A promise to our readers
THERE has been a whole slew of opinions around the media recently, from a chestbaring apologia by one editor to calls for “patriotic” journalism and the now seemingly hardy annual of media regulation.
This newspaper is fundamentally against the regulation of journalists, for the simple reason that our industry is already well regulated. Broadcast is covered by Icasa and the BCCSA, while print is covered by the Press Ombud, offering free, accessible and transparent access to justice. It is a system that we believe – and those of you who have used it will agree – is a far more effective way than say patients battling malpractising doctors, clients fighting shyster lawyers or even voters trying to hold their politicians to account.
There are also common law remedies that have existed even before Gutenberg invented movable type; from criminal to civil sanctions. But perhaps the greatest checks in a free market environment are the readers or audiences themselves – and we forget that at our peril. Not all media outlets are signatories to the press council, yet interestingly it is those who are not who clamour the loudest for patriotism and regulation.
No one will ever claim the media are perfect. We are certainly not homogenous – and that’s how it should be. The media are a very diverse and different bunch of people and outlets, with a similar variance in outlooks – because this nation is not homogenous. To paint everyone with the same brush is at best just silly, at worst it smacks of a sinister agenda to muzzle dissent – paradoxically a very similar offence to the accusation of bias and agenda that the media are currently facing.
The Star has always been a lodestar for reporting that is fair, impartial and balanced, irrespective of the prevailing sentiment for or against. We will criticise where it is warranted, but we will also praise unashamedly where it is deserved. We will always be a broad church where voices across the spectrum will be given a hearing.
Most of all, we will always be accountable – and openly apologise when we get things wrong.
Our readers, the broader community that is The Star, expect – and deserve – nothing less.