New Executive Director sets highest standards for adjudication
Anchor Ashraf Garda hosted the new Executive Director of the Press Council, Phathiswa Magopeni, on the afternoon drive-time show.
Magopeni, who is the former SABC Head of News and Editor-in-Chief, is a non-executive member of the SABC Board, and a highly-experienced journalist.
Garda began the interview with questions about the Press Code, and the impact this should have on the media. The Press Council is the custodian of the Code.
Magopeni explained its role, in that ‘journalists have to ensure there is verification of information published, editorial due diligence, making sure that all processes in terms of journalism are adhered to’.
Garda agreed, but said, ‘if everybody signs up to that, we should be in a situation where the media functions perfectly, and yet there’s not a single day where there isn’t an accusation that some media house … is biased, has slanted media agendas … I mean we hear that all the time’.
Magopeni was clear that ‘members of the Press Council have to account to the public for the quality of the content they put out there’, and detailed the process that follows ‘when that fails’.
But, ‘more people complaining [means] there’s awareness in terms of the rights of the public, in terms of media freedom and how we conduct ourselves’.
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