VOA常速英语2007-South Africans Debate Media Freedom Versus Priva

By Scott Bobb
Johannesburg
25 October 2007

Media experts in South Africa are debating whether the news media should be allowed to violate an individual's right to privacy if it is in the public interest. The debate was sparked by the publication of confidential¹ medical records of a senior Cabinet minister. Correspondent Scott Bobb has this report from Johannesburg.

A seminar sponsored by the South African Human Rights Commission was the latest event in an ongoing² public debate over whether freedom of the press and other individual rights are being eroded³ 13 years after the end of apartheid.

The debate has been heightened by the publication in a major newspaper, the Sunday Times, of personal medical records of Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

The records revealed that while the minister was being treated for a lung infection in a Capetown hospital two years ago she ordered hospital staff to purchase alcohol for her guests and herself.

The minister has been a controversial figure and often criticized by AIDS and social activists⁴. The report brought renewed calls for her resignation.

The chairman of the South African Medical Association, Kgosi Letlape, said the release of the medical records broke a sacred tenet of his profession.

"The cornerstone of our profession is privacy and confidentiality⁵. That's the key tenet to how we practice medicine. That's what makes us professionals," said Letlape.

The government said the release of the confidential health information was illegal and violated the right to privacy guaranteed by South Africa's 1996 constitution. The constitution, drafted after the end of apartheid, contains strong human rights protections.

The newspaper's editors, facing arrest, argued that the information was in the public interest because it raised the question of whether the minister was fit to occupy the senior-most health position in the country.

Ironically, the confrontation⁶ erupted on the 30th anniversary of a major media crackdown by the apartheid government and brought unflattering comparisons to that repressive period.

The director of South Africa's Freedom of Expression Institute, Jane Duncan, told the panel that the dissemination⁷ of medical information without the consent of its owner is a serious violation⁸ of privacy rights.

But she said public figures abandon some of their privacy when they decide to serve the public. And as a result their claim to privacy sometimes may be outweighed⁹ by public interest.

"A general rule of thumb is that if the information relates to a person's official functions then the rights of access to information under freedom-of-expression can and should take precedence over the right to privacy," she said.

However, the news director of the government-owned South Africa Broadcasting Corporation, Snuki Zikalala, disagreed. He said his organization did not broadcast the report because it is not in the public's interest to expose its leaders.

"Even if they are a public figure, they do have their own dignity. We must respect people's dignity. Public figure or not an individual has a right to live on this earth and not be destroyed," said Zikalala.

A law professor at Johannesburg's Witwatersrand University, Ian Currie, said the case raises a difficult human rights question.

"It's a very, very difficult balance to strike, the balance between privacy and other conflicting rights and interests, in this case what we are calling the public interest," he said.

He notes that the constitution protects privacy as well as access to information, freedom of the press and other rights. But the constitution does not rank one above the other. As a result, the media must seek the proper balance on a case-by-case basis.

In this case, a South African judge ruled that the newspaper's possession of the health minister's medical records was illegal but that their publication was acceptable because of the public's right to know (public interest).

During the seminar, SABC News Director Zikalala complained that commercialization was pushing South Africa's news media toward unacceptable levels of sensationalism which often violated social and moral values.

But he denied recent accusations¹⁰ of pro-government bias¹¹ in government-owned media.

"The SABC is not a mouthpiece of the government of the day, nor should it broadcast its opinion of government policies. We don't broadcast government opinions unless they are related directly to broadcasting matters," he said.

Several high-profile staff members of SABC resigned after Zikalala issued a list of government critics who could not be interviewed on air.

And the national broadcaster has been accused of disseminating¹² negative reports on government critics while ignoring unfavorable news about some high-profile officials.

The SABC withdrew from the National Editors Forum¹³, which acts as a media watchdog, after it expressed support for publishing the health minister's medical records.

Media advocate Duncan noted¹⁴ that rising readership among middle and lower income South Africans has encouraged the growth of the so-called tabloid¹⁵ newspapers, which thrive on sensationalist reporting.

She agreed that commercialization is a growing concern, but argued that there are ways to deal with it such as anti-concentration measures rather than press regulation.

"We need a debate about how to deal with the problem of media commercialization that is more nuanced and that deals with causes rather than with symptoms. Greater state control is not the solution," said Duncan.

Legal experts note that a new privacy law concerning personal data, such as financial and computer records, is still being formulated¹⁶. And they add that some existing laws need more work.

But they say the fact that these matters are being debated openly is a sign that freedom of expression in South Africa is well although it faces many challenges.

1 confidential   

adj.秘（机）密的，表示信任的，担任机密工作的

参考例句：

• He refused to allow his secretary to handle confidential letters.他不让秘书处理机密文件。
• We have a confidential exchange of views.我们推心置腹地交换意见。

2 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

3 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。

4 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 confidentiality   

n.秘而不宣，保密

参考例句：

• They signed a confidentiality agreement. 他们签署了一份保守机密的协议。
• Cryptography is the foundation of supporting authentication, integrality and confidentiality. 而密码学是支持认证、完整性和机密性机制的基础。

6 confrontation   

n.对抗，对峙，冲突

参考例句：

• We can't risk another confrontation with the union.我们不能冒再次同工会对抗的危险。
• After years of confrontation,they finally have achieved a modus vivendi.在对抗很长时间后，他们最后达成安宁生存的非正式协议。

7 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。

8 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

9 outweighed   

v.在重量上超过( outweigh的过去式和过去分词 )；在重要性或价值方面超过

参考例句：

• This boxer outweighed by his opponent 20 pounds. 这个拳击选手体重比他的对手重20磅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She outweighed me by ten pounds, and sometimes she knocked me down. 她的体重超过我十磅，有时竟把我撞倒。 来自百科语句

10 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

11 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

12 disseminating   

散布，传播( disseminate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our comrades in propaganda work have the task of disseminating Marxism. 我们作宣传工作的同志有一个宣传马克思主义的任务。
• Disseminating indecent photographs on the internet a distasteful act. 在因特网上发布不雅照片是卑劣的行径。

13 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

14 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

15 tabloid   

adj.轰动性的，庸俗的；n.小报，文摘

参考例句：

• He launched into a verbal assault on tabloid journalism.他口头对小报新闻进行了抨击。
• He believes that the tabloid press has behaved disgracefully.他认为小报媒体的行为不太光彩。

16 formulated   

v.构想出( formulate的过去式和过去分词 )；规划；确切地阐述；用公式表示

参考例句：

• He claims that the writer never consciously formulated his own theoretical position. 他声称该作家从未有意识地阐明他自己的理论见解。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This idea can be formulated in two different ways. 这个意思可以有两种说法。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》