Publication: Business Day
Date: 2005-11-16
Reporter:
Reporter:
In
many ways, the decisions that newspaper editors have to make are similar to the
decisions politicians make, except for one crucial difference. Sometimes
political changes are dramatic and quick, but generally the wheels turn slowly
simply because the ship of state is so large. But what politicians often fail to
appreciate is that the press faces something akin to an election every day (or
every week) in the market of readers’ choices. And it often doesn’t have the
luxury of time. The credibility of the publication and the art of editorship
depend on making more good decisions than bad, rather than divine perfection.
So, was the Sunday Times correct
to publish the news that a rape complaint had been laid against African National
Congress deputy president Jacob Zuma? It appears to have investigated the story
as thoroughly as possible, and reflected its findings without bias. The story
was, on balance, in the public interest and in this sense, it can be defended.
Other publications have since endorsed its findings. That does not get the
newspaper quite out of the moral hole, however. A rape accusation, let alone a
conviction, in SA is a crippling thing. It is hard to see how Zuma might recover
his dignity even if the allegation fades away.
Whether the story was
legally defensible is another matter. Section 53(5)(a) of the Criminal Procedure
Act prohibits, in the case of sexual offences, the publication of names of both
the victim and the alleged perpetrator prior to trial.
But that canny old hawk Henry Kissinger once said many political
decisions are 55/45; in other words, the margin between a good decision and a
bad one is often very small.
Quoting another canny old hawk, Kissinger
said Bismarck believed the best a politician could do was “make sure that you
see the Lord marching through world history. And then to jump and hang on to his
coattails, so that you are carried along as far as possible”.
And so it
is with dramatic stories like the Zuma rape allegation. The claims by the
Congress of South African Trade Unions and other political organisations that
publishing the story was irresponsible and slanderous are not without merit. But
they are also inconsistent. Where, for example, were
the outraged statements from Cosatu and the ANC Youth
League when Bulelani Ngcuka was obviously smeared with false allegations
that he was an apartheid spy? It’s easy to get on your moral
high horse in defence of your champion. But to be consistent you also
have to stand up when your opponents’ rights are trampled on.
With acknowledgements to Business Day.