The first part of the South African Press Commission’s report is tabled in parliament

On 19 February 1962, the first part of the South African Press Commission's first report was tabled in parliament by the Minister of the Interior, de Klerk. The report, which had taken eleven years of planning, was made up of two volumes totalling 700 pages, with nineteen annexures running to 1,566 pages. The report strongly recommended that the South African Press association (SAPA) gives more coverage to the Afrikaans-language press. The move came two years after the country declared itself a Republic and disassociated itself from the Commonwealth of Nations. In 1964, The New York Times reported that the South African Press Commission raised a storm in Parliament when it presented a 4,262-page report condemning foreign press and proposing controls over news leaving the country.