The government wants to introduce legislation editors say will curtail media freedom.
Journalists gear up for what they see as one of the biggest fights since end of apartheid era.
South Africa’s ruling party is holding a critical meeting to decide its future direction.
There is a huge debate over plans to tighten control of the media, in addition to a proposed re-classification of important information. That decision is seen by many journalists as a blow to transparency.
Al Jazeera’s Barnaby Phillips reports from Johannesburg.