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‘This issue is bigger than Hlaudi’: Black Friday journalists vow to ‘crack on’

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Even if the SABC’s chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng agreed to revoke his controversial “no violent protest” policy, it would be irrelevant. 

This was the view of one of the SABC journalists who was facing disciplinary action for for speaking out against the policy.

“We intend to crack [on this matter] so that we conclude this matter legally and for all times and for all generations of journalists at the SABC. So we would like to settle this matter legally and formally,” the journalist said. 

Adding that the issue was bigger than Motsoeneng, the journalist said the legal protection was important to prevent future leaders from introducing suppressive policies

READ: No cause for concern, everyone is happy at the SABC – Hlaudi

Dressed in all black to mark what was referred to as #BlackFriday, hundreds of journalists gathered outside the SABC headquarters in Auckland Park, Johannesburg, today to protest against censorship. 

Among them was a group of representatives who demanded to meet with SABC chief operations officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, to discuss matters of concern at the public broadcaster. 

The representatives were from the Save Our SABC Coalition (SOS Coalition), the Right2Know Campaign (R2K), the Media Workers Association of South Africa (Mwasa), New Trade Union Federation, the Independent Group and Primedia.

Sekoetlane Phamodi, the National Coordinator of the SOS Coalition, told City Press that Motsoeneng kept them waiting for about 40 minutes before agreeing to speak to them. 

He said Motsoeneng agreed to review facts surrounding the case of the three suspended employees and to have MWASA and SABC management “engage in the process of ending the use of labour brokers”. 

READ: Hlaudi, give copyright power to the producers

The meeting and protest action followed the resignation of acting chief executive Jimi Matthews on Monday and came as six journalists were due to face a disciplinary committee today, for speaking out against the policy by the public broadcaster that stated that violent protest action will no longer be aired. 

Earlier this week, Special Assignment executive producer, Busisiwe Ntuli, SAfm current affairs executive producer Krivani Pillay and senior investigative reporter Jacques Steenkamp were served with disciplinary charges, for a letter they wrote expressing their “displeasure and increasing concern”. In the letter they said the newsroom had become “a source of derision, despair and criticism.”

READ: SABC’s decisions fly in the face of what many, like the Cradock 4, sacrificed

The other three journalists; economics editor Thandeka Gqubule, RSG executive producer Foeta Krige and senior journalist Suna Venter, were suspended last week because they disagreed with an order that SABC journalists should not cover a Right2Know (R2K) protest outside their Auckland Park headquarters. 

One of the journalists, who agreed to speak on account of anonymity, said even though Motsoeneng had agreed to meet and review the disciplinary action, “seeing is believing”. The journalist also said engaging with Hlaudi was not something they would like to do. 

Another one of the journalists, who also asked to be anonymous, said even if Motsoeneng agreed to revoke the policy, it will be irrelevant. 

Adding that the issue was bigger than Motsoeneng, the journalist said the legal protection was important to prevent future leaders from introducing suppressive policies. 

The protesters marched from Auckland Park to Constitutional Hill and handed over a memorandum to the acting court manager. 

Venter, Krige and Gqubule attended the protest and Gqubule addressed the crowd, saying that they would not be intimidated by the action against them. 

Earlier this week Motsoeneng said the SABC was not in trouble and that journalists were happy. 

Attempts by City Press to contact the SABC were unsuccessful. 

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