On Sunday, Julius Malema tweeted that "the changes at SABC are worrisome, someone is busy creating eNCA lite at the SABC. We have to find a way of stopping whiteness from taking over the only platform of black people before is [sic] too late. eNCA is the platform that perpetuate white supremacy and there's no doubt."
"I think EFF should really discuss in depth the role of eNCA in perpetuating and defending white privilege and see if we can't come to the same conclusion we did with the ANN7."
"On Sunday 18 March 2018, the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, accused eNCA of protecting white privilege and white supremacy on Twitter. This accusation is disturbing given the values at the core of eNCA's journalism over the last decade," says Mapi Mhlangu.
Mapi Mhlangu says Julius Malema's "tweets have consequences, not least because he is the leader of a political party with substantial representation and support across South Africa. The first of these consequences have been threats to individual journalists in the wake of his online messages".
"Despite our relative small size as a news organisation, we have consistently dedicated our limited resources to stories which have put justice, equality and human rights at the centre of our news, in line with our insistence that we offer news without fear or favour."
"Our staff have consistently told stories about what is broken in this country, how it can be fixed and how we can make each other accountable," says Mapi Mhlangu.
"Julius Malema's characterisation of eNCA is not supported by the factual record. The channel's majority stakeholder is a black empowerment company, Hoskins Consolidated Investments (HCI), and of that a significant share of eMedia Investments' is held by the South African Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu). The ownership of eNCA through eMedia is therefore not as has often been alleged in public."
"Additionally, the staff members at eNCA are representative of the diversity of people who make up contemporary South Africa, who bring to their work divergent political views and social experiences, which inform our story-telling in ways which South Africans have appreciated to the extent of making us the most-watched channel among news viewers."
Mapi Mhlangu says that "at any other time in our country’s history" Julius Malema's tweets "would have required a response from the editorial team, not least because it is a question of ensuring the safety of journalists in a democratic society".
"In the year ahead of what may be South Africa’s most important general elections since the abolition of legislated apartheid, the role of the news media and the safety of those who work in this crucial sector, cannot be overstated. We must remind ourselves the role that South Africa’s journalists and media organisations played in holding executive power to account and their key role in protecting the democratic order, which eventually saw the reinstitution of corruption charges against a former head of state."
"Furthermore, eNCA operates in a highly regulated space governed by The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa (BCCSA). If political organisations or their leaders have concerns about news media organisations or their output, there are structures and processes in democratic South Africa available to them to pursue their complaints."
"The BCCSA is one avenue through which any person or organisation may pursue their complaint should direct engagement with that media organisation not be satisfactory. This is the democratic right assured all of us in democratic South Africa," says Mapi Mhlangu.
"Media freedom and the safety of journalists are under increasing threat around the world. South Africans fought long and hard to guarantee this freedom as a pillar of the constitutional democracy. Political parties, leaders and citizens have the freedom to criticise the media, but also have the responsibility to do so through the channels available to them in ways which contribute to strengthening democracy and accountability."
"eNCA is an organisation founded by people who opposed racist domination, and every day the hundreds of people who work incredibly hard to make eNCA the most watched news channel on satellite television in South Africa reaffirm that commitment to a democratic country in which we celebrate a plurality of views within the letter and spirit of constitutional democracy."
"We affirm that commitment to a democratic country in which we celebrate a plurality of views within the letter and spirit of constitutional democracy."
