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'. .INSTITUlr~VIR EIETYDSE GESKIEDENIS
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Die Univ~!.siteit van die Oranje-Vrystaat
n.
" I 0 I 4 • '0'
Business Day
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. :Ma~q~la: j olH}1alists i
- -resolve dIfferences
.KllvtnO·Grlldy ~
PRESIDENT Nels(ln Mandela r~s~lved his differ- ences with senior black journaJis!.s at a four-hour meeting in Johan.nesburg yest.enisv and undertook not to repent allegations that they were being used by their white bosses to underTIi4le government.
Enterprise magazine
editci.t!f-
SA Ntltional Ed- itors' FoJrum ch-;.irmnn ThamF wai, who led the delegation of 22 senior joumalis .and editors, said Mande!a made the undertakingwitll the proviso that jownwst.8 did nct "overstretch the Iimit~ in r~ports.Ma%wai said the meeting - also.att.ended by ANC parliamentary chief whip A.{trold Stofile, ANC deputy secretary-general Chetyl Carol us, Sports Mmister Steve Tshwete. Cosstu general 8ecre~ry
Sam Shilowa and Environment and Tourism Min·
lste!' PAllo Jordan - was "definitf'ly very fruitful ...
there W8.8 an understanding reached-.
He .laid Mandela explained he saw writings by
f:r rtain jOUTnalisll, a8 questioring his integrity and bat of the ANC. This was why he had made public remarka about them in rerent weeks. The journalists that their writings were the
situation at the time". throughout the
in SA and that said after the meeting:
mouthpiece. We
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INSTITUUT VIR £Ji:TVDSE . .. . .. ' GESKIEDEIIIIS
Die
Univ~' rsiieit van' ~die
Oranje·Vrystaat• . I ' '.
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",
8'on t. O~IU'" ,
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I /."?- ,'] ,d, 'i .? I , /
.ness Day : .;,' II.,L. l;iJ(~b" ~ L)
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~andela's bizarre
"
lttack onjournalists
. . .
reflects 1\N . .
,. Cf.insecurity
'resident Nels;;"; Mand~ib::S recen~ly reported comments on
. .
)urnalists in SA are ill-informed, writes R8ymo. nd lo~1(V - - -
ESIDEN'T Nelson Mandela's claim that Liar black journalists are being used by
!ir white "conservative" employers to do
!ir -dirty work" by undermining and try.
, to destroy the democratically elected venunent ha.a ,hocked newapa permen.
)l i';~i:::T seffus allegation yet lev.
led» 1 he 4'r ea& h)" Q pibtal
~. It imputes ahBilleful. corrup con- lct by the journalists and gross abwe of lem by even more corruptemp!oyers.
Since Afrikaans newspapers have very
!w black journalisl.e on their pa)'Tolls, if ny, it "Vu clearly not these newllpapen landela W8S ~ferring to. Abo. 815 the black dited daily, The Sowet.an. and the weekly lew Nat.ion 8r~ controUed by black-o~,.ned
olail (New African Investments Lld) run by .1andela'g former doctor Nthal.o MotllLna. who hae been joined by former African Na-
;iooal Congress secrelPry-general". Cyril maphofla, it can be assumed-he wall not ferring to them either.
And as Nationale PO!t!'s Cily Preas is
:ii~. and lltafTed largely by blacks 1t. must jP-fesumed that this paper, too, was not b<1!!¥ acru.·~d i·v Mandela.
({he taJ~1.
er
his attacks is thus nar-rQw@(i down to the Engli!!lh dailies and Sun- day8 published by Independent Newspar- pen and TML(1'i.mell Media Limited). .
Mandela .aid senior blackjoumalists on the papers had been c(M)pted by ·conser-
\-ative elements ... f a tiny minorih- of the population" who blamed the ANC for de- stroying whi te supremacy.
These elements were launching "8 mas- sive attack" on gcvernment, using black journalists 89 their surrogates.
Since flame of the newspapers in Inde- pendent .Newspapers Ltd have black ~di·
tors and deputy editors, thejournalist8 and papers Mandela is referring to are limited fltm,further to the papers in Johanneshurg
;"hich have white editors and employ num·
bers ofblackjoumalisu.
Influential these papers may be, hut to 8uggeat that they have the power to launch
"8 massive attack" which can inflict damage on the government is attributing to them a potency-that they simply do not have.
Tnese newspapers circulatr :n the urban
cent~s' of Gauteng with ertremt'ly limited quaptities distributed in some of the coasta.:
cines: Their ~ach into the overall popu!a- tion.i.!l. relatively small. So only a fraction read die newspapers Mandela is accusing.
n1st is, of ('Ourse, assuming that Man- dele is right and thtlt these papers are en- gaged in these nefarious practiees.
The idea that blackjournaliRla.lel alone -senior black journalists-, wou!d take in-
StructiODII from their white boeees to under·
mine the goveTnment in the manner sug-' Mandela is not jUJt incredible,
E:.
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INSTlTUUT VIR. EIETYDSE
GESKIEDENI~Die Urvversiteit van die Oranje·Vrystaat
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o 3,) ,Y- .1 7.1
usiness Day
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they are fiercei,v indepwcnt ar!d~.r~.88rd themselves as aeriousp;:;'fessional.jou.rnal.
ists. My experfence or-them :ells me that tney would deeply resent the a1;pl;,ationl' Mandela has directed at then1-; and quite rightly Many of then-: went !o jail be·
opposed the apart"h~~e~;;~d
:;;'fT:
.oug,ht rule by the black n . would now do the
!llies equ.,lIy too, try to up to the
"~~~;~t:~~;~:
~Y jownalism. requires ofthe!!l"
Corruption
I cannot imagine them iss1J.ing suc!l in·
structions, either directly or
bl
imp1i~8tion.And not for one moment do believe that they resent the ANC for destroying "white
supremacy"'. • . .
There are some conservative whites on newspapers who believe life was more com- fortable (for them) under the old order and who would prefer the country's transfonna-
tiO~l being tackled 'Nith greo~r effi.::iency and lese corruption, but ont' has to go to the far right-wingers in the A.fr.ikaner Weer- eta.ndsbeweging or the Afri~er Party to fil"d anguish and anger over the ending of apartheid.
Certainly, whit~ .English
~ ;~~~i~~~~~;:;,.;t
when they also blame the ANC~orked in a news- for a short while to
and systems re- make .!Iuch a
statementc.
He relies on advi,ers, but my knowledge of the two experienced advisers in his press office suggests that they certainly do not en- tertain such fancii..u ideas. •
So where do they come from"? Is there an attempt to poison Mandela'a mind against the media? Are the rows in the ANC _ brought on by the sacking of Free State pre-- mier Patrick "Terror" Lekola the "crisis team~ sent to s\'ert the Dear :'collap.!le~ of the Eastern C!,,-pe government. the Tokyo Sexwa.lelMbeki claSh. to mention a few _ assuming such dimensions that some in the party feele need to discredit the press?
Nonnally~cks OD t~ from .polit:cians are P'Rn: 01 the ro_Uiil::Aruiiumble of..:democrahc life and are to be welcomed,l
~~U8.e..tbeikeep pie media on it .. tOes. But,
;r~~~~~hb;I~:~,I%~n\~.;u~.residen\,
"nie'_ History has shown ~at presidential on-
o el"ughtA on are generally the ) precursor.ef restrictions which,
ID scene for 8 slide into
the co'untry transfenn,,-
J
t') d~fX'Taq
dAmWRcy is'ltillliarning ation
thorit.arian - to -whIle undergoing
!earrling how to gal-em
tnl perfect adr.:tim:Jtration.
from 8 liber-
i All this means turmoil, search:ng forva.l-
~es, making mistakes, hB\;ng fights _ oJJ
I
!n the h~t glare of~~d~a publicity. It is to be expecteu that pohtlCl8nS and journalists l>o;ll fre9uently go over. the top.But It wouJd be eaSier for all concerned jf the ANC learned more quickly that politiC6 is 8 robU!;lt callin, and imagined bogeys and ultra-!!'ensitivity to newspaper criticism
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an inaccu:rate ai8ess- place at ~ ANC'I' na- '~~~ti~~~C'Om.mittee meeting .. but
lcal800hlsllcallo~ ~erely r~v-:a.1 ~s~ty and lack of oolit-~ ~ 10
=
Raym~n.d Lo~w choirman of th~ F~t'-"'e
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