians as members of press clubs.
It is our considered view that this exercise has become necessary, if not urgent, in light of the recent incident involving the Cape Town Press Club and the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Tina Joemat-Pieterson.
The Minister, who was invited to give a briefing on her department's annual budge, protested the presence of the DA Member of Parliament, Mr. Pieter Van Dalen, at the press club meeting. The press club has since confirmed in its media release that not only is Mr. Van Dalen one of its members, but he is entitled to pose questions like any other member of the press during press briefings.
We understand that the Minister was invited to the press club event to address and interact with members of the media, not politicians. Indeed if the Minister was called to address and account to politicians, as it has happened on numerous occasions in parliament, she would have done so. It is unusual and unheard of that a media conference should be turned into a space for oppositional politicking rather than a platform for engagement with the media. The Minister's insistence that the event adhere to its core objectives was therefore reasonable.
While we respect the right of the press clubs to determine their own membership admission criteria and how they generally conduct their business, care should be taken to ensure that clubs' events do not become political battle grounds and are abused for a particular political agenda.
The South African media are extremely capable and competent to robustly hold the government to account. They do not need the assistance of the opposition in its midst to do that. Allowing career politicians to infiltrate the ranks of a press body, and even act as journalists during press briefings, makes a mockery of the independence of the media.
We are disappointed by the extraordinarily harsh and emotional attack by the chairperson of the National Press Club, Mr. Yusuf Abramjee, and chairman of the Cape Town Press Club, Mr. Donwald Pressley, on the Minister for her discomfort with addressing a 'press briefing of politicians'. The concerns that the Minister raised are legitimate and speak directly to one of the fundamentals underpinning our free society, which is free and independence free press.
We therefore find the two press leaders' attack on the Minister - which included referring to her stance as "arrogant and unreasonable", "completely disrespectful" and "petty politicking" - extremely uncalled for and disturbing. Mr. Pressely's jibe that the Minister's position demonstrated her inability "to take the heat of probing questions from whatever quarter", gives a disconcerting impression that the press is incapable of asking difficult and probing questions itself, and therefore needs the help of opposition politicians.
We are confident that the views of these senior members of the press are not shared by the broader media fraternity.
We strongly appeal and encourage the country's press clubs to seriously reflect on their membership criteria and how they conduct their business.
Statement issued by the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, May 6 2012
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