Journos should not be the stars of hot topics they handle
At this point in Masechaba Ndlovu’s career, I think we have all come across something offensive said or done by her.
For some it might be her tendency to foie gras her opinion or her self-aggrandising tweets and quips. For me it was her desensitisation of homophobia.
Earlier this year, just a few days before the Babes Wodumo saga, Ndlovu and her Metro FM co-host Mo Flava picked their listeners’ brains on whether or not celebrities were obliged to share their sexual orientation with the public.
After some callers and the presenters supposedly outed a number of male celebrities from their closets, the show included no guest who could possibly help give direction on the topic and, to make matters worse, it allowed callers to share stereotypes on the perversions of closeted gay men.
It came as no surprise that Ndlovu’s interview with Babes Wodumo played out like a bad Tyler Perry movie. What I did find shocking was how she played martyr when confronted about it. Rather than admit she has no clue how to help a woman with no sense of agency, she churned out smug comments followed by a retweet of why black feminism was a contributor to the plight of black men.
Funnily enough those who agreed with her recklessness quickly crowned her as a brave and bold woman who owes no one an answer. Her fierce pursuit for justice has quickly made her a saviour of South Africa’s entertainment industry.
Ndlovu’s ego is reminiscent of 3rd Degree’s Debora Patta. While we all duped ourselves into believing her style of “journalism” was commendable and hardhitting, it was actually brash and biased.
It became less about the story and more about Patta’s abrasive behaviour.
Patta did not deserve the praise she received for brandishing her opinion under the crucifix of warped journalism. And what happens to the actual news? Who cares as long as shots are fired?
So where is the line drawn between being a TV personality and journalist, or is that the new identity of television-based reporters? Is every Masechaba Ndlovu and Deborah Patta scrambling to become the next David Frost or Wendy Williams?
By praising the likes of Ndlovu, we allow journalism to break a number of its most cardinal rules. By becoming the stars of the hot topics they handle, journalists are creating mindless cavemen out of us all. I guess we are all in the hunger games and it is only a matter of time until Ndlovu and her ilk make ratings carcasses of us all.