• community broadcasting shall be promoted given its potential to broaden access by poor and rural communities to the airwaves. VI Public Broadcasting State and government controlled broadcasters should be transformed into public service broadcasters, accountable to the public through the legislature rather than the government, in accordance with the following principles: • public broadcasters should be governed by a board which is protected against interference, particularly of a political or economic nature; • the editorial independence of public service broadcasters should be guaranteed; • public broadcasters should be adequately funded in a manner that protects them from arbitrary interference with their budgets; • public broadcasters should strive to ensure that their transmission system covers the whole territory of the country; and • the public service ambit of public broadcasters should be clearly defined and include an obligation to ensure that the public receive adequate, politically balanced information, particularly during election periods. in the areas of broadcast or telecommunications should be formally accountable to the public through a multi-party body. VIII Print Media 1. Any registration system for the print media shall not impose substantive restrictions on the right to freedom of expression. 2. Any print media published by a public authority should be protected adequately against undue political interference. 3. Efforts should be made to increase the scope of circulation of the print media, particularly to rural communities. 4. Media owners and media professionals shall be encouraged to reach agreements to guarantee editorial independence and to prevent commercial considerations from unduly influencing media content. IX Complaints 1. VII Regulatory Bodies for Broadcast and Telecommunications A public complaints system for print or broadcasting should be available in accordance with the following principles: • complaints shall be determined in accordance with established rules and codes of conduct agreed between all stakeholders; and • the complaints system shall be widely accessible. 2. 1. Any public authority that exercises powers in the areas of broadcast or telecommunications regulation should be independent and adequately protected against interference, particularly of a political or economic nature. Any regulatory body established to hear complaints about media content, including media councils, shall be protected against political, economic or any other undue interference. Its powers shall be administrative in nature and it shall not seek to usurp the role of the courts. 2. The appointments process for members of a regulatory body should be open and transparent, involve the participation of civil society, and shall not be controlled by any particular political party. 3. Effective self-regulation is the best system for promoting high standards in the media. X Promoting Professionalism 1. 3. Any public authority that exercises powers Media practitioners shall be free to organise themselves into unions and associa- So This is Democracy? 2015 115