Media inquiry told: 'Crooks celebrate when journalists are retrenched'

The Competition Commission heard on Thursday that when media companies retrench journalists, it is the “crooks, thieves and demagogues” who celebrate while citizens feel the pain. 

Speaking at the commission's media and digital platforms market inquiry public hearings, Anton Harber, representing the Campaign for Free Expression, said good journalism and active media have a tangible impact on the quality of people's lives.

He highlighted aspects that are sometimes underplayed when one talks about the impact of the decline of news media. 

“The first is how it hurts the working of our economy: without trustworthy journalism, there is poor governance, there is more corruption, there are blockages to the economy which we would know less about or nothing at all,” he said. 

The commission started its month-long series of public hearings in Pretoria last Monday. 

The inquiry focuses on examining the distribution of media content on South Africa’s digital platforms and the markets that connect buyers and sellers of digital advertising inventory.

It has gathered extensive information from a range of industry stakeholders.

Harber said individual businesses rely on the flow of news and information for decision-making. He said some business leaders have recognised this and have supported elements of news media in recent years. 

“Some businesses moved in to support specialist units in our news ecosystem and that support has been very important in keeping some of the work going, particularly investigative journalism.

“Good journalism and active media have a tangible impact on the quality of lives of ordinary citizens ... such as explaining their rights and how to exercise them.

“Where you have financial insecurity, you see the loss of independent journalism. You see journalism but you see very little independent critical journalism because, without financial security, an outlet has to be more careful, take fewer risks, be cautious of who they criticise, worry about legal action or the withdrawal of advertising,” he said. 

Harber added that tech platforms can — and some do — play an important role but they can also do tremendous harm if left to their own devices without oversight, accountability or regulation.

“Let me deal with the two issues that have been disputed in the course of these hearings. On the issue of fair compensation and the information that is needed to establish what there is. What would fair compensation be?

“There is no doubt that to have a fair discussion and negotiation around fair compensation for the use of news material, publishers and broadcasters need more relevant information,” he said. 

Several stakeholders, including various South African publishers and international tech companies, are participating in the hearings.

Facebook owner Meta is expected to participate on March 27. Google, which appeared to be the main focus of criticism by many local publishers, participated on Tuesday. 

Sulina Connal from Google told the inquiry that the company supports the objectives of the inquiry.

She said monetising news in an online environment shifts consumer behaviour, advertisers have a vast choice on where they place their ads online, and technology is developing so quickly that it requires constant innovations. 

“So, where do we stand? We build our products to service our diverse array of reliable information, including news, to our users and this drives traffic to publishers,” Connal said.

Arena Holdings representatives, including acting CEO Pule Molebeledi and group content officer Bongani Siqoko, made submissions to the inquiry last Friday. 

Siqoko told the inquiry that in the ever-evolving landscape of media consumption, the role of journalism remained paramount. He said that, as news media, Arena invests in content but reaps no investment.

“We cannot allow big companies to dictate the terms of our profession. We cannot stand by as our voices are silenced and our stories are commodified. We must reclaim journalism from the clutches of big tech and restore it to its rightful place as the cornerstone of our democracy,” he said. 

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