29 November 2000
A government Position Paper on the establishment of a Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) was released for public comment last evening. It was launched by Dr Essop Pahad, Minister in the Presidency, at an event attended by media stakeholders and government communicators.
The paper explores how freedom of expression and access to information, cornerstones of the country's constitution, can be extended. It underlines the need to overcome historical imbalances so that the full diversity of South Africa's voices can be heard and all citizens can be fully informed.
The paper proposes an independent agency that will act as a catalyst towards broader changes in the media landscape, through its funding, facilitation, advocacy and research functions.
The MDDA was proposed by the Communication Task Team (Comtask) report of 1996. Cabinet adopted the proposal for an agency to assist the development of community media and to promote media diversity. The Position Paper proposes that the MDDA be an independent, statutory body funded jointly by government, the media industry and donors.
The paper is the result of extensive research and consultation with a range of stakeholders.
The public will have until 29 January 2001 to make submissions
and participate in a Discussion Forum on the government website,
www.gov.za
Thereafter, the Position Paper will be finalised and legislation
drafted and submitted to Cabinet and Parliament for approval.
Parliament will hold further hearings on the draft legislation.
The Position Paper can be found on the government website from
1800 today.
Printed copies will be available at GCIS offices from next week.
Further details may be obtained from the attached Executive
Summary
Issued by GCIS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
South Africa's media history reflects the fissures and divisions
within society as well as the distribution of power. The
challenge of democratic transformation affects all spheres of
social life, including the institutions and practices of the
media.
Government is committed to creating an agency to promote access
to the media by marginalised groups and to enhance media
pluralism. This follows a Cabinet decision based on a Comtask
recommendation in 1996. It is in accordance with the
Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Reconstruction and
Development Programme and is further motivated by the National
Action Plan for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights,
which emphasises freedom of expression and media diversity, and
the need for mechanisms to ensure that this is achieved. It
follows an unsuccessful attempt by civil society to form such a
body in the early 1990s.
The motivation for an independent, separately located and
cost-effective Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA)
rests on the need for a body of respected media specialists and
other public figures that will, through funding, facilitation
and research, develop expertise around media development and
diversity and ensure their realisation. It will operate on the
best principles of corporate governance with a mandate and
requisite resources. It will operate at arms length from
government, the media industry and other donors.
As the world moves rapidly towards an information society, it is
critical that all citizens have access to the widest range of
information and opinion in order to participate effectively in
an increasingly integrated world at local, national and
international levels. Government has made access to information
integral to its reconstruction and development programme.
The MDDA, like the programme of Multi-Purpose Community Centres,
is a key initiative towards this objective. It will help alter
the communications environment in a way that builds
infrastructure and fosters the emergence of media reflecting the
experiences and perspectives of the marginalised. In other
words, while the MDDA will not by itself bring about the complete
transformation of the media, it will, through its funding,
facilitation, advocacy, and research functions, play a key
catalytic role in altering the media landscape in a way that
will be conducive to broader changes.
Defining media development and diversity:
Media development involves promoting an enabling environment to
help redress exclusion and marginalisation of groups and
interests from access to media - as owners, managers and
producers of media. Media diversity is about ensuring that all
interests and sectors have affordable access to a range of views
and information sources fully reflective of our society.
The achievement of diversity is also facilitated by the
availability, to a diverse range of media, small and large, of
the means of distribution.
Media in South Africa:
Whilst much has been done since the advent of democracy to
address problems of media development and diversity, it has
clearly not been enough. The density of media infrastructure per
capita remains low. Media ownership is still concentrated and
does not meet the needs of all groups and interests.
Representivity is still inadequate at management, editorial and
general staffing levels.
South African experience has shown that market forces,
opportunities for licences and changes in ownership on their own
cannot fully achieve this transformation. An agency like the
MDDA is needed.
Drawing on experience:
International experience shows that support schemes to promote
media development and diversity are not new. They have been
implemented in Europe since the 1950s on the basis that market
forces alone would not achieve sufficient diversity. Indeed, the
evidence is that the market on its own tends towards increased
concentration, which can inhibit freedom of expression and a
diversity of views.
An earlier attempt to form a voluntary support mechanism, the
Independent Media Diversity Trust, eventually failed for lack of
funding. This has reinforced the view that only initiatives
firmly rooted in a partnership of government and the media, and
underpinned by statutory authority, will have a sustainable
impact.
The character of the MDDA and its relationship with other
bodies:
The MDDA will be an independent, statutory body operating on the
basis of government policy and guidelines. However, it will have
an arms-length relationship with government, the private sector
and any other donors. Its mandate will be to promote diversity
and development in print, broadcast and "new media".
The MDDA will have a Board nominated by Parliament through a
public process, and appointed by the President. The Board will
appoint a CEO. The CEO will, in conjunction with the Board,
appoint a small highly skilled and adequately resourced staff.
It will seek collaboration with bodies dealing with
telecommunications, licensing, film and video, to achieve
coordination and avoid duplication.
Apart from its primary role of media support, it will commission
research and make recommendations to government, the media
industry and other relevant bodies.
The MDDA will relate to all bodies with a direct or indirect
interest in media development and diversity, amongst them the
Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). The MDDA
will hold an Annual Review Forum where such bodies will consider
the MDDA's annual report.
The beneficiaries and the nature of the support:
The main beneficiaries of direct and indirect support will be
community and other non-profit media, as well as small
commercial media, including radio, television, print and new
media. There will be particular emphasis on projects that bring
disadvantaged communities and sectors - particularly women,
rural people, the disabled, illiterate people, working class and
poor people - into the information and communications loop.
Support will be of a funding and non-funding nature, and will
include direct and indirect subsidies; emergency funding;
capacity development; encouraging social responsibility support
in the broadcast, print and new media sectors;
training; project evaluation and monitoring; and media research.
It will also make recommendations in support of media seeking
loan finance, on the basis of its evaluation procedures.
In addition, the MDDA will work towards the emergence of
national and provincial common carriers, and/or the
implementation of common carrier principles, in the print
industry, to ensure equitable access for small publications, and
into under-serviced communities.
The MDDA's guiding principle in making funding decisions and
loan recommendations will be the contribution that projects make to
media development and diversity. It will seek to promote
sustainability, and to fund projects that have good governance
practices. Other considerations include community representation
and participation and equity plans.
The MDDA's budget:
The MDDA needs adequate financing to cover community media
network, training, capital and operational costs, as well as
feasibility studies for small commercial media projects. It will
commission research on media development and diversity, as well
as regular performance evaluations of funded projects. Its
operational needs, including performance evaluations of
projects, should represent no more than 12% of total costs.
The resources needed to overcome the current barriers to media
development and diversity amount to a total of R500m, over five
years. It is envisaged that the MDDA will meet 60 per cent of
these needs, which amounts to R300m over five years, or on
average R60m per year.
This would be made up by R20m per year from each of government,
the media industry and donors. It should be noted that
government's contribution would include the support for
community radio infrastructure development already given through
the Department of Communications, currently at a level of R7
million per year.
Issued by GCIS
Contact Dr Devan Pillay on 083 453 5544