Media freedom is extremely important for South Africa’s fragile democracy and it must be protected at all costs. It is therefore imperative to find a solution in order to ensure that newspaper posters won’t disappear from Johannesburg’s lampposts, says adv Anton Alberts, chairperson of the FF Plus.
Tomorrow the Print and Digital Media SA (PDMSA) and the Johannesburg metro will table proposals for a solution to the problem. On Monday the PDMSA had to get an urgent court application to prevent the removal of 7000 poster frames.
Adv Alberts says that the FF Plus is a coalition partner in the metro and it will instruct its members in the Johannesburg city council to talk to the mayor in order to find a solution.
“The FF Plus cherishes media freedom and realises that it is in every South African’s best interest to protect it.
“Without media freedom, we would not have known about the Guptas. The protest march of the Transnet pensioners may also have taken place without notice.
“The FF Plus requests that the case be adjudicated quickly and fairly so that the media can continue advertising in a fair manner.
“Print media in South Africa is currently under a lot of financial pressure and it is general knowledge that advertisements on lampposts play an important role in the sales of newspapers,” says adv Alberts.
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