Proposals for regulating media

SOUTH Africa's newspapers will face new rules following this week's recommendations by the Press Freedom Commission .

The commission has rejected state intervention in the regulation of the press. Its findings and recommendations include:

• The introduction of fines, suspension and even expulsion from the jurisdiction of the ombudsman for repetitive failure or refusal to obey its rulings;
• The introduction of specific "space fines" for content errors where the ombudsman will be able to declare that a correction or apology should be on a specific page; and

• Complainants not happy with the adjudication and appeal processes can institute legal action.

The University of the Witwatersrand's Professor Anton Harber welcomed the introduction of stronger penalties, saying: ''I think they will impress on journalists, particularly on new, young entrants, the importance of ethical and professional conduct. A great deal, however, depends on editors, senior journalists, trainers and editorial organisations [like Sanef] working to change the culture of their newsrooms."