Racism Inquiry Brings Cry Of Censorship
JOHANNESBURG - The state built its case on evidence found in plain sight: the defendants' own words, published photographs, boxes of suspicious videotapes, transcripts and the most public of documents - newspapers. Putting the media on trial for racism may have required imagination, but hardly any sleuthing.
Under threat of subpoena, South Africa's newspaper editors, radio broadcasters and television producers have appeared before a governmental agency to defend their portrayal of blacks. Their testimony has often been testy and defiant, and the ensuing confrontation between the mostly white-owned media and the black majority government has stirred animated debate about censorship, political correctness and the state's responsibility to protect its citizens from hurtful, dehumanizing speech in a democracy. http://www.iht.com:80/IHT/TODAY/WED/IN/saf.2.html