Sometimes it’s better to hope for forgiveness, rather than to ask for permission. This is what the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef) must be thinking after the group asked FIFA to loosen its limits on journalists delivering coverage to cellphones. What they got instead was a tightening of coverage conditions. The story begins in January with Sanef writing to FIFA pointing out newspapers’ unhappiness with the restrictions. No reply was forthcoming, so the organisation tried again in March. What Sanef wanted was FIFA’s permission to publish World Cup coverage via technologies like cellphone applications. These are software programmes residing on phones – like the well-known Mxit service.[more]

The world's media eyes will soon squarely focus on South Africa, with millions from across the globe tuning in via multimillion-dollar broadcasts. Yet, even as the international media and big broadcasters move in, and journalists descend from all over the world, in South Africa, like much of Africa, community radio is still a key source of information and news for many communities, linking local activities and issues with international perspectives. While other news media, especially print, struggle to keep audiences, community radio listenership in South Africa is continuously rising. According to the South African Advertising Research Foundation, community radio is improving its weekly reach, rising from 7.340-million listeners to 7.713-million between February and May this year alone.[more]

Media coverage helped to make ANC Youth Leader boss Julius Malema into a significant celebrity. What the media now needs is its make its own star who can champion the cause of media freedom.The ANCYL’s attacks on journalists have gone beyond mere criticism. They are intimidating and dirty assaults that threaten the very fundamentals of media freedom. No one in the press is bowing to the pressure – yet. But that could happen unless there’s resistance. The question is whether to fight fire with fire, and to hit back at the spoilers of media freedom with equal rhetoric, aggression and sensation. [more]