'Journalists must work together'

2008-04-08 14:09

Johannesburg - Talk Radio 702 and 94.7 Highveld Stereo's news editor, Katy Katopodis, has welcomed the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) ruling that barring journalists on racial grounds from joining the Forum for Black Journalists (FBJ) is unconstitutional.

Katopodis said on Tuesday she was pleased the SAHRC agreed that the blanket exclusion of white journalists from the forum was not justified.

She welcomed the commission's recommendation that the FBJ should revisit and amend its policies with regards to membership.

"We agree wholeheartedly with the SAHRC finding that until such time as the FBJ has duly revisited and amended such provisions so as to ensure that they are constitutionally valid, the FBJ should desist from excluding membership to its organisation on the sole basis of race," she said.

She urged journalists to work together for the advancement of the profession, irrespective of one's race.

Katopodis lodged the complaint with the SAHRC after the FBJ hosted a blacks-only luncheon with ANC President Jacob Zuma.

Meanwhile, Primedia head of News and Talk programming Yusuf Abramjee and talk show host Kieno Kammies, who also lodged a complaint after columnist Jon Qwelane called them coconuts, said they regarded the term as insulting and discriminatory.

The commission ruled that the term did not amount to hate speech but did evoke feelings of indignity.

The commission discouraged the use of the term, saying the public must refrain from making "undesirable remarks which allude in a disparaging manner to race, gender and sexual orientation."

Abramjee said the debate over the FBJ caused divisions in newsrooms. Now was the time to move forward and implement the recommendations.

- SAPA