The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
11 Nov 2010
Mondli Makhanya, the Editor in Chief of Avusa Media and Chairman of SANEF, argues that contrary to the commonly held view that the media is selective about the voices it amplifies, the media provides a great platform for a broad range of views on the economy.
While Makhanya argued that the media offered a space for people with various viewpoints, he contended that the left was not proactive enough about getting its views into newspapers.
He also said that advertisers held no sway over editorial content.
However, Makhanya acknowledged that the media has not told the story of inequality and the lived reality of poverty in South Africa.
Makhanya made these remarks at a roundtable discussion co-hosted by SACSIS and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung South Africa Office. The roundtable examined the media's perspective of the South African economy.
Other media speakers at the event included, Nic Dawes (Editor in Chief, Mail & Guardian), Alide Dasnois (Editor, Cape Times) and Reg Rumney (Head of the Centre for Economics Journalism in Africa, Rhodes University).
Editors were asked to answer the following questions: Is the economy on the right growth path? What are the prospects for making it more inclusive? How does the media report on the economy? Does the media have a vision for South Africa's economic development?
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