The Jimi Matthews who quit as the SABC's acting Group Chief Executive was once a fierce and dedicated defender of freedom of the press. I knew him back around 1994 when the SABC lured me from Canada -- where I'd been head of TV journalism training for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) - to coach its newsrooms in the ways of democratic journalism.
My job was to lead a team of Canadian TV journalism trainers to help the SABC report professionally and honestly on the new Rainbow Nation's first-ever democratic election. Our mission was to help turn the corporation from a fascist state broadcaster to a democratic public broadcaster like the CBC and BBC.
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