Backing media viability

I am an avid reader of Business Day, to which I have subscribed for a number of years. I found last week’s column by Tim Cohen (Help us continue our quest for top quality, July 17) most unsettling. The more I read it the more unsettled I became.

The situation we face in SA today needs no elaboration. It is [a matter of extreme concern] and our country can only avoid going down the path to destruction if the cardinal pillars that sustain our democracy are not threatened and eventually rendered impotent.

These are: our Constitution, guaranteeing a number of fundamental rights; a committed political opposition; a respected and sound judiciary; and a feisty and questioning press.

I must assume that the JSE, as one of the beneficiaries of capitalism, will want to do whatever it can to ensure that these pillars are sustained and function correctly. While I do not see the JSE as being duty-bound to ensure the financial viability of our press, I do believe that it should do nothing to diminish that viability.

Max Leipold

Hermanus