LETTERS
Media singing from same hymn sheet
HILE listening to a spokesperson from the South African National Editors’ Forum (Sanef) castigating the previously Gupta-owned media conglomerate, now owned and re-branded by Mzwanele Manyi, it became clear that the august journalistic body has no comprehension of what the role and rights of media is in a democratic terrain of media freedom.
I sensed that as long as media practitioners all sing from the same hymn sheet as the Gospel according to Sanef, that section of the media will be considered legit.
The Sanef spokesperson spoke of Manyi’s company, apparently renamed Afrozone Media (with ANN7 now called Afro World View, and The new Age newspaper now the Afro Voice) as being unprofessional, not being objective and even deceitful with untruthful reportage.
Strong criticism indeed, and such caustic bias seems to be fairly widespread among many prominent journalists, who should know better.
I contend that perspective is fatally flawed though. What Sanef and its membership don’t understand is that objectivity is not a precise science, and opinions on any given subject vary greatly, especially concerning politics.
No journalistic endeavour should be constrained by the agenda of any editors’ forum. To quote Voltaire, “I may detest what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Ideally there should be many differing newspapers and electronic media, dispersing divergent perspectives. “One person’s meat is another’s poison” and we well know in South Africa that “one person’s terrorist is another’s freedom fighter”.
Most South Africans are not stupid. Inferior and deceitful journalism will soon be weeded out by discerning public sentiment.
The major problem with the broad South African Media, is unlike their cousins in most advanced western countries, most of our publications don’t openly declare their true political leanings.
In stark contrast, most media in the US openly declare their political journalistic bias and will either be strongly pro Republican or Democratic Party. in focus.
Similarly, in Britain their media houses will either have a strong Tory or Labour Party bias. It’s a far more honest form of journalism and there is no fault in a publication openly supporting a political entity. If you purchase a copy of the Daily Mirror you know what you are going to get politically and editorially .
In South Africa most media feigns complete neutrality, when in reality, it is apparent that the majority are on a daily anti ANC vendetta. That is deceitful journalism and only serves to confuse the public.
There should be no problem in supporting any political entity in journalism, or even editorially, no matter how unpalatable to many, and even for the much reviled Gupta brothers, who to date, have in fact not been convicted of any crime, and certainly now pertaining to Manyi’s re-branded Afrozone Media.
Live and let live in the media space, I say. Let the fittest survive under the public’s scrutiny.
The only barrier should be an imperative that news reportage of actual events should aim to be as true and factual as possible, and not supportive of criminal factions. But political perspectives should be a thoroughly open terrain, as freedom of expression in a democratic state like South Africa demands.
There should be no space for the hypocrisy from dictatorial sanctimonious editorial councils. What is needed is as many varying media perspectives as possible. Brakpan