Highway Africa Conference and New Media Awards

The Highway Africa Conference is a project of Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa), in partnership with Telkom, Absa Barclays and MTN. Over the years the conference has been at the centre of Africa’s debates on the interface of journalism and new media.

British spying claims outrage Russia, Turkey, South Africa

Russia, Turkey and South Africa expressed outrage on Monday over revelations that Britain and the United States spied on foreign delegates at G20 meetings in London in 2009.

Agence France Presse in London, Tuesday, 18 June, 2013

South African Secrecy Bill – ‘this fight is not over’

The ability of South African journalists to expose corruption and other criminal activities in their nation is under considerable threat following the passing of the Protection of State Information Bill on 25 April.

South Africa: Sunday Times rejects Minister’s accusations

The Sunday Times takes exception to Communications Minister Dina Pule’s unusual press conference today in which she accused this newspaper of running a deliberate smear campaign against her, orchestrated by unnamed handlers on behalf of unnamed people.

South African Awards Highlight World Class Reporting

High quality investigative journalism is spreading around the world. One country where it has put down strong roots, despite an often hostile environment, is South Africa. The depth of reporting can be seen in the just announced Taco Kuiper Awards, that country’s highest prize for investigative journalism. In the awards announcement speech on 5 April, Wits University Journalism Professor Anton Harber salutes the finalists for work on extraordinary stories ranging from police death squads to government waste, fraud, and abuse of the public trust.

FIFA to investigate fixed World Cup matches in SA

Allegations that South Africa’s warm-up matches before hosting the 2010 World Cup were fixed will be discussed with the country’s sports minister and top football official at FIFA on Friday.

Regulating the UK media sends the wrong signal to Africa

As outsiders, we have always admired the level of freedom British journalists enjoy while carrying out their work and admired the quality of journalism that follows. What’s more, African journalists use British precedents to push their governments to repeal draconian media laws, most of which were enacted by British colonial governments in efforts to suppress free speech during struggles for independence.

AngloGold mine charged with radioactive contamination

AngloGold Ashanti has been charged with contaminating water and “ongoing pollution” in Stilfontein by the Federation for Sustainable Environment. Water is spilling in an area of dolomitic rock, which affects the groundwater, and with the mine being some seven kilometres from the Vaal River this poses a severe health risk.

South African Police Minister says journalist was wrongfully arrested

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has admitted that the arrest of Sunday Times journalist Mzilikazi wa Afrika was wrongful.  “This was a full-frontal assault on the freedom to report on corruption and it is comforting that the minister has acknowledged the arrest was wrongful,” Sunday Times editor Ray Hartley said.  

FAIR members scoop South African Newspaper Journalism Awards

FAIR members  Stefan Hofstatter, Mzilikazi wa Afrika and Rob Rose, based at Sunday Times investigations, walked away with three awards for ‘Shoot to Kill: Inside a South African Police Death Squad’.

The murder fields of Marikana. The cold murder fields of Marikana

Some of the miners killed in the 16 August massacre at Marikana appear to have been shot at close range or crushed by police vehicles.  They were not caught in a fusillade of gunfire from police defending themselves, as the official account would have it.