As a country, we have moved away from the days when the South African Press and Media were "State censored". This has been a wonderful movement for someone like me who grew up listening to, reading and watching news that had been censored by the State.

This censorship did its best to do two things: make sure that white South Africans were as far removed from the atrocities being committed by the government in our nearby townships, and secondly to attempt to keep certain social commentators quiet about these happenings for fear that they would awaken the public, both black and white. Such instances were the public banning's of people like Steve Biko. It was a form of passive propaganda.

I now see that this practice is returning to our news and media. The recent resignation of John Perlman, morning talk-show host, from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is proof that censorship is rearing its head again.

Having shared a spot on a judging panel with Perlman for the last few years (at the Anglo American Sowetan Young Communicators Awards ) I've come to know him as an avid truth-seeker. It is no surprise that he is renowned for pushing his guests on issues of integrity and public interest.

He recently interviewed the SABC spokesperson regarding the supposed existence of a blacklist within the SABC that bans certain social commentators and journalists from being interviewed, or allowed to comment on news items. Being the man he is, Perlman took the spokesperson to task on air and claimed that he himself knew such a black list existed.

And so, the SABC CEO ordered a commission of inquiry. Lo and behold the commission found that such a blacklist existed and that an atmosphere of fear in the SABC newsrooms existed as a result, which was not conducive to journalistic independence.

Ah, journalistic independence. One of the quintessential elements of a democracy. Sacred. Almost as sacred as the independence I have on this blog to write what I choose and not be silenced (sadly, I fear this is allowed to happen because no-one quite yet calls on me to comment on issues ... but wait, mwahahahaha!). Moving along ...

I'm appalled at how our national broadcaster is slipping into habits of old. The irony is that the people on the blacklist (Business Day political editor Karima Brown, political analysts Aubrey Matshiqi, Moeletsi Mbeki, Elinor Sisulu and Zimbabwean newspaper publisher Trevor Ncube, who is also the chief executive of the Mail & Guardian) are the very people we need to be hearing in order to make up our own minds about what is happening in the political and social landscape of our country.

Anton Harber has also had his say in the matter when the issue surfaced in June last year, in particular:

It might be acceptable for a public broadcaster to have a very broad set of guidelines to encourage a range and diversity of views being expressed on air, but it seems here that the purpose is precisely the opposite - it is to limit range and diversity, to narrow the choice available to reporters.

Perlman chose journalism integrity over job security - doing just what the textbooks would tell you to do as a professional to show a commitment to pursuing the truth with independence, even from your employers. It was a brave thing to do, as he undoubtedly put his job on the line, but it was also the right thing to do.

Read Harber's current rant on the matter as heads have rolled at the SABC.

This is also an issue of narrative importance. As we make sense of our world, we organise these pieces of information into sensible narrative lines that bring coherence to our reality. It is essential that we have as much information available to us to make this assimilation possible. What the SABC is doing in effect (and it is the genius of most propaganda) is to expel these voices from our narrative processing, thus attempting to render our narratives of South Africa incomplete.

Who the hell do they think they are? Good on you John!