Special Hearings — Media Hearings — UNKNOWN

MONDLI MAKHANYA: We do want to advance our careers. Well, I think the move of, putting of, basically, a black owned company buying into a major institution like TML and actually having control of it was a great step forward, sort of like in as far as the ownership of the media in this country was concerned, because for the first time you actually, we have one of the major newspaper houses which, one of the major newspaper houses owned by black people and in the past week we have seen yet another, basically, another major deal with Kagiso Trust taking a stake in prime media but ownership has also got to be taken a step further and be used to change that, to change the environment in the various publications and since Times, since Johnnic took charge of Times Media, okay, before I get there I must also point out that it was also disconcerting for people in the FBJ and in the BF to see that two of the major, two of the major cash cows and two of the major influential publications in that stable, Business Day and Financial Mail not fully falling into the hands of black people.  	As you know there was a separate deal involving those and that did not please us.  We would have much preferred it to have gone much further, but let me say that I think the ownership of Times Media by black run company also needs to be used to change the environment in those various publications and we have not seen that begin to happen and it is still, nearly a year later, it is still, basically, at the rock face. It is still a company run by the same people who ran it before and there does not seem to be any movement, any visible rapid movement towards changing it into a company which has a black, a sort of, like, a respectable black face, shall I put it.  By saying that I mean, basically, having respectable black people in positions of influence within that institution, but hopefully we will see that happen within an, we can say that it is maybe early days yet to comment on that, but I think we hope that it will happen soon.

UNKNOWN: Mr Chair, may I as well add that particularly from the viewpoint of the Black Editors Forum which has been very vocal on this, we have been for the idea that we must have media diversity in this country and for TML, for an example, to now come under, to be owned by black people, we in the FBJ will see that rather as a step in the right direction towards this aim, towards achieving this diversity in the media.  However as Mondli was saying earlier on, we would be extremely disappointed if at the end of the day you find that these so-called black companies with Chairmen or Chairwomen of notable people with a struggle, credentials, just buying on these things in their capacities as Chairpeople and not doing anything to effect change. If a company or organisation is black by its operations, by its very nature, we will then have to see.  Of, of course, it maybe a little early or it may be a little unfair for anyone now to start lambasting whatever the slow pace of change that we see in the TML run newspapers, particularly Sunday Times.

CHAIRPERSON: Well, it remains for me to thank you for having come and not only having come for having given us the benefit of your views and opinions and as frankly as the circumstances of your employment could allow you to do so.  I can assure you that those in the leadership of Times Media Limited who have anything to do with your employment will take cognisance of the forum before which you are appearing and I am sure there will be nothing untoward that will happen to you. It is necessary for us to have a perspective and, as you are all aware, part of the mandate of the Commission is for us to make recommendations to the President and, therefore, via Parliament to the entire nation to make sure that circumstances that lead to violations of human rights should never recur again.  W we are eternal optimists and I think we share, we will share your view that Times Media Limited will yet become what you want it to be. Thank you then.  Without further ado, let me thank you and will call on the next people to be on the panel.

MONDLI MAKHANYA: And will also like to thank you for giving us this opportunity.

UNKNOWN: Thanks.

CHAIRPERSON: The next person in this vein will be Mike Tissong.  Mike Tissong, good morning and welcome.
FORUM OF BLACK JOURNALISTS

MIKE TISSONG: Good morning to you.

CHAIRPERSON: Maybe before you settle down in that comfortable chair, I will ask Adv Potgieter to swear you in or to allow you to affirm.

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you Chairperson.  Mr Tissong, let me administer the oath.

MIKE TISSONG: (Duly sworn in, states).

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you, please be seated.

CHAIRPERSON: Well, again Mike, welcome and indeed Adv Potgieter is going to facilitate your submission.  Adv Potgieter

ADV POTGIETER: Thank you Chairperson.  Mr Tissong, welcome again, thank you for having made yourself available to appear here this morning. You are the first of a few people who will, in the course of the morning, share with us your experiences as black journalists during the years that we are interested in as a Commission. You have, as part of a larger submission, in fact reduced to writing some of those experiences and that is what we would be hearing from you about.  So, I would hand over to you to speak to what you have placed before us.

MIKE TISSONG: Okay, I gave everything, submission, but I will not read it, because you, probably, have that on record already, but I will just speak through some of the main points I raised in the submission.

ADV POTGIETER: Certainly, please go ahead.