‘No direct line’ between ANC and SABC newsroom, Zondo hears

SABC journalists “were forced to cover” a minister doing ANC constituency work, while the chair of the broadcaster’s board attended a SABC function dressed in the governing party’s regalia, the commission of inquiry into state capture heard on Friday.

The aforementioned examples are among several which show that “the spectre of the ANC hovered over the newsroom” of the SABC, the commission heard.

Veteran journalist, Joe Thloloe, who chaired the commission of inquiry into interference in the decision making in the newsroom of the SABC, gave evidence on the commission’s report at the state capture inquiry.

One of the findings of the commission Thloloe chaired was that though there is “no evidence of a direct line between decisions at ANC headquarters, Luthuli House, and decisions in the newsroom, but the spectre of the ANC hovered over the newsroom”.

Thloloe cited an example when a minister of communications was conducting ANC constituency work in KZN and SABC journalists “were forced to cover” the events.

“The ANC might say we never asked her to do that but the fact that she is an ANC member as I say is a “spectre [of the ANC] hovered over the newsroom”.

Another example Thloloe cited was when a chairperson of the SABC board attended a function where the public broadcaster was donating a house to a certain family dressed in ANC regalia.

“[That] says a lot about the role ANC was supposed to be playing, but, as I said, there was no direct line saying this is what the ANC has said,” Thloloe said.

However, Thloloe did not give the names of the two individuals, nor did he say when these incidents occurred.

You can read the report by Thloloe and Stephen Tawana here.

ALSO READ: Zondo commission hears why SA is lagging so far behind with digital TV