South Africa: Blame capitalism, not media [opinion]

He is right in saying "media diversity remains one of the critical challenges facing democratic South Africa". But wrong in blaming the media for the lack of media diversity.

There has been considerable progress in media diversity since the advent of democracy. Just 15 years ago almost all media was under white control. Today Avusa and e.tv are under majority black ownership, while Independent Newspapers is foreign owned. New Age will add to that diversity.

More significant is the collaboration between major media companies and the government to promote media diversity. They willingly joined the government in funding the Media Development and Diversity Agency on a 50-50 basis. The MDDA is a unique model.

Since it was established in 2002, the MDAA has disbursedmillions to community and small commercial media. But the problem is sustainability. Advertisers are not interested in readers, listeners and viewers at the bottom of the economic ladder.

There is a good deal of media diversity for the urban elite, but nothing for the rural poor. A rich man in Johannesburg can subscribe to over 100 Multi-Choice channels, listen to over 20 radio stations and choose from more than six newspapers each day. A poor woman in Thoyandou has SABC radio broadcasting in her vernacular.

It is absurd to blame the media for this. Apartheid created these inequalities. Capitalism, which the ANC has embraced, sustains it.

-August 23, 2010 by Govin Reddy

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Source: www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/letters/article619108.ece/Blame-capitalism-not-media  (accessed on 24.08.10)