SECTOR 2 matters, while cultural reporting took more of a back seat. Thus, it was felt that the media did not provide an accurate reflection of South African society. ‘Coverage tends to differ depending on the type of newspaper or media. Because there are a wide diversity of media platforms, some of these outlets deal only with certain aspects of South African life.’ In terms of investigative journalism, praise was heaped on the work being done by the Daily Maverick’s Scorpio division, amaBhungane, the Mail & Guardian and News24. ‘They do national investigative work very well and demonstrate a sophistication within the South African media, particularly in relation to issues of corruption – but local government investigative journalism is not being done.’ Most media newsrooms, community media included, did not have the capacity for a full-time investigative desk, but whether this was a question of human resources, capital or the will to do it was unclear. It was noted that some investigative work was coming from the non-commercial media and was being funded by corporates. ‘The problem here is obvious: the corporates can then dictate what type of reporting will be done and clearly they don’t want to be investigated themselves.’ It was pointed out, however, that amaBhungane does not take funding from corporate entities or from government to conduct its research. ‘The economic consequences of exposing corporate fraud and the possible litigation involved or the impact on advertising mean this can be prohibitive. State corruption offers “low-hanging fruit” to journalists and it involves public funds, which is why it is a priority focus.’ One panellist felt that the media should be more accountable to civil society and should go back to society to hear how they are received and what they could be doing better. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 30 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2018 ✓ ✓✓✓✓✓ ✓✓✓ ✓ ✓ 2.8 (2013: 2.8; 2010: 2.7; 2008: 3.2; 2006: 3.2) ✓