SECTOR 1 There are many civil society and media lobby groups in the country, although not all are very active, and most are based in urban areas. Very little vigorous campaigning is ever conducted in rural or remote areas, and as such a large section of the population is not aware of these issues and how such issues can impact them. Mention was made that, apart from the Right2Know campaign, there was virtually no activity around World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2013. Many of the Right2Know campaigns are also centred solely in Cape Town in the Western Cape. “On a policy and legislative level, various lobby groups are very active and effective in effecting changes, but the people on the ground still do not see media freedom as an issue relevant to them. There is a limited understanding in society of what the laws and issues are that undermine media freedom and freedom of expression.” Positive mention was made of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which is an independent, non-profit organisation that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. Since April 2013, the international organisation has had a base in Cape Town, South Africa, with Sue Valentine appointed as CPJ’s Africa programme co-ordinator. Print and Digital Media South Africa (PDMSA), an umbrella body incorporating print and digital media in the country, which joined forces with the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) was vocal about resolutions made at the ANC’s conference in Polokwane in 2007 to institute a statutory media appeals tribunal, which was seen as an attempt to muzzle the press. PDMSA and Sanef subsequently formed the Press Freedom Commission in 2012, showing the industry was prepared to regulate itself properly, and thus staving off the ANC proposal. “The publicity around this was good as it got people talking. The final report also made tangible suggestions on how the media should be regulated.” In 2010, the SOS (Save our SABC/Support Public Broadcasting Coalition), with support from a host of media lobbying groups and unions, joined forces to reject elements of the Public Service Broadcast Bill. If passed, this bill would have had serious implications for community media, while also undermining the independence of broadcasters and forcing them to serve the developmental goals of the Republic. It would also have undermined both ICASA’s (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) independence and its oversight role in relation to the SABC. As a result of this lobbying, the bill was withdrawn. The SOS campaign is supported by the Alternative Information Development Centre (AIDC), the Broadcast, Electronic Media and Allied Workers Union (BEMAWU), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), the Documentary Filmmakers Association, the Ecumenical Services for Social and Economic Transformation (ESSET), Idasa (an African Democracy Institute), the AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2013 25