Press Freedom Commission report to be handed over

The Press Freedom Commission will hand over its report and recommendations on the best possible regulatory system for the media in South Africa at a function in Johannesburg.

The commission received around 200 submissions in its "listening to South Africa" campaign in January and February in which it heard overviews, complaints and suggestions on media regulation.

The hearings came in the midst of proceedings in Parliament to pass the Protection of State Information Bill, which many perceive to be a censorship tool in the making.

During the countrywide hearings, headed by retired chief justice Pius Langa, various alternatives to the current Press Ombudsman system were suggested.

Former editor of The Star, Moegsien Williams, proposed that the Press Council should impose a "space fine" on errant newspapers by prescribing how much space they should set aside for an apology.

The African National Congress called the Press Council and Press Ombudsman ineffective and reiterated their view that an independent media appeals tribunal was the most effective way to regulate print media.

Financial Mail editor Barney Mthombothi pointed out that the "vexing" problem of plagiarism was not sufficiently defined or dealt with in the Press Code.

The Inkatha Freedom Party suggested that an independent super body funded by government regulate the press and impose penalties where required.

The concentration of print media ownership was raised as a concern by the Congress of SA Trade Unions.

It said 95 percent of press circulation was controlled by just three companies.

The report would be handed to Print Media SA and the SA National Editors Forum, which initiated the commission in June 2011.