Forty years after the apartheid regime clamped down on the free press, South Africa’s media continues to face threats, albeit in more subtle forms than in the past.
Demonstrators protest against the decision by the South African Broadcasting Corporation to stop airing violent protest scenes.
Reuters/Mike Hutchings
As South Africa marks Media Freedom Day, it’s clear that its battle isn’t over. Attacks on journalists continue –through physical intimidation and there’s also the threat of new laws.
Kenyan policemen in Kibera. The media stands accused of refusing to cover post-election tensions comprehensively.
Goran Tomasevic/Reuters
Kenya’s press has admitted to self-censorship after the August 8th poll to avoid a repeat of 2008’s post-election violence. But by refusing to inform the public has the media lost credibility?
The growth of new, vibrant, independent media sites and projects in South Africa have challenged conceptions of what a newsroom is. On limited budgets, some even fare better than mainstream media.
Swapo supporters celebrated victory in the UN supervised November 1989 election.
Henning Melber
Namibia contributes a positive image to Africa in governance and other indicators. But the reality for most of the country’s 2.3 million people isn’t quite as rosy.
There are fears a new bill that seeks to criminalise hate speech in South Africa might infringe freedom of expression.
Flickr/janinsanfran
The growing incidence of racism on social media in South Africa suggests that there are consequences. Whether there ought to be criminal sanctions remains an ongoing debate.
While some African countries have shown an improvement in press freedom and freedom of expression ratings, others, including South Africa, are seeing worrying trends and a drop in rankings.
Was she pushed? Outgoing chair of the BBC, Rona Fairhead.
Stefan Rousseau / PA Wire/Press Association Images
Press freedom has changed little in the past decade. If the African Union is to commit to the principles of democracy, it needs to do more to uphold freedom of expression and protects its journalists.
Workers arrange copies of the ‘Business Daily’, produced by Kenya’s Nation Media Group, the biggest newspaper publisher in East Africa.
Reuters/Thomas Mukoya
Namibia’s rise in the World Press Freedom rankings is stunning. The media environment in Africa, too, has improved. But media closures and the harassment of journalists are not yet things of the past.