MEDIA’S ROLE IS TO STAY ABOVE THE FRAY
THE major story in the media in the past week was the African National Congress announcement that ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema had been expelled from the party.
This followed the story on the health of former President Nelson Mandela, and the media frenzy it created – which itself did not endear the media to the general public and was described by some callers into radio stations as obscene”.
“It is a news item that was inevitable, given the events that led to the hearings that resulted in him being hauled before a disciplinary hearing. It was inevitable, too, in the light of Malema’s public spat with President Jacob Zuma and other ANC leaders. Even the reaction to the expulsion from the ANCYL was inevitable. What was perhaps not so inevitable was the reaction to how the media handled the news of the expulsion. Some readers questioned the value that the media attached to the story. For most media, the story was big. The implications were massive, given the aura that Malema had built around himself. For some readers, it was blown out of proportion.
It all started when Malema addressed the striking miners at Impala Platinum. He told the disgruntled miners, who are facing a bleak future without jobs, that they should not trust the
“capitalists ” who own the mines. He told them that this is precisely the reason why his organisation is calling for nationalisation, assuring them that what happened to them would not happen under nationalised mines.
The role of the media was to report this, and other events, truthfully, and without bias. Again, the media was accused of giving Malema greater exposure than he actually deserved. On the one hand the media was accused of fighting Malema’s battles for him, and on the other some people, including Malema and his followers, believe that the media is campaigning against their leader.
An interesting observation was made by one reader: “where was Malema when the workers at Aurora mines were going without food, shelter and jobs as the fat cats who happened to be politically connected were going around in grand style, driving only the best cars, and generally indulging in the good life?”
The Aurora matter is still not resolved, but not a word has come from the ANCYL or Malema himself. Those who are accusing the media of giving Malema undeserved press seem not to understand that Malema represents an important segment of our society. There is a reason why people like Malema can mobilise support. The levels of poverty and unemployment among the youth are particularly high.
Our education system has failed the nation. Our government does not realise that this is the kind of time-bomb that the National Party failed to recognise before 1976. It requires just a spark and tragically the consequence will be serious not only for the ANC, but for the nation. So what should the media do?
My view is that we should continue to report on Malema. Indeed, we need to track his activities, for it is only when the nation knows what he is up to, and what those who follow him, sometimes blindly, are planning “that we will be able to respond appropriately”.
Malema cannot be wished away, and unfortunately, being in the shadows now that he is expelled, will result in clandestine activities that could have dire consequences.
It is simplistic to expect that Malema will have to find a new political home. The critical issue is who will take his position. At this point, in the emotional environment created by his expulsion, the position of the ANCYL is that only they can remove people from the organisation.
A raging battle between the ANCYL and the ANC is inevitable. The ANCYL, and specifically Malema, is a monster that the ruling party has allowed to grow. Whether they can now mobilise enough within their youth structure to counter any attempts to undermine the ANC remains to be seen. The role of the media is to remain above the inevitable fight both ahead of the June policy conference and the leadership conference in Mangaung in December.