David Van Wyk : There is no free Media
Julius Malema is being attacked for his comments about the Gupta media, generalising from his statements to suggest that he is opposed to freedom of the press and freedom of expression.
In my opinion there is no free press in South Africa given that the media is either corporate owned or state owned. The corporate media, including the Gupta media reflect the views and opinions of the private owners of that media and of the advertisers through which they generate their income. So long as the ‘news’ is a commodity to be sold in the capitalist market, the media cannot be considered to be free.
The corporate work place of the journalists, like the work-space and culture of any other corporation is centralized, dominated by an unelected board and management who make all decisions and impose their views on the journalists working for them. Thus the editor is instructed about the line of the paper, radio or TV station, which line he then imposes on his staff. The line determines what will be considered news worthy and what should be ignored.