Motsoeneng bans reading of newspaper headlines on SABC radio stations. DA
The Democratic Alliance claims to have been informed that SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng now also bans the reading of newspaper headlines on all radio stations that fall under the national broadcaster.
The official opposition claims to have been “reliably informed” of Motsoeneng’s latest attempt at censoring real news and further strengthening his stranglehold on what information is allowed to be fed through to those who depend on the SABC for their news.
Global media houses generally highlight newspaper headlines for a more balanced view of how certain events are being covered; this is particularly prevalent on television and radio news, but if what the opposition is saying is true it would mean the end of that too.
“The banning of the reading of newspapers can only be viewed as yet another attempt by Motsoeneng to censor any negative news stories about the ANC on SABC radio stations ahead of the local government election,” the DA’s Phumzile van Damme said in a statement.
“This is part of an on-going programme driven by Motsoeneng to only portray “sunshine news” about the ANC on SABC stations. It is clear that through Motsoeneng, the ANC is controlling the SABC ahead of the election and will stop at nothing to ensure that South Africans are kept in the dark in the run-up to the elections,” she said.
The DA — who’s been fighting for Motsoeneng’s removal as SABC COO after he lied about his qualifications and started using the national broadcaster as his private ATM – highlighted some of the measures Motsoeneng took hinder the “truthful coverage of the elections:”
- The attempted banning of call-ins;
- The canning of Vuyo Mvoko’s talk show;
- The canning of “the Editors” on SAFM;
- Banning of footage of violent protests; and
- Censorship and delaying of opposition TV adverts.
“Motsoeneng is bad news for the SABC and bad news for South Africa,” Van Damme said.
“He has been the driver of the ‘Zumafication’ of the public broadcaster and has been protected and promoted by the ANC despite several findings against him in court and by the Public Protector.”
“In order for the SABC to become South Africa’s public broadcaster of pride, it is important that it is protected from careerists like Hlaudi Motsoeneng who will stop at nothing to please their political masters. The DA will not stop until the independence of the public broadcaster is restored.”
