William Bird, Executive Director, Media Monitoring Africa

TheTakeOffInterview| Monday marked the 43rd anniversary of Black Wednesday . The 1977 killing of Black Consciousness icon Steve Biko in police custody drew widespread rage and the state responded by closing newspapers, banning organisations and detaining journalists and activists. That was on October 19 of that year, which became known as Black Wednesday.Since then, South African journalists have used Black Wednesday to draw attention to the importance of media freedom. As the country and the world changed around them, they have highlighted the enduring importance of that most basic of rights: the citizen’s right to information. Over the years, the nature of the threats to media freedom has changed. What is the state of press freedom in SA today?Guest: William Bird, Executive Director, Media Monitoring Africa