Eight bells toll for Snuki

October 11th, 2006

The SABC has been sitting on the report of the Sisulu commission of inquiry into their news operation for over a week now, debating whether to release it in full or in an abbreviated version. I am going to save them the trouble.

The report, according to at least two people who have read it, cites eight incidents in which the CEO of news, Snuki Zikalala, broke the SABC’s own editorial code of conduct by restricting the use of certain commentators and analysts for reasons that were not “objectively justifiable�.

It also finds that the statement issued by the SABC, and approved by Zikalala, denying there was an editorial “blacklist�, was misleading. It finds no fault with SAfm presenter John Perlman who contradicted the statement by his own employers on air.
Perlman faced the choice of reinforcing something he knew that was not true or contradicting the statement, they said, and backed him for falling on the side of the truth.

The Commission, consisting of former SABC CEO Zwelakhe Sisulu and Advocate Gilbert Marcus, was set up by current CEO Dali Mpofu after allegations that Zikalala had ruled that certain commentators and analysts should not be used on air.

The allegations were first published in The Sowetan newspaper which suggested that the “blacklist� was politically motivated. SABC denied that there was any “blanket ban� on commentators for their political views, saying only that it was discussing a set of guidelines for the use of experts on air. This was contradicted live on an SABC station by the respected journalist John Perlman.

In the ensuing outcry Mpofu asked Sisulu and Marcus to investigate and said that “heads will roll� if it was found that there was an improper blacklist.

The commission heard evidence from 37 witnesses, of which 32 were from the SABC, and presented a detailed report to Mpofu last Monday. The SABC Board met for two days later in the week and sent the report to a sub-committee for consideration. Their recommendation would have to come back to the full board for a decision on how to respond.

There has been no announcement on whether or when the report would be released, but at least one board member has been asserting that only an executive summary would be published.

It is understood that the damning evidence came from Zikala himself, who outlined to the inquiry why he had placed restrictions on the use of a number of commentators and analysts and attempted to justify his editorial decisions. But Sisulu and Marcus found that the reasons for these restrictions were, in at least eight cases, in breach of the SABC’s own Code of Conduct. While they stopped short of recommending what action should be taken against Zikalala, their finding clearly raises the question of whether he will keep his powerful post.

Finding that the original SABC statement was misleading is clearly also a major problem for Zikalala, as it seriously impugns his integrity as a journalist.

Zikalala, who has raised controversy for his closeness to the ANC and his views on the role of the public broadcaster in relation to government, was pushed out as head of news under the SABC’s previous CEO, Peter Matlare. The SABC board, however, reappointed Zikalala later and Matlare left shortly thereafter.

Now Zikalala’s position presents a headache for the new CEO, Mpofu. If he is to keep to his word, he will have to ask for Zikalala’s dismissal. He has in hand a damning report from two highly respected personalities. But Zikalala has a number of strong supporters on the board, who back his view that the SABC’s role should be to convey – rather than criticize – government policy and are likely to fight to retain him.

The head of the Board’s news sub-committee, Thami Mazwai, is on record as saying in the midst of this controversy that he wanted the SABC to be “guidedogs, not watchdogs� and he was “extremely proud� of Zikalala’s news operation. He told the Mail & Guardian that “if a statement impugns the character [of the president], the media must only publish if it has been tested in a court of law�.

This sets the scene for a crucial boardroom battle on the values which drive SABC journalism. Will the board back its own, highly praised code of conduct, which demands scrupulous journalistic independence, or the policies of Mazwai and Zikalala, who would circumscribe criticism of government leaders and institutions on the public airwaves?
*This column first appeared in Business Day, October 11 2006
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Entry Filed under: Anton Harber, Journalism, Radio, TV