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j,,'INSTITUU+ VIR EIETYDSE GESKIEDENIS
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Datum Ond\!o'-~ ICn,pse!
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M'andela
~ . '.. editors
. ~t . agree ,. . to talk
PRESIDENT Mandel.
and the SA N~tional
Editors' Forum yester- day agreed ~mtttevery three months to improve communiill'tiQD ~twec:J1
1Jie government
Md
'tiemedia. •
Jbere tLas been t..k.giJ-
~ complaint about the absence of communication from the government IQ
the mass medi<l.- ?res Mande1a told reporters after mee\ing the forum in Pn=toria.. '1Jlis Will be one of the ways to address the matter."
Forum chainnsn Tharni M.az;wai Said the ~gular
meetings would concern issues bednil1ing rela.
tions between the media and lhI.: ~o ... emmtnt. . . \ 'This ~l.ation~hip will
(boweveT) never
,
be C~)':·he said. -We are nOI going to abdicate our responsi-
biliry~to our re3ders to tell them'what the government is d<;ting in an objective manner as possible:'
Pres Mandela said the (orut:n had l'3i~ concerns
about the of
sympa- media's diffi·
the law, and thc:~ matter ,should be ~ thd cIjSC1,lssc:d. Such talks .. shOuld abo involve Safety and Secqrity Minister Sydney'Mufamadi and Nal.!onaJ Police Commis·
sioncr George Fiv&2.,
;lhey. are them~Jve~
sympathetic in this regan:1.
,
but. of cour.>t!, the polia..
might be forced 10 want 10 know the source of infor- mation from the editors,"
?res Mande:la said. "'We agreed the mat1er !>hould be further discussed.-
Mr Mazwai had also put forward the issue of statutes limiting the free- dom of the Press, Pre.s Ml'I.ndela said.
"I undertook that. if that
inf~tion was given 10 me, to give it immediate anention.-
Ptt-s Mandela said he was awaiting details on the
pos~ibility of a govern- ment subsidy system for the media which had been
rajsed by the fOnJm.
Mr Mazwai told reporten the forum had received assurances from Pre.s Mandela that tho:: l!0v-
. -
emment had no intention of inter! ' wi independence of joumaJ-
~ -He also ell:pressed cc:rta.in concerns from the
~ovemment's si4e, includ- ing criticism from Blade jO:JmalislS and other
media. But he also had praise for media playing a constructive role.-
M! Mazwai said Pre'lO Mandela acss:!ted he ..,oul4-be gjtici~and . allowed an open discus-
sion during the meeting. Asked about the African National Congress' recent condemnation of some journalists. Mr Mazwai said the mancr would be taken up WIth the party.
"We are going 10 meet the ANC 10 find oul (rom them what the problem is:' be s.aid. - Sapa.
1996 -- IVlandela criticism of bJackjournalists «(WO stories - Mon IIAVed 13)
JOHA"'1\TESBURG "m'ember 12 1996 Sapa
MANDELA ACCUSES UNNAMED SENIOR BLACK JOURNALISTS PresIdent 1'\clson Mandcla on Monday night accused some semor blaek journalists or h,mng a secret agenda· and ~o understandIng or the problems facing South Africa
Mandela \\as repl~ Ing to a quesllon on the ~A..BC \ele\'iSlon
programme Focus about black journalists and reeoncllIauon and IllS occasIOnal sharp cnl!Clsm of some selllor black jOUflWl!slS
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M<lndela emphaSIsed he \\;1S slIIglm!! out some selllor black
journalists He dId notmimc them or gl,'e an~ Idea ,dHeh mcdHI the~ worked for
"What ~ou h<l\e today IS the ~pc of se mar Journalist· and
there arc a fc\\ . who regret wc ha\'c destroyed white supremacy m this count~. and \\ ha are taking out theIr venom on the onc orgalllsatton that has brought about radIcal eh:mges m tlus count0
"They ha\'e no conceptIon of the problems facmg the country As I said before thc), thmk. the~ assume. that wc defcated whites In
the battlefield and that the ",lutes arc no\\ lymg on the floor helpless and begging us for mere~ ..
These pcople \\ere nOI a\\arc of the challenges orthe past t\\'o and a halryears
"We had 10 adopt a stratcg~ to sldeillle, to margmallsc, those elements \\hich wanted to stop the elections by force Some sCOIor Journalists arc nOI e\'en awarc or that And II'S ani\' a fc\\' sen!Qr
black Journalists "
M;lnd:!:la said Ihese selllor black Journalists seemed 10 have an o\'en \'otc and Cl cO\'cn \·ote
He \Ias nOI preparcd 10 be dictaled to by people \Iith secret agendas. Mandcla saId, addIng Ihal IllS comments did not feneCl agamst black journalists as such
"I have said specifically there arc some senior black journalists who have got a sccret agenda." he Said
DURBAN ~o\<cmbcr I j 199G Sapa
BLACK JOURI'AL5ITS USED BY MI:-IORITY TO UNDERMI~"E GOVERJ\TI\.1El\'T MA~'DELA
Semor bltld, Journalists ha\'e been co·opted by conservatIve ckmenls 10 <lllac]... the democratle mOl emcn! m South Afnea.
PreSident l'\clson Mandcla s.ud In Durban on Wednesday mghlJl3.11 961
Continuing hIs recent criticism of the South African media, Mande:la said "the med,a is still controlled b,' conservatIve flements ofi! tlm micority of the populatIon"
These elemel1ls blamed the African NatIonal Congress for
deslro~ Ing whne supremacy III South Afnca, Mandela saId
The~ were launchmg a maSSI\ e attack b~ co-optIng cenalll senIOr black Journal,sts to do their dlny \\ork b~ tryIng to undermme and ~estroy the democratlcall~-clected 2o,"ern!llenL
!vlnndcla s(ud \he~ \\ere being IIsed because the go\'ernmenl would not be :lble to accuse them of bemg raCist \\ hen Ihe~ objected 10 Ihe go\'crmnent's policlcs
Hc suggested the Journalists In\'oh'cd, whom hc dId not name,
\\ere aCHng mlllelr self-mlerest and for promotIon
t-.landela recalled an IIlciden\ where Depul~ President Thabo Mbckl questIoned a Journalist about a repan he or she had \1 ntlen, to whIch the reporter replied "You don't pa~ mc, you don't promote mc, 11 is as SImple as that".
Mandela satd he \\as confident these elemems would not succeed III tu rill ng \\ 11IIes agamst lransfonn:Ulon
Whiles no longer \Ianted conIllCl and felt liberated b~ the Ir.1Ilsformauon to a dcmocraq In Soulh Afnca, Mandela saId,
CAPE TO\\'1'\ ~o\'elllbcr 14 1996 Sapa
DP SLAMS MAl\.UELA'S ATTACK ON THE PRESS PreSIdent t-:elson Mandela's allaek on unnamed senIor black Journ<lltsts \Ias regrellable -he crrcctl"el~ called Ihem
self-serVIng sell·outs" Democratic Pany medIa spokeswoman Dene Smuls said on Thursda~
Tills went far b:~ ond the apparent dlrference of IIlterprClation on the role of the mcdla that had consistently bedeVIlled relations bctween the goyernment and the press, she said III a slatemenl.
"It conlinns Ihat senslth'lty 10 eritie.lsm is the real problem"
It also conflnn.:d the unpresSlon th;lI the A~C'£ call for the IransfonmHlon of the medl;"l spmng not from ;"I deSIre to adnince blad,s In JournalIsm. but to control the medIa Ilself
The pcrSISlent Independence of the press under Ihe prc'"IOUS go\'ernment sef'l cd the ANC well. she said
To call II "consenau,'c" and "\\hite" nO\\,that the ANC \\as In
gO\'ernlllent \\as SpUTlOUS ;"Ind sclr-sen'tng Independence had no pIgmentatIOn
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'INSTITUUT
VIR
EIETYD2E GESKIEDENIS<
Die Univ'ersiteit van die Oranje·Vrystaat
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am rem about writillg the to }'OU ~xtTaun::hr\o1Jily out of COil-poor quality of I'C'pOrting that The Sw has in recml timc5 made itself E:WIty of. I am ~femng
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-, ...
is pol'l Uft: J""'ir't 0 my rntlasru.
Mv cnnttm is that N, .Jhm1b;i claiM J that tht prt'Sid·.:nt d<-ats with dlssefltel'5 the "'HolOlTlI~
way' .
~ nus sta~ment is no longet simply ilt the le ... ~1 of sut;crov~
opiruon. 1I is factually lnrorTed, and a cursory look at the protr.JCt.
spccificall>' IIJ a number o( articles ,
purporting to be ba.'iC'd on ("V~ts ,
ed.
procrou.rc:s that t"V'C"Iltually led ilnd developments Ifl the African .,' to the expulsion ,,{ ~tu NationaJ Congress. ,: H~'Iomis3. the ~ at opportu·1 apprcciato' that it is the duty ... • ·tits that PresidCTlt Mandela ~ of the media to report .. CJn an im"! " ~olomisa's 0\'0" admis!;ion) portant organ.i.sation sudl as ~:. gran~ him to ~ve the prob- ANC.lnademocrati(soc:iet}"Sudl krns. and the ~ M-t'dom as ~ with
m.c
and'~ med.la. that meTTlbcts of the ANC hav.e tc there IS 00 compunction (and Ill- • ress divergent points of Vlewdeed thm- should be no .. ~- :tradict Nyatsumba s S\veepin#:
punction) to re"JX'M unm~caliy assertions. . '
about the ANe ! What is even more dlsturblflf Criticism in itself is not a b<ld .' that Nvatswnba thI:n ddended thing; the ~£ht 10 aitidge -~f1 to ~hesc ~(lt:ljectiv~ .opini<?TlS by do so W1U,OUt fear - IS the '1' iP'$ in a radio Intet'Vlt'W that lifeblood of. dm\OCT<t' ~.I~dent Mandcla's waulocraric cy. Howrnr tbis rish!
I
~ viour was ~possihly due tois acmmmnjcd, b a:-.. . ~g senility". Again there
spon..~iblhties. ~ it is
I
!.:~ not a !lingit' shred o~ factual~Iy not unfair tr ~ .. - . . :. mden~ to support this stale-- rect that rep:!rtlng ·rncnt. This goes way ~ond the
!ohouId be.factually a~- ;reAlms of subjectiv~ opinion and curate. It IS about tJ:Us plunges stnight into the cesspool aitial issue that i am cA tter jouI'!\ollism.
wnting to you. • ~ty Minister rl":'f'T )'1obba
I would llk.t to rricr : wrote an article in ~
you 10 thret utides that spon5C Iv
Nve ~t1y appe~ Nvatswnba. H~
I it' was not giVt'Tl the
in The Star.
The first is an Article kly ~
NV3ts"IDba under t» ~"iamg
Gn Sf MimM!D N:s cUry~. This was an opinion piece. and a5'S'Uch
onc must adnow~~ tile right of the write!' to ~ his own
views - ~m if you strongly dis- agree with him.
It may be that it io; truly Kilir:o Nyatsumba's belief that Presidcn:
~\.aisautocratic..~doesn·t
~ criticism. MnnbcTs of the National Ext"CUtiv~ Corrunittft' of.
the
me.
including m~. Nve a•
•
same prr-lincnre ~
the original itJ'tide. Al-
though it wa..~ m('ant to be published as a
ftoa~ articlc, it was reJegatt-d to the bad:
pages and was ~~
li5hed only on NO' vembeT 12 as a
letter to the editor. . S<'('Of>(!lr. there .... .l.S u:c article by Ju:<tiC't' M~al.l concem1Jl~.:l1l al-
leged threat bv President M.lJlCIda to T'C">il;" (J'.·er Jc~y Cronin:s criticism of the gO"eO"f\fTlCf'lt s macro-crononic str arcg.
Br any mcastm ~s w~ a
rather straTI~ piece of fOUmalisn ..
It was published almost two months aftcr the NEe ~ng
where C,..,ron's
<Ommcrols WCOT \
diSCUssed. I was presen: at that meeting and while President Mandeia did criti·
cise Cronin for
~e .,r the statl!'-
;,lCl1ts that he was reported to hay,' made, nothing was SOlid tNl could ~'cn remotely be C'Of\SIJl,I<'d as a threat to ~gJl. I know ~t your "'1""rreT will pmbably c\.J.lm thilt he or\iy wmte what he was :o.J by a SOUJ'tt. aut <!.id h.: uke
~y tTOul:.l~ to vcrify the coTTKI-
nos of th~ infonnation? And did you as editor expect the ~llst to vmfy the story, en: was It ~!,ly a question <,;f aUowmg the .'U'tIc\e to gO into print no
matttt whether the story con- tair<d
TREFWOOF
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INSTITUUT VIR EIETYClSE GESKIEDI:NIS
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:USU;'TlC, for tht-wc of not toIaUy
auCSll0ru'l~ the .<ditorial inlcgnty of "j'h... St~~. th.ll there was.-c;red.J.
ble~}.
. /\ny jou;n.lli:t worth hisor tlC'f
~I win ask ", .. hat
the iTlm"I~ons
of '"
anOnymous 5OUn;'(" ... .,.. and wholt . hi! or shr hopes to gain from
"'1eakirg'" the story. Thai in itself
shoukI impK1 00 thto ~ given 10 a story, especially one
whcrr absolu~y nothing f'Ie"\o'i
had been said.
lhes>. thn-e stories have seri- ously impacted on in~tiona1 p!--rtl"ptions about the politicalstl- bility of South A1rio. If they wt're
the product of carefu! anaJysis and rigtrr'OUSchecking fodactw.l /ICt'U.
racy. I would have had no leg to stand on in aiticising you.
If the truth !nuts thm so be it, and then illS not onIy:.he ri&ht but also the duty of a ~prr to F';btish ii. Howevu. thtse articles do !"'ot pass this ba.. .. ic ~ They
Wen' bac:ed on rnisinforme.-' opin.
ion.. diMorted fiffi and L i 3i5me
u=,t6
Oiltnj!t ht'" Howone
di With ~ stories is 6 .. lit.
mustestfur~v~ judgmnuof
I."l ~ito:: I am afraid tNt you
haY!' faikd disrruJly.
The consistent prominoon~
given 10 thest- Mories. and the
maJ\J1eT in which attempts by pr,:munenl ANe kadetS 10 pr0- vide .C'CW.te' Wonnation ~ dt- lJbf:ntdy underpl~y~ suggest to me tNt these seriow problmls 'are not the n.-sult of mistakes by ,individual journalists, but refl«t on ~ editorial ?')Iicy Df1he Star, lhe SW' is now dlarac'
THEFWOOR
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INSTITUUT VIR EIETYDSE GESI<IEDENIS Die Universiteit van die Or~nje-VrystBat
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DaL ......... .~~ bv editorially d,"'t$('(i . gutter jawnaLlSfT\. nu's is indeed
very UNOrtunale b<..-caU!le theft!'
Wi'S a time, not evm so IonS ago.
""hen ~Star wa."1. one of thebct·
ler newspape:rs in South Atria',' It has bt-come
s tandard for)
~per.i that are oitiased by members of the ANC. to dismiss such persons as opponent> of' pn:ss med"!,,,-or as uncritically demanding only posili"."e stories
about the ANC : .
1 can assure yoU that I have • consistc'ttly. within the ANe. and in gercral defended the right of journalists to ~ hftly.
My n:cord in this reg.ud. and my ~ relations with jour- nalists. ;tlso at your p.1fU spWc.s for itself.
l'hr fact that 1 NoVt now reached the point that' fed it nec- essary to write this letter. and 10 make the harsh statements that I have tn.ldc. will t-.opefully mdi- cate to you the seriou.snes of the situation..
Hope!uIIy you will not simply try to write itoH without ghingit
!erious OJnSider.ation.
U)'O'J do simply ~ with a dlsm.issi. e knee-je:n reaction. it will only be 10 the fw'thcr detri· ment of the quality of jouma.llSm in our COW'Itry. .
And for that I ~ ~ d~ly. "
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,INSTIl'\JUT VIR EIETYDSE GESKIEDENIS
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Die Universi , f ei t , v i m die Oranje -Vrystaat
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JoumaJistk 'sl10uld
: i'
carry out their
dutie~::to:the letter, but
_..
;responsibly
less but principled.
.. . However. it is my humble sub-
I
'ike people, particularly jour- mission that the attack hy Nyat- nalists like Kaiz..cr ~ya~ba. sumba on President Mandela in who speak their mN!!i and are his ~cle, fom Sf M1rruk1ll has clay straightforw-ard.. and tle.etest~w- ... SUis to say the least.Wlfair.
ards and bootlickers whb i:::1iiTIb President Mandela has dehb- the social ladder on the back of ('!ately and consciously been at others and who move
fiom
ear- pains to show people that he is an to-ear whispering poisonousTU-,
ordinary h!-Ullan being with feel- mours about other people. ings. with strong and weakNy~tsumba has a st:rj.ki'ng in- points. U' anything.. President dependence of m..i!ld. This aUows Mandela :-vi,n go down in history him to speak his mind about any- not merely :lS the found'ng father
OTIC including those that occupy of our Clemoc:r.ltic system.. but
the highest offi .. "'CS in the land. more im·port.1ntly as the most ccl- lhis characteristic of his and cbrated ~tesman and c:hampton oih(>T j-Ilac:k should be of tht> aSpirations of millions of or-
and so dinary men and women through-
out the world.
Aoybody who knows any'
thing ~bout M.dJba will ten you .that one of his most important
~~~~~~I~
. is exactly . and. striking fcatureslll his hwnil-characteristic in the personality of Madiba is beyond me. Without doubt Madiba. like any other human being. makes his mistake;
and has wealalesses, but present- ing himself as a saint that is with-
out blentish is definitely not one of them.
Of course Madiba is sensitive to unfair and destructive criti- cism.l mysell am sensitive to that kind of criticism.
Oearly,Nyat!.umba himself is sensitive to certain kinds of criti- osm. Who cannot be? I'm sug- gesting in his article Nyatsumba has don~ the president an injus- tice and has gone beyond the nor- mal and acceptable criticism. It bordered on.consciously and ma- liciously insulting the integrity of our president
WhiJe the liberation struggle has led to a new dm"loaatic sys.-
1 T