PROVO — Whether it's Johannesburg or Salt Lake City, journalists all over the world should speak the truth under any circumstances, remembering that their lifeline is their credibility, a South African editor told BYU students Tuesday.

"We are asking people to … pick up the newspaper in the morning and believe what we publish," said Jovial Rantao, editor of The Sunday Independent and deputy editor of The Star newspapers in Johannesburg, South Africa. "So you have a huge responsibility as a journalist to publish that which is true, and before you publish, you must make sure that … (it is) fit to be published."

Rantao, 45, said his generation of South Africans is benefiting from the blood, sweat and tears of past generations who fought for a democratic country.

"My generation is living that dream," he said. "Our generation not only has the honor of living that history, but shaping and recording that history."

And with that honor comes the great responsibility to be ethical, fair and honest in news coverage, Rantao said.

"You want future generations … to find a record that will reflect precisely what happened, not a record that is a fabrication," he said.

To do that, newspapers, television and radio stations must be privately owned, believe in self-regulation and espouse a strong sense of ethics.

Media freedoms in South Africa are protected by the constitution, Rantao explained, but individual reporters are still subject to the same penalties for breaking laws.

"Our self-regulation works because it is upheld by consensual, ethical guidelines," he said. "All media houses in our country have these codes in place."

If reporters steal, they are charged with theft. If they defame someone, they could be sued in court.

Such dedication to ethical guidelines impressed Chad Turner, a junior studying international relations who said he worries that the American media has lost its sense of accountability.

"The New York Times prints its retractions every week, but it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal," Turner said. "(It's as if) you can make mistakes and the public will just forgive you. (Rantao) seemed to be more set on preventing errors in the first place."

But more than just self-regulation, Rantao said, reporters must be free from government oppression in order to print articles that expose corruption and errors without fear of retribution.

While Rantao called the situation in South Africa "comfortable," he couldn't say the same thing about some neighboring countries like Somalia, Swaziland and Niger, where journalists are imprisoned or even killed because of unfavorable articles or unflattering headlines.

However, Rantao said, editors from around the continent are working together to tackle the lack of media freedom in those countries.

"Our democracy is still young, but nobody can disagree that Nelson Mandela had a great vision," he said. "If we could overcome that big hurdle, we can solve anything by talking."

e-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com