Press coverage of a national security issue

Abstract

South Africa, like other liberal democracies worldwide, is characterised by constant tension between government and the media, particularly the press. At the centre of the tension is the need by government to maintain a certain level of state secrecy on the grounds of national security on the one hand, and the need for transparency and the right of access to information on the other. Both these rights are provided for in international and local statutory instruments. Press reports about an alleged secret procurement by South Africa’s Department of Defence of a spy satellite have also heightened the tension. The purpose of the research is to explore the nature of the tension through a case study focusing on some national newspapers. The study examines if the South African press, which, when it dispensed information to the public, published sensitive state information that detrimentally impacted national security. This research shows that in some instances local newspapers published classified and sensitive information relating to national security. Although a court of law is the proper organ to determine whether the press contravened the law by publishing sensitive security information, the disclosure arguably prejudiced the national security interests of South Africa.