The black press in South Africa: Censorship from all sides

This article deals with the resilience of the South African black press in the days of granite apartheid, its leadership role, how black journalists deal with censorship from all sides, and problems black journalists expect to face in the future. It is argued that from 1986 to 1989 the black media in South Africa have been subjected to pressures from the government, the black community and newspaper proprietors. Media regulations were formulated so vaguely that it left the door open for differing interpretations as suited the occasion. When challenging these regulations some of the newspapers were forced to close down. Moreover, the community expected the black press to ignore news concerning certain organizations while highlighting others. Publishing or criticizing acts of certain organizations were also taboo. The papers' credibility suffered because of the information they had to eliminate in their articles to prevent legal action. These pressures led to self-censorship, and black journalists now debat...