The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has urged all journalists to wear black and support the Black Friday protest against the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), which has sparked controversy with its moves to censor some news content.

Sanef is among the concerned organisations and ordinary citizens who are demanding the immediate reinstatement of all the suspended journalists and the scrapping of the public broadcaster’s “illegally revised” editorial policies.

Several journalists have been suspended for raising their objections to new editorial policies that have been described as censorship.

The Save Our SABC Coalition will also picket outside the SABC studios in Sea Point and Auckland Park in Johannesburg.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse – the organisation that opposes etolls and now tackles tax anomalies – said on Friday it was joining the picket in Johannesburg.

SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng on record as saying detractors should leave the SABC alone and that he would not bow to pressure to allow journalists to report on violent protests or stories that would reflect negatively on President Jacob Zuma.