The complaint was that the one-sided view broadcast by the SABC, wherein the policy of Israel vis-à-vis the Palestinians was equated with apartheid, amounted to a contravention of the Broadcasting Code.
The Tribunal held as follows:
- No reasonable viewer of the news was likely to have understood the item as attempting to reflect balance. In the circumstances, it was not necessary for the SABC to provide balance by means of comment by someone holding a different view.
- In any event, balance is only required by clauses 12 and 13 of the Code where a matter of public interest is broadcast. “Public interest” is usually regarded as a matter that deals with pertinent issues within South Africa. There was nothing in the broadcast which elevated the material to that level.
The complaint was not upheld.
[2013] JOL 30612 (BCCSA)