The SA National Editors' Forum is concerned at the attack on the print media by African National Congress President Jacob Zuma because it reveals a hostile state of mind towards the media.

The attack on the media contains wild generalisations encompassing the media as a whole. There are no specific allegations and thus they do not merit a reply. However, one generalised complaint that the media is politically and ideologically out of synch with the society in which it exists can be responded to by suggesting that the ANC president and the ANC carefully read the many readers' letters columns in the newspapers which will tell them what the people think.

There are two welcome features in this diatribe and that is Zuma's stated intention to widen the channels of communication between the ANC and the country’s citizens. Sanef welcomes any new enterprise that ventures into the print media sphere which will increase the flow of non-propagandist information from the party and especially the government. Also Zuma made no reference to the ANC proposal to investigate the setting up of a media tribunal to adjudicate on complaints against the print media. If that means that the ANC has dropped that proposal that is to be welcomed because such a tribunal would conflict with constitutional media freedom.