Introduction

Press freedom is one of the cornerstones of democracy. It encompasses the freedom to access information without fear or favour, and the right to publish information for the greater good of society. The trajectory of media freedom over the past 25 years has been relatively mixed. In the media landscape, there are small yet excellent publications which conduct in-depth investigative journalism, a stabilised national broadcasting board and more appointments to senior positions based on merit. That said, while the media and free speech were severely curtailed under the former apartheid laws, racial, sexist and vindictive ploys, unleashed through social media and other mechanisms, undermine freedom of speech and are highly detrimental in a democratic society.

The research process

The primary aim of the research on which this chapter is based, was twofold: a) to identify possible threats to media freedom, and b) to propose possible solutions to such threats. In this instance, the research consisted of qualitative data, specifically the views of opinion makers, journalists and industry academics, gathered by means of personal interviews. Glenda Daniels’ (2014) “State of the Newsroom” editions have been indispensable for placing the research question in context and offering guidelines for finding possible solutions. Quantitative data obtained from the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC, 2019) provided a year-on-year analysis of the trajectory of newsrooms in respect of newspaper decline. Parliamentary reports as well as international media findings were helpful for locating the South African example in a global context.

25 years of press changes

Newsrooms around the world have changed dramatically over the past few decades. In the South African context, our country has moved on from oppressive apartheid laws which often saw journalists arrested and detained, or cameras being confiscated and the threat of newsrooms being shut down by the government. After 1994, the South African constitution ensured the protection of press freedom, as enshrined in Section 16 which states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes freedom of the press and other media” (Daniels, 2018). Local journalists have, by and large, gone about their work fairly unhindered, respected and facing few threats (Reddy, 2019).