SECTOR 4 ‘Some of the unions at the SABC’ were criticised as being unprincipled, ‘lilylivered’ and ‘milking the system’ however, for colluding and sympathising with former SABC boss Hlaudi Motsoeneng around his move to make unsustainable wage hikes. The membership base of these unions was also considered very small. Some media houses, such as e.tv, reportedly actively discouraged their staff from joining unions. In terms of professional organisations, the South African National Editors Forum (Sanef), was considered active and outspoken on media issues. The South African Freelancers Association offered some support to freelance journalists, with it being noted that lots of media houses had put staff onto short-term freelance contracts due to financial constraints. Unionisation of freelancers was considered very difficult. The Professional Journalists’ Association, an advocacy body for working journalists in South Africa, was described as ‘existing in theory but not in practice’. In terms of press clubs, the Cape Town branch seemed to be the only one that was active, with the others being dormant. ‘Journalists these days seem to liaise with one another more on social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp, which seem to be more effective than the other, old groups.’ While journalists at some media houses were encouraged to join staff groups, these were considered ‘toothless’. ‘If journalists feel aggrieved about something in the work place, they tend to go to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.’ 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: 54 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER SOUTH AFRICA 2018 ✓✓ ✓ ✓✓ ✓✓✓ ✓✓✓ 2.9 (2013: 2.0; 2010: 3.2; 2008: 1.7; 2006: 3.4) ✓