Protesters demand better working conditions for journalists
JOBURG – Protestors demanded an end to alleged racialised salary disparities, editorial interference and exploitation of journalists when they marched to The Citizen's office in Industria.
All sorts of allegations were made against The Citizen newspaper, right on the doorstep of the newspaper’s offices in Industria, Johannesburg, last week.
On 23 November, protesters joined a march that was organised by the Forum of Transformation for Journalists (FJT) together with the Communication Workers Union (CWU).
At the heart of the march was a protest against the alleged unfair suspension of the editor of the paper, Steve Motale.
The president of the FJT, Piet Rampedi, alleged that Motale was suspended because of editorial interference by the newspaper’s management. According to Rampedi, Motale’s suspension followed the publication of a series of articles on the alleged corruption and tender irregularities involving former Finance Minister, Trevor Manuel.
“After the publication of these stories, Steve (Motale) never knew peace,” Rampedi said. He added that Motale was victimised because he broke ranks with the mainstream media narrative and introduced a diverse perspective. Rampedi said another thing that landed Motale in hot water was his decision to give Hlaudi Motsoeneng of the SABC a platform to tell his side of the story.
The Citizen newspaper did not comment on this allegation. In a statement, the newspaper’s publisher, Eureka Zandberg, said the subject was an internal disciplinary matter and comment could not be given at this stage.
Describing the march as an historic move, Rampedi said they also sought to address other unfair practices at the newspaper. He alleged that black journalists employed at The Citizen and other Caxton publications were trivialised. Rampedi said the anti-black corporate culture within the media industry needed to be addressed urgently. “Black journalists working for Caxton are paid three times less than their white counterparts,” Rampedi alleged.
“Why [is this the case] when they are doing the same job and, in most instances, those underpaid black journalists are the ones who trained the white ones.”
Events leading to the handing over of a memorandum to The Citizen’s management turned dramatic.
Businessman, Kenny Kunene told protesters that Zandberg initially refused to come out to receive the memorandum and said she would sign it inside the newspaper’s premises. However, in the end, she came out to receive the memorandum.
A mini scuffle ensued when Aubrey Tshabalala of the CWU alleged that he had been insulted by one of Zandberg’s bodyguards. Tshabalala said he would not continue reading the memorandum until the said bodyguard moved from the back of the bakkie, where the memorandum was read from. When the bodyguard refused to leave, protesters also tried to step in to have him removed. Meanwhile, Zandberg was swiftly removed by her bodyguards with the help of police.
She agreed to meet two representatives from the marchers and they went on to sign the memorandum inside the building.
In its statement, The Citizen rejects allegations of editorial interference, harassment and victimisation of journalists and described these allegations as unfair. According to the statement, the memorandum will be studied and, if any of the allegations/concerns are applicable, they will be addressed.
