Herman Manson posted his thoughts on his website in reply to the Loeries accreditation saga:
MarkLives doesn’t normally publish press releases in its main content feed but since this joint statement by SANEF and the Loerie Award relates, at least in part, to the issue of limited media accreditation that was initially raised on these pages, we are making an exception.
The statement, reprinted in full below, follows a complaint to SANEF by BizCommunity.com on the matter of media accreditation to the Loerie Awards, and the terms and conditions attached to it.
MarkLives had previously raised the issue of the partial accreditation of its editor, Herman Manson, which we felt was the result of an unfair and biased accreditation system that was applied with no consistently (some journalists had to submit a ‘media plan’ others did not), and was open to abuse to discriminate against specific journalists. Our case is set out here and we stand by it.
MarkLives welcomes the announcement that the Loerie Awards will be revamping their media accreditation procedures for the 2013 event. We have serious reservations about how the process was handled this year and any improvement that makes the current opaque procedure more transparent is positive news and a step in the right direction.
Of course this matter should and could have been resolved in 2010 when the South African Media Interest Group (SAMIG), a gathering of representatives from the SANEF, Print Media SA and others wrote to the Loerie board requesting an opportunity “to meet with your representatives as soon as possible to take further the discussion around media access to your events.”
It was an invitation repeated by BizCommunity.com Editor-at-Large Simone Puterman who at the time wrote to the Loerie organisers and board of the Creative Circle requesting that ” The Loeries Awards, stakeholders in the Loeries and relevant media should get together soon, in our common interest, to workout acceptable procedures for accreditation, embargoed results and other general rules of engagement with the media.”
In the joint statement Loerie Chairperson Boniswa Pezisa is quoted as saying that the Loerie organisers would “recognise the need to accommodate editorial journalists separately from writers of special contracted features and media partners within our media accreditation procedures” will hopefully put to rest any process of accrediting journalists based on past critical coverage of the event.
The following sentence in the joint press release also caught our eye: “It was agreed that important common ground had been found and that The Loerie Awards organisers had no intention of limiting or dictating independent news coverage, and The Loerie Awards at no time “banned” any media representatives.”
Of course in 2010, when Samig had invited the Loerie Award organisers to meet with it, they had also written the following: “Samig has learned with concern that Mr Herman Manson, a journalist specialising in coverage of the advertising industry, has had his media accreditation to cover the upcoming Loerie Awards unilaterally withdrawn as punishment for critical reports and refusal to submit his stories to organisers for pre-publication vetting.
“On the face of it, this is clearly a serious breach of media freedom in regard to access to a notable public event.
As Samig, our request is that you urgently reconsider the matter and reinstate Mr Manson’s accreditation to report freely and without pre-conditions on the awards ceremony. Your assurance that other journalists covering the awards have not been similarly treated will be appreciated.”
We need intention to marry reality. Once you’ve granted accreditation you cannot revoke it again because you disliked the coverage you received. Implement a fair and transparent accreditation system, and apply it consistently, preferably one that doesn’t penalise journalists because, in the words of Loerie CEO Andrew Human, “they have gone negative.” Finally, you have had offers of substantial engagement on the issue of media accreditation and media relations for over two years, if you take it up now, take it seriously. It will make the Loerie Awards better. Our community deserves that.
Let’s see the change. That would really be turning the page.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Joint Press Statement
SANEF meeting with The Loerie Awards on its Media Accreditation Terms and Conditions
A South African National Editors’ Forum delegation met on Monday, 3 September 2012, with the organisers of the brand communication industry’s prestigious annual Loerie Awards to discuss concerns that terms and conditions of media accreditation and access to the event were in conflict with the Constitutional principle of freedom of the press and the public’s right to information.
The Loerie Awards organisers were represented by Chairperson Boniswa Pezisa and CEO Andrew Human, while the SANEF delegation was led by Media Freedom sub-committee Chairperson Mpumelelo Mkhabela.
Both sides welcomed as constructive the opportunity to discuss the various issues directly and to gain insights into each other’s positions. It was agreed that important common ground had been found and that The Loerie Awards organisers had no intention of limiting or dictating independent news coverage, and The Loerie Awards at no time “banned” any media representatives.
While it was too late to make any major changes to the structures put in place for this year’s Loeries, as these were less than a fortnight away, it was agreed in principle that the media accreditation procedure would be revised from 2013 onwards, and in partnership with SANEF. A draft set of terms and conditions was tabled and accepted as a starting point for refinement to be ready for 2013.
Both the SANEF and the Loeries delegations agreed that the core issue was mutual agreement of unfettered access to coverage by general news media reporters. SANEF has no intention of speaking for any media organisation which has opted for various forms of contractual, commercialised agreements recognising them as “media partners” or “sponsors” of The Loerie Awards.
“After discussion with SANEF, we recognise the need to accommodate editorial journalists separately from writers of special contracted features and media partners within our media accreditation procedures. Most importantly, we want to ensure that media freedom is in no way curtailed through our accreditation procedures and value the input of SANEF,” said Pezisa.
Said Mkhabela: “Sanef had previously held such fruitful discussions with sporting bodies. We look forward to the finalisation of the new accreditation agreement for the Loerie Awards.”
In the meantime, The Loerie Awards organisers undertook to take all reasonably possible steps at short notice to accommodate bone fide editorial journalists who may not yet have been able to obtain unrestricted media accreditation to this month’s awards ceremonies and related open events.
The delegations agreed to meet again soon to finalise the media accreditation framework for future awards.
Issued by the SA National Editors’ Forum (SANEF) and The Loerie Awards
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