CASE NUMBER: 07/2007 – MSIBI VS SABC2 ZULU NEWS – DIGNITY

A complaint was received concerning the use of a derogatory term for Gays by a news reader of the Zulu news on the 18^th February 2007. The Registrar decided to entertain the complaint on the basis that it amounted to a prima facie contravention of the Broadcasting Code, in so far as the derogatory term unreasonably invaded the dignity of Gays as a section of the South African populace. The Tribunal held that the use of the term was unacceptable and that it unreasonably invaded the dignity of gays. The broadcaster was reprimanded for the serious contravention of the Broadcasting Code.