The South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) has urged all journalists to wear black and support the Black Friday protest against the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), which has sparked controversy with its moves to censor some news content.

Sanef is among the concerned orgnisations and ordinary citizens who are demanding the immediate reinstatement of all the suspended journalists and the scrapping of the public broadcaster’s “illegally revised” editorial policies.

Several journalists have been suspended for raising their objections to new editorial policies that have been described as censorship.

Acting CEO Jimi Mathews resigned in protest over developments at the SABC, which he said were wrong.

The Save Our SABC Coalition will also picket outside the SABC studios in Sea Point and Auckland Park in Johannesburg.
OUTA – the organisation that opposes etolls and now tackles tax anomalies – said on Friday it was joining the picket in Johannesburg.

SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng on record as saying detractors should leave the SABC alone and that he would not bow to pressure to allow journalists to report on violent protests or stories that would reflect negatively on President Jacob Zuma.

The Right2Know campaign’s media freedom organiser, Micah Reddy, was quoted earlier this week as saying the SABC had started deteriorating a long time ago.

Reddy said Motsoeneng’s interference in the editorial policy was one of the issues that had plunged the SABC into a downward spiral.

South Africa Today – South Africa News