Study shows SABC 'not biased'
2006-11-08 10:26
Johannesburg - The Media Monitoring Project (MMP) says its research on the SABC has not revealed any deliberate bias towards the government and the ANC.
The non-governmental organisation, which has been monitoring reporting in South Africa since 1993, says in a report titled "Whose blacklist is it anyway" that carrying more reports on the government was not necessarily tantamount to favouring them.
The MMP found in a recent six day monitoring period of SABC3, that 94% of the coverage was fair.
The MMP also analysed coverage of contentious issues by the SABC in the South African print and electronic media (13 newspapers and 10 radio and TV stations).
When allegations of an SABC blacklist of commentators and analysts appeared, the tone of coverage of the SABC "sharpened".
The SABC was increasingly portrayed as being directly influenced by pro-government political
feelings, according to the MMP report.
But, says the MMP, perhaps attention should also have been given to the following:
That editorial guidelines to ensure news quality was desirable,
That management involvement in news production did not equate with interference, and
The possible interference of the SABC board in editorial affairs