by Thinus Ferreira
A special documentary by the South African National Editors Forum (SANEF) to highlight the courage and resilience of the South African news media during, and covering, the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic will be broadcast this weekend across the country's TV news channels on eNCA (DStv 403), Newzroom Afrika (DStv 405) and SABC News (DStv 404).
Produced by SANEF, Recognising the media's courage in covering Covid: A SANEF documentary will be shown on eNCA (DStv 403) tonight (Saturday 22 August) on eNCA at 20:00,, on Newzroom Afrika at 20:00, and on Sunday morning, 23 August on SABC News at 09:00 as part of the weekly Media Monitor programme.
After the broadcast on eNCA, SABC News and Newzroom Africa, the documentary will be uploaded and be available to stream on the official SANEF YouTube page.
Repeats of the documentary for all of the channels are not available but Recognising the media's courage in covering Covid: A SANEF documentary will have a rebroadcast on eNCA on Saturday 22 August at 21:30 and on Sunday 23 August at 01:00.
SANEF commissioned the special documentary to commemorate the vital role journalists play in our society – especially, in light of the harsh circumstances journalists as individuals find themselves in during the coronavirus pandemic.
Recognising the media's courage in covering Covid: A SANEF documentary was filmed in recent months while South Africa remained under a national Covid-19 lockdown period and regulations and aims to shine a light on the courageous work done by South african journalists on the frontlines in a time of unease and continued stress due to the global pandemic.
South Africa's journalists have continued to work everyday, despite the risk of themselves being infected and also in some instances facing a precarious future. The entire South African media industry has faced mass retrenchments, massive salary cuts and the closure of multiple media houses.
"Set against the backdrop of a country plagued with corruption and economic inequality, the coronavirus lockdown and a world in crisis, SANEF set out to lift the veil and bring to life the heroes that stand behind the headlines as we honour the media with the 2020 Nat Nakasa Award," says Mahlatse Mahlase, SANEF chairperson.
"Our journalists have played a vital role on the frontlines in 2020 as we face the pandemic head on, and will be honoured with a collection of true contemporary stories shared by so many of our countries' most seasoned journalists and media voices as they unmask - literally - the day-to-day struggles faced in their plight to provide us with unbiased and in-depth coverage of current affairs."
SANEF says that its management committee and independent judges took the decision that "all journalists working tirelessly across the country and in our communities deserve the Nat Nakasa Award for the courage that they have displayed".
"For many it is tough to listen to the news, let alone the toll it takes on those who are experiencing, dissecting and reporting on the current realities faced by our country and the world as a whole," says Mahlatse Mahlase.
"Disease, poverty, displacement, hunger, brutality, gender-based violence, corruption, looting, and the rising Covid-19 death toll are just some of the headlines we’ve come to read – and expect – each day as we open our eyes in South Africa."
"But in this we forget that it is often about people, and that these stories are brought to us by people – all while managing very personal experiences such as risk to their own families through exposure to the virus, police brutality as well as the very real and very harsh impact of a loss of income and their own livelihoods."
"Journalists have continued to do what they do, often with a window on the world that is as real for them as the people they are documenting," says Mahlatse Mahlase.
