Eric Naki

Eric Naki

The ANC does not need just media freedom alone but one that goes with equitable distribution of media resources.

This was the view of the ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe, pictured, when he addressed foreign and local delegates at the International Media Forum South Africa in Bryanston, Johannesburg, yesterday.

"The ANC asserts that mere declarations of media freedom on their own are not enough," Motlanthe said.

"This freedom must be underpinned by an equitable distribution of media resources, development programmes and a deliberate effort to engender a culture of open debate."

This had been the ANC's vision before freedom in 1994 and it remains its approach.

"We want to ensure that South Africans whose views and interests have not been adequately represented in the media have an opportunity for their voices to be heard," he said.

"The South African government, society and media should seek to expose the reality of South Africa and our continent to a world too often fixated on the bad news from Africa."